Betting companies now pay for BetStop ads
A short law widens the fee that online betting companies pay to run BetStop. BetStop is the national list that lets you ban yourself from betting sites. From 2027 the fee can also pay for campaigns that tell the public about it.
Official name: National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Amendment Bill 2026
- Online and phone betting companies already pay a fee to cover the cost of BetStop.
- From 1 January 2027 that fee can also cover ads and campaigns that tell people BetStop exists.
- The Communications Department can now get its BetStop costs back too, as well as the media and phone watchdog.
- Costs missed in an earlier year can be caught up later.
Who it affects
- Licensed online and phone betting companies: The total fee they can be charged each year can now include ad costs and the department's costs.
- People who gamble or worry about gambling: More money can go into making sure people know BetStop is there to use.
- The media and phone watchdog and the Communications Department: Both can now get their BetStop costs back through the fee.
54,859 people joined BetStop
BetStop is the National Self-exclusion Register. It started on 21 August 2023. You can sign up and be blocked from every licensed online and phone betting company in Australia. The ban lasts from 3 months up to your whole life.
The Parliamentary Library works for all MPs and takes no side. It says 54,859 people had signed up by the end of 2025. On 31 December 2025, 35,135 people had a ban in place.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority runs BetStop. It is the media and phone watchdog. It makes rules for TV, radio, phones and online betting.
Since 2019 a law has let the watchdog charge betting companies a fee to cover what BetStop costs. The government charges this fee to the industry to pay for a service that keeps it in check.
A review of BetStop came out in December 2025. It found the list works well. It said more people need to know about it. It said the industry should pay for a campaign to spread the word, through the fee.
The 2026 to 2027 Budget gave the Communications Department money for that campaign. This bill lets the government get that money back from the betting companies.
Its companion bill
This bill came in with a much bigger companion bill, meaning a bill that goes with it. It is called the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026. That bill limits betting ads and makes BetStop stronger in other ways. This fee bill only deals with who pays and for what.
Whose costs count
Before this law, the fee could only cover the watchdog's costs. The bill rewrites the meaning of 'cost' so it covers the Communications Department's costs as well.
The full name is the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts. The government says the department is sometimes the better body to run national campaigns.
What the levy covers
The law caps the total fee charged in each fee period. The total cannot be more than the listed BetStop costs. This bill adds three new kinds of cost to that list.
The first is the cost of telling people about BetStop. That means public notices, campaigns and ads.
The second is any other cost the watchdog or the department has in running BetStop. The government expects the department to have such costs only now and then.
The third is costs from an earlier fee period that were not counted at the time. This deals with gaps between when money is spent and when it is billed. The government says only real costs can be claimed back. It says this should not happen often.
Say the department runs a TV campaign about BetStop late in one year. The bill arrives after that year's fee is set. The cost can now be added to a later year's fee.
Start date
Communications Minister Anika Wells brought the bill into the House of Representatives on 2 July 2026. That is the lower house of Parliament, where the government sits. The House passed it on 18 August 2026. The Senate, Parliament's second house, passed it in one day on 19 August 2026.
The Governor-General, who stands in for the King, signed it into law on 26 August 2026. It is Act number 74 of 2026. The changes to the fee start on 1 January 2027.
How they voted
| Vote | Result |
|---|---|
| Vote on a change Senate, 19 August 2026 Labor 21 no, Greens 9 aye, Liberal 3 no, Independent 1 aye, Lambie Network 1 aye | Noes won 24 to 11 |
| Vote on a change Senate, 19 August 2026 Labor 21 no, Greens 9 aye, Liberal 3 no, Independent 1 aye, Lambie Network 1 aye | Noes won 24 to 11 |
| Vote on the main idea Senate, 19 August 2026 Labor 21 aye, Greens 9 no, Liberal 3 aye, 2 no, One Nation 4 aye, Nationals 1 aye, Independent 1 no, Lambie Network 1 no | Ayes won 29 to 13 |
| Vote on a change Senate, 19 August 2026 Labor 24 no, Greens 9 aye, Liberal 1 aye, 4 no, Independent 1 aye, Nationals 1 no | Noes won 29 to 11 |
| Vote on a change Senate, 19 August 2026 Labor 25 no, Greens 9 aye, Liberal 2 aye, 6 no, Independent 1 aye, Nationals 1 no | Noes won 32 to 12 |
| Vote on a change Senate, 19 August 2026 Labor 25 aye, Greens 9 no, Liberal 5 aye, Nationals 1 aye, Independent 1 aye | Ayes won 32 to 9 |
| Vote on a change Senate, 19 August 2026 Labor 25 no, Greens 9 aye, Liberal 4 no, Independent 1 aye, Nationals 1 no | Noes won 30 to 10 |
| Vote on a change Senate, 19 August 2026 Labor 25 aye, Liberal 17 no, Greens 9 aye, One Nation 4 aye, LNP 2 no, Nationals 2 no, Independent 1 aye | Ayes won 39 to 21 |
| Vote on a change Senate, 19 August 2026 Labor 25 no, Liberal 17 aye, Greens 9 no, One Nation 4 no, LNP 2 aye, Nationals 2 aye, Independent 1 no | Noes won 39 to 21 |
| Vote on a change Senate, 19 August 2026 Labor 25 aye, Greens 9 no, Liberal 5 aye, 2 no, LNP 1 aye, Independent 1 no | Ayes won 31 to 12 |
| Vote on a change Senate, 19 August 2026 Labor 25 no, Greens 9 aye, Liberal 2 aye, 3 no, Independent 1 aye | Noes won 28 to 12 |
| Final vote Senate, 19 August 2026 Labor 24 aye, Liberal 8 aye, 3 no, Greens 9 no, One Nation 4 aye, LNP 1 aye, Independent 1 no | Ayes won 37 to 13 |
Its journey through Parliament
| 02 Jul 2026 | House of Representatives: Introduced and read a first time |
| 02 Jul 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading moved |
| 12 Aug 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading debate |
| 13 Aug 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading debate |
| 18 Aug 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading agreed to |
| 18 Aug 2026 | House of Representatives: Third reading agreed to |
| 19 Aug 2026 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 19 Aug 2026 | Senate: Second reading moved |
| 19 Aug 2026 | Senate: Second reading debate |
| 19 Aug 2026 | Senate: Second reading agreed to |
| 19 Aug 2026 | Senate: Committee of the Whole debate |
| 19 Aug 2026 | Senate: Third reading agreed to |
| 19 Aug 2026 | : Finally passed both Houses |
| 26 Aug 2026 | : Assent Act no : 74 Year : 2026 |