Australia pushes a broad crackdown on gambling advertising and illegal betting

The Australian government has tabled the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2026 in Parliament, describing it as the country’s most forceful package of gambling-harm reforms so far. For PSPs, banks, and acquirers, the useful detail is that the bill does not stop at ad rules: it also gives payment systems a more explicit role in blocking suspicious transactions tied to illegal operators.

1. Before the bill can move forward, it will go through an eight-week Senate review. During that period, some critics are pushing for even tougher measures, including a total ban on gambling advertising and tighter controls on the incentives offered by bookmakers.
2. The core aim is to separate sport from betting. In television, gambling ads would be capped at three per hour between 6:00 and 20:30, and betting ads would be banned entirely during live sports broadcasts in that window.
3. Online advertising would be limited to registered users who are over 18 and have agreed to receive it. On radio, gambling ads would be banned during school drop-off and pick-up hours. The bill also bans athletes, celebrities, and influencers from promoting betting, as well as odds advertising, stadium ads, and branding on player jerseys and referees’ uniforms.
4. For operators and payment providers, the enforcement piece matters just as much as the media rules. Banks and payment systems would get new powers to block suspicious transactions, while the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) would be able to take down websites faster. The bill also removes online keno machines and foreign number-based lotteries.
5. The package strengthens BetStop, Australia’s national self-exclusion register, and allocates more funding to gambling counselling plus a new public-awareness campaign. Communications Minister Anika Wells said families should be able to enjoy sport without constant exposure to betting ads, while Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said gambling harm extends beyond the bettor to family finances, stress, and conflict.

The plan was announced in April in response to a 2023 parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its effects in Australia. The thing is, for the payments side, this is one of those bills where ad restrictions and transaction-blocking powers sit in the same package, so PSPs serving Australia will want to watch both.