Historic reforms passed on Wednesday will provide strong protections to reduce the risk of gambling harms and minimise exposure to gambling advertising
Australia’s Parliament has passed the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill, delivering the strongest ever reforms for the country’s gambling market.
The Albanese Government said the historic reforms will provide strong protections against online gambling harms for all Australians, particularly children and young people.
The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 substantially reduces wagering advertising across television, radio and online.
The Bill includes new restrictions to protect vulnerable customers from inducements and strengthens the BetStop national self exclusion register. The Bill also bans online keno and foreign-matched lotteries and provides greater powers to combat illegal gambling.
The approved Bill includes a number of amendments that were introduced earlier this week.
“The Albanese Government is delivering the strongest ever laws to tackle gambling harm as part of a comprehensive and balanced package,” said Minister for Communications Anika Wells. “These laws deliver meaningful protections for Australians experiencing gambling-related harm, including relief from the bombardment of wagering advertisements in sport and strong restrictions on predatory inducements.
“We are also cracking down on illegal gambling operators and other dodgy services that divert business from genuine lotteries and charities. We have worked across Parliament to deliver a balanced, practical and enforceable package of gambling reforms – the most significant in Australia’s history.”
Key reforms include banning wagering advertising during live coverage of sporting events on broadcast and online content services, with the restrictions commencing 15 minutes before and ending 5 minutes after a live sporting event between the hours of 5am and 8:30pm.
There will also be a ban on wagering advertising in sports venues and on players’ and officials’ uniforms, with the use of athletes, celebrities or influencers to promote wagering is also prohibited.
Wagering ads will be restricted on TV to no more than three ads each hour between 5am and 8:30pm and wagering ads on radio will be banned during school drop-off and pick‑up times.
The bill also prohibits the promotion of sporting odds and wagering ads through online platforms, unless people have a logged in account, are over 18, and have the option to opt out of advertising.
A new Wagering Advertising Opt-out Register is being established as a one-stop shop for people to opt out across all their services.
Meanwhile, banks and payment systems will be required to block transactions to illegal gambling operators, and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will be given more powers to act faster to block these websites.
Another key reform will prohibit the direct marketing of inducements for 14 days after signing up with a wagering operator, or three months after a person deregisters from BetStop, as well as to all customers identified as at risk of gambling-related harm.
Parliament also passed the National Self-Exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Bill 2026 and the Interactive Gambling (Cost Recovery Levy) Bill 2026 on Wednesday to recover regulatory costs from licensed operators.