AU Gambling Advertising Ban is Strengthened

Recently, there has been new casino regulation underway in New Zealand, and now there’s a call to ban gambling advertising in Australia. This comes not long after the Australian authorities shut down multiple illegal online casinos.

The call to ban gambling-related advertising seems to be gathering steam in Australia, with some of the country's medical colleges now lending their voices to the movement. Recently, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), together with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), announced their support of the ban on gambling advertising.

RANZCP and RACP Announce Support for Gambling Ad Ban

In a statement to the press, the two colleges mentioned the imperative need for legislation to battle against the harm caused by gambling to vulnerable players and minors. They spoke about the damaging effects that gambling had on people, families of gambling addicts, and also on the support network established to help vulnerable players.

The RANZCP and RACP said, in their statement, that it was critical that the issues that comprised the negative effects of gambling be addressed. This needed to happen given the fact that there are people who are affected by gambling but have no way of accessing therapeutic interventions, especially those that are evidence-based.

The call from the 2 colleges was for the Commonwealth and to the various state governments of Australia to find ways to remove the hurdles that people seeking help and treatment for gambling addiction faced. They also highlighted the need to assess, diagnose and address gambling-related harmful behavior like gambling addiction and debt.

RACP President Alleges Gambling Impacts Mental Health Negatively

Speaking about the impact of gambling on people, Dr. Jennifer Martin, the President of RACP said, that it harms the mental health and well-being of people. Gambling advertising makes things that much worse.

According to her, it was important that the government recognize the damage gambling causes to vulnerable people and start treating it as a health issue. That would ensure comprehensive solutions and services are in place to help the affected people and ensure that they have access to the required treatment and support.

In her concluding remarks, Dr. Martin stated that not banning the various forms of gambling advertising could potentially jeopardize the health of all Australians.

RANZCP President Expresses Concern about Gambling Harm

Speaking on the issue, the President of the RANZCP, Elizabeth Moore, said, “…the increasing rates of gambling-related harm among Australians is a significant issue for psychiatrists, particularly due to the strong correlation with comorbid (multiple and simultaneous) mental health disorders.”

She spoke about how gambling-related harmful behavior has the potential to wreck homes and cause deeper issues like economic abuse, intimate partner violence and financial stress. She said it has been proved that gambling does in fact increase the possibility of violence against women and also cause economic abuse.

Dr. Moore spoke of the need to ban all forms of gambling-related advertising. She said that developing such legislation would go a long way in helping combat the pervasive effects of gambling on the mental health and well-being of players, especially the vulnerable ones.

She said the RANZCP was all for the government implementing the recommendations made in the ‘You Win Some You Lose More’ report, which sought to minimize the harm caused by gambling, primarily for high-risk groups.

What is the ‘You Win Some You Lose More’ Report

‘You Win Some You Lose More’ is a report that the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs released after conducting an inquiry on what online gambling was and the impact it had on those who were having to deal with gambling-related issues like debt and addiction.

The report was tabled on 28 June, 2023, 8 months after the commissioning of the inquiry in September 2022. This report put forward a total of 231 recommendations to help the gambling reduce the incidence of harmful incidents like addiction and debt that were a direct outcome of gambling.

The tagline is a reflection of the government’s stance on gambling-related advertising; it was in fact adopted by the government as a part of the National Consumer Protection Framework.

The purpose of the inquiry was simple: to check whether the regulations that the government currently had in place regarding online gambling and all related advertising were right for the purpose. It was also tasked with determining whether they met the expectations of the local community.