Reforming Australia’s gambling industry has been one of the most high-profile political issues of recent years. Constantly in the headlines, there are high levels of public support to bring in tougher rules, including gambling advertising bans.

But the federal government has been reluctant to act. It has introduced its new gambling legislation to parliament, but the bill has been criticised as not going far enough to address the problem.

There’s been a lot of speculation as to why there’s been so little political appetite to bring in tougher measures. One key reason is governments have a clear conflict of interest: they rely on gambling revenue while also being responsible for reducing gambling harm.

Momentum for changing Australia’s gambling laws has been building since the 2023 release of the Murphy report. Handed down by a cross-party parliamentary inquiry and chaired by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, the report made 31 recommendations, including limitations on gambling advertising and the appointment of a national online gambling regulator.

The government was slow to respond to the report. Three years later, it finally did.

The proposed legislation makes some attempts to protect people from gambling harms. If passed, this legislation would restrict when and how frequently gambling ads may air and ban the use of celebrities in those ads, among other changes.

Read more: ‘Small and underwhelming’: Albanese’s gambling reforms won’t do much to reduce harm

Last week at Labor’s 50th National Conference, the party’s draft national platform acknowledged the public health benefits of reducing tobacco consumption. It described the tobacco industry as coercive and stated the........

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