Submission to Senate Inquiry into the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Sports Betting Reform) Bill

This document is a submission made in 2016 by the APS to the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Sports Betting Reform) Bill 2015.

This detailed submission acknowledges that the current legislation on interactive gambling is over a decade old. This means it is unlikely to have embraced the latest evidence, nor taken account of rapid technological advances.

The past decade has seen a burgeoning of more sophisticated ways to gamble, including access to 24-hour gambling through the internet, mobile phone technology and interactive television platforms. Participation in sports betting has increased exponentially over this time period, in part due to the growth in online gambling.

The APS supports the intent of this Bill to ensure that consumers, particularly minors, are protected from gambling-related harm by the appropriate regulation of online sports betting. The APS emphasises the need to ensure principles of harm minimisation and consumer protection are at the centre of any reform, and that potential gains in tax revenue are not the driving force behind these changes.

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