‘Half Measures’ on Gambling Reform Won’t Protect Families and Kids: Tim Costello

The Alliance for Gambling Reform wants you to speak up about our Government’s approach to problem gambling and its impact.

“It was a timid response and dropping it while the Budget was on was, of course, a real smokescreen.”

Tim Costello from Alliance for Gambling Reform did not hold back about the Federal Government’s response to the ‘Murphy Report’.

Published in 2023, You Win Some, You Lose More presented the findings of a parliamentary inquiry (led by late MP Peta Murphy) into gambling harms in Australia.

It delivered 31 unanimous recommendations, including a full ban on gambling advertising and the creation of a national regulator.

Tim Costello told Hope Mornings that the Government releasing its response on the same day as Federal Budget 2026 meant no journalists were “there to actually ask why so timid, why half measures, why doesn’t [it] get the job done by the Prime Minister’s own tests”.

Alongside other voices such as ACT senator David Pocock, Tim said the Federal Government was not going far enough with gambling reforms.

Proposals include limits, not a ban, such as capping TV advertising and removing betting logos from sporting jerseys and stadiums.

“It’s unbelievable that in a nation with the greatest gambling losses per head and greatest harm in the world, we have no national gambling regulator.”

“All you’ve had is a reduction from eight gambling ads an hour to three an hour,” Tim said.

“If that was cigarette ads, would we be happy with that and accepting it?”

Australia’s gambling losses remain among the highest in the world, with more than $32 billion lost annually and the highest per-capita losses globally.

Every year, $1500 per adult in Australia is lost to gambling.

“It’s unbelievable that in a nation with the greatest gambling losses per head and greatest harm in the world, we have no national gambling regulator,” Tim said.

Research shows the ripple effects are significant.

Around 15 per cent of Australian adults are experiencing, or are at risk, of gambling harm, impacting individuals, families, relationships and communities.

While Tim welcomed some of the Federal Government’s steps – such as banning celebrity endorsements – he said these only amounted to “half measures”.

The deeper concern is cultural.

Gambling’s visibility in sport is shaping how young Australians think about and relate to betting.

“Why do 80 per cent of 10-year-olds know the logos and odds of different sports betting companies on the AFL and NRL?” Tim said.

“This is not protecting kids.”

Drawing on history, Tim pointed to tobacco advertising as a turning point.

“Imagine if 80 per cent of kids knew Marlboro cigarettes and their cost difference?” Tim said.

“Now tobacco’s legal, it’s adult, but we don’t let it near kids.

“Likewise, gambling’s legal, it’s an adult product, but it’s all over kids – shaping their language and grooming them.”

The Murphy Report itself warned that gambling advertising is “inescapable” and risks steering young people into harmful behaviours.

For Tim, this isn’t just a policy issue. It’s personal, communal and moral.

The Federal Government’s proposals for gambling reform are yet to pass into legislation.

Tim is hopeful everyday Australians will speak up.

“If we can get to the Coalition and say ‘Please don’t wave this through; strengthen it to protect kids’, we can still see some action here,” Tim said.

Listen to the full conversation in the player above.

Feature image: Canva Pro