Australia advances online gambling reform bill amid heavy criticism

Australia has introduced the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026, a package aimed at cutting public exposure to online gambling through tighter ad limits and consumer-protection rules. For PSPs, acquirers, and gambling operators, the useful part is not the politics; it is the shape of the restrictions, because this is the sort of bill that can change media buying, affiliate flows, and player acquisition mechanics very quickly.

1. The bill would cap betting ads on television at three per hour between 6:00 and 20:30. It would also ban betting advertising entirely during live sports broadcasts within that time window, which is the part of the schedule most operators actually care about.
2. Radio advertising would face restrictions during school drop-off and pick-up hours. Online advertising would be allowed only for users over 18, with age verification and access through registered accounts. In practice, that points toward more friction in digital acquisition and less room for anonymous or loosely targeted campaigns.
3. The proposal follows the parliamentary report You Win Some, You Lose More, which described gambling as a public health issue. That framing matters because it explains why the bill is not limited to one channel or one tactic; it is designed to reduce gambling’s visibility across the full media stack.
4. Australia’s eSafety authority, through Julie Inman Grant, said online games are not just entertainment spaces but mass social platforms for minors, which increases exposure to harassment, manipulation, and grooming. Grant said that after initial contact in gaming environments, criminals often move minors to private messaging services.
5. The bill also seeks to weaken the link between gambling and Australian sport by banning operators from sponsoring team jerseys, stadium signage, and ads featuring celebrities or athletes. The Coalition, the Greens, and several independent senators say the draft still leaves major gaps, especially around inducements such as free bets, welcome bonuses, boosted odds, and other incentives, and they want digital advertising to use an opt-in model instead of the government’s opt-out approach.

Negotiations are still open before the vote, with the Albanese government working to secure the numbers it needs. For high-risk payment providers, the practical takeaway is simple: if this bill moves forward in anything close to its current form, Australia’s gambling marketing rules will be more restrictive, more compliance-heavy, and less forgiving for acquisition models built around broad digital reach.