A bill to ban online betting ads was dropped
Independent MP Kate Chaney wanted to ban ads for online betting companies on TV, radio, websites, social media and sports grounds. The bill was dropped from Parliament's list on 27 October 2026.
Official name: Interactive Gambling Amendment (Stop the Gambling Ads) Bill 2026
- The bill would have banned ads for licensed online betting companies on TV, radio, online, social media, in print and at sports grounds.
- The ban would have come in over three years, in four stages.
- Online and social media ads would have gone first. Then ads around live sport and at stadiums. Then daytime TV and radio ads. Then everything.
- Breaking the rules could have brought fines or criminal charges.
- It was a private bill. It never passed, and it was removed from the House of Representatives list on 27 October 2026.
Who it affects
- Online betting companies: They would have lost almost every way to advertise in Australia within three years.
- TV and radio stations: They would have had to drop betting ads, first at some times and then fully.
- Websites and social media: Betting ads aimed at Australians would have been banned from the very first year.
- Sports clubs and stadiums: From year two, betting ads would have come off the field, fence signs, scoreboards, uniforms and gear.
- Small community radio stations: They would have got two extra years before the TV and radio rules applied to them.
Why it was brought in
Kate Chaney is an independent MP. That means a member of Parliament who belongs to no party. She brought this bill into the House of Representatives, the larger house of Parliament, on 30 March 2026. It is a private bill. That means it was brought in by an MP who is not a government minister.
On 28 June 2023, a group of MPs put out a report called You win some, you lose more. People call it the Murphy Report, after the MP who led the group. It found that online gambling was causing serious harm. So was the flood of gambling ads. The harm fell most on children, young people and people at risk of addiction.
The report made 31 suggestions. Number 26 was a full ban on gambling ads in all media. It would come in over up to three years.
Ms Chaney wrote notes to explain her bill. They say over 1,000 days had passed with no reply from the government to that report. The government had not brought in the ban. She says this bill puts suggestion 26 into law.
What counts as a betting ad
The bill changes the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. That is the main national law for online gambling. It adds a new part to that law. It says ads for online betting companies must not run. This covers companies that hold a government licence to take bets.
A betting ad is any picture, sound or words that push a licensed online betting company. It can be a mix of these. It includes brand names, logos and website addresses.
Some things do not count as betting ads. These include political messages. They include plain business details on a company's own website or papers. They include signs at a betting company's own shop. Notices inside the company, like job ads, are also left out.
So are ads for another product that happens to share a name with a betting brand. So are messages that warn people off gambling. The government could add more of these by writing extra rules. Parliament would not need to vote again.
These ad rules copy how the law already deals with ads for illegal gambling. So they would work the same way.
Every bill comes with notes on how it affects human rights. Ms Chaney's notes say the bill limits free speech, which covers ads. She argues the limit is fair because it protects health and people at risk.
TV and radio
TV and radio could not show or play betting ads in Australia. This would also cover datacasting, which means sending content over the same airwaves. A station worker who lets such an ad go to air could also be held to blame.
A few things would be allowed. An ad that goes to air by mistake, with no gain to the station, would be allowed. So would ads shown to people on international flights.
Some services would not have to follow the ban. These are services whose main job is a certain kind of race betting, which the law calls an excluded wagering service. The Murphy Report backed leaving them out.
Small community radio stations would get two years before the ban applies to them.
Online, print and public places
Putting out a betting ad in Australia would be banned. That covers websites, social media, newspapers, magazines, posters and showing ads in public places.
A website ad counts as being in Australia based on who can see it and who it is aimed at. An overseas site that targets Australians would count.
There would be some exceptions. They cover overseas magazines that end up here, ads put out by mistake, ads that bring no gain and ads on planes. Messages kept within the betting industry would be left out. So would phone book entries, normal library work and approved thank-you notes for support.
The four stages
Stage 1 starts as soon as the new rules start. It lasts 12 months. TV and radio could not carry betting ads during the news. Commercial radio, the stations paid for by ads, could not play them from 8.30am to 9am or from 3.30pm to 4pm. Those are the school run times. All online and social media betting ads would be banned.
Stage 2 starts after one year. On top of stage 1, betting ads would be banned during live sport. Ads or talk about betting odds during a live game would also be banned. Betting ads would also be banned at stadiums. That includes the field, fence signs, scoreboards, and players' uniforms and gear.
Stage 3 starts after two years. TV and radio could not carry any betting ads between 6am and 10pm. That is most of the day.
Stage 4 starts after three years. The full ban would apply. The only ads allowed would be the few listed above.
Say you listen to commercial radio while driving your kids to school. In the first year, you would no longer have heard betting ads on that drive. You would also have seen no betting ads online or on social media.
Penalties and refunds
Anyone could complain to the Australian Communications and Media Authority. That is the media and phone watchdog. It also watches online gambling. It could look into rule-breaking.
Breaking the rules could lead to criminal charges. It could also lead to fines set by a court, with no criminal record. The watchdog could give formal warnings. It could give on-the-spot fines. It could ask a court to order a company to stop.
The fines would be the same size as for the ad bans already in the law.
The watchdog could suggest to the government minister in charge that some businesses get paid back for money they lose because of the ban. The minister would not have to follow these suggestions.
TV and radio stations and publishers could not be sued for refusing to run betting ads. Licences for TV and radio would also say the station must obey the ban.
Dropped after time ran out
Ms Chaney brought in the bill on 30 March 2026. That day she also started the debate on its main idea. MPs did not debate or vote on it again.
On 27 October 2026 the bill was removed from the Notice Paper. That is the list of bills waiting to be dealt with. It was dropped under a rule of the House. So it did not pass. It would have to be brought in again to have another go.
Had it passed, the law would have started the day after the King's stand-in in Australia signed it. The bill also needed to pass the Senate, Parliament's second house.
In August 2026 Parliament passed the government's own gambling law. That law limits betting ads but leaves some in place. So for now, some betting ads still run. A group of senators looked into the government's plan. Ms Chaney sent them a written comment. In it she called the plan weak and said it moved in small steps.
Its journey through Parliament
| 30 Mar 2026 | House of Representatives: Introduced and read a first time |
| 30 Mar 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading moved |
| 27 Oct 2026 | House of Representatives: Removed from the Notice Paper in accordance with (SO 42) |