The government’s long-awaited response to the Murphy inquiry into online wagering falls short of the reforms needed to reduce gambling harm, particularly among young Australians.

Former MP Peta Murphy, a Labor hero to many, died in December 2023 from cancer that recurred shortly after the 2019 federal election.

Despite this major illness, she actively and enthusiastically chaired a multi-party House Committee examining online wagering in Australia. The committee’s unanimous report was released in June 2023.

The Albanese government then sat on it for nearly three years before finally issuing its response this week.

Some reforms on advertising restrictions were announced by the government last month. The government’s full response was then tabled on budget day – a move many critics said was intended to “bury” it.

Indeed, the government has delivered a package that singularly fails to meet the standards Murphy and her colleagues sought. It is, at best, a minimal response.

The Murphy report contained 31 recommendations, the most contentious being a call for the prohibition of all advertising of online gambling. This included broadcast and social media.

Other recommendations sought to limit gambling harm, including:

giving responsibility for online wagering to a single Australian government minister;

the appointment of a national online gambling regulator in place of the current, largely........

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