Duty of care floated for betting ads accountability

Betting companies should be held responsible for gambling harm, a chief advocate says, following revelations a duty-of-care proposal has gone to the highest echelons of government.

The federal government is mulling how to tackle a flood of betting ads, especially during sport broadcasts, following a landmark review into gambling harms recommending a phased-out ban.

But Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has come under fire for shelving any reforms until at least after the election due by mid-May, following pushback from the wagering industry.

The government continues to consult to ensure there are no unintended consequences if ads are banned or limited, Ms Rowlands said.

A separate proposal for a duty of care for wagering companies to protect users was drafted in a document dated August 27, 2024 that was set to be presented to cabinet for discussion.

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello called for a duty of care to be imposed on wagering platforms so they could be held responsible for harms caused by addiction, including suicides.

Private companies have to respond to incidents that caused harm and improve safety requirements and gambling companies needed to as well, he told AAP.

"When there are suicides, domestic violence and robberies .. .where is the governance and duty of care?"

Action was urgent with underage kids easily accessing gambling sites, he said.

"When we know that the ads are literally grooming kids to think you cannot watch AFL or NRL without gambling, that is a duty of care and the ads should be banned."

Two other cabinet submissions on the topic were presented to the minister in October, with the government at that time still hopeful of action before a federal election.

The Communications Department was ready to act on gambling reform when instructed by the minister, deputy secretary James Chisholm told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday.

Work on reducing gambling harm continued despite media reports action had been put on ice, he said.

Labor senator Jenny McAllister, representing the communications minister at the Senate estimates hearing, said the process was "taking longer than we hoped".

The government is yet to officially respond to the "you win some, you lose more" report 20 months later.

Ms Rowland presented "initial views" on the report to cabinet in a document dated July 24, 2023, about a month after the report was released.

It outlined what the report had recommended but the "next steps" section was redacted due to it pertaining to cabinet information that hasn't been publicly disclosed.

Ms Rowland had promised - in a letter to Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young in June 2023 - comprehensive action on gambling advertising before the report was officially released.

The minister also received a breakdown of all various legislation and amendments before parliament at the time, including the Liberals' proposal to ban gambling ads during sports broadcasts and an hour on either side.

Ms Rowland told Senator Hanson-Young the Liberals proposal fell short as it could lead to unintended consequences.

She cited research from the Australian Communications and Media Authority that gambling advertising on TV and radio went up 50 per cent following the introduction of the last set of reforms in 2018.

Labor previously briefed stakeholders about a draft policy that would have banned ads on children's programming and either side of sports broadcasts while TV ads outside of this would be capped at two an hour.

Wagering companies have come out against any blanket ban on digital advertising, saying there were ways to ensure content didn't target children while commercial broadcasters have raised concerns about revenue.

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