The Alliance for Gambling Reform is marking the milestone by urging immediate movement on recommendations from a 2023 parliamentary inquiry into online gambling, chaired by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy. The review laid out 31 proposed changes, including a sweeping ban on gambling ads and the creation of a national watchdog, yet none have been put in place.

Advocates say the lack of action has allowed gambling promotions to remain deeply woven into sport broadcasts and digital platforms, despite mounting evidence of harm.

In its statement, the Alliance said: “1,000 days of inaction on gambling reform must stop,” arguing that the continued delay has allowed gambling promotions to remain embedded across sport and digital media.

A joint open letter sent to the prime minister, backed by dozens of health and community organisations, echoes that urgency. “One thousand days since the Murphy Report parliamentary inquiry into online gambling, the need for equally bold action on gambling has never been clearer.”

New data cited in the letter paints a concerning picture of youth exposure. “New research reveals that 600,000 young people under 18 are already gambling, spending $18 million annually. If gambling were a sport, it would be among the most popular sports of Australia’s youth.”

Alliance calls for urgent government gambling reforms amid rising youth harm concerns in Australia

Advocates argue the government has already shown it can move quickly when needed, pointing to recent legislation restricting social media access for younger teens. “Last year, the government made history with a world-first social media ban for under-16s, showing it is willing to hold corporate giants accountable to protect children. Yet children continue to see gambling ads on those same screens.”

They warn that repeated exposure carries long-term risks. “Early exposure to gambling advertising primes children for a lifetime of harm, driven by companies whose profits depend on addiction.”

Many of the reasons we’ve received are heartbreaking. Stories of families impacted by gambling harm. Young people growing up surrounded by gambling ads. People asking why things still haven’t changed.

— Alliance for Gambling Reform (@ReformGambling) March 22, 2026

“As a nation, we lose more to gambling than any other country on earth – $32 billion every year. Behind that number lie financial ruin, family violence, and lives lost to suicide,” the letter adds.

Recent reporting has shown that the government has hesitated on implementing a full advertising ban, despite earlier signals it was under serious consideration. At the same time, a group of former prime ministers has publicly argued that Australia faces a deep-rooted gambling problem requiring stronger federal intervention.

Signatories are pushing for all 31 recommendations to be enacted in full, including “Banning all gambling ads on all broadcast and online platforms so children are no longer exposed to gambling on their screens,” and “Establishing a national regulator with a mandate to reduce harm.”

The Alliance says incremental steps will not address the scale of the issue. “Every day of delay means more harm,” the group said.

The letter closes by framing the moment as a leadership test. “We ask the government to again show leadership, to build on the social media ban and to take decisive action to protect our kids against a gambling industry that is targeting them.”

Featured image: Alliance for Gambling Reform

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As part of a community order, the proposal states that courts could require offenders to seek treatment for gambling addiction through an National Health Service specialist service, which is a potential shift toward recognizing gambling disorder as a mental health issue within the criminal justice system.

The submission made by members of parliament led to the discussion around sentencing reform in general, with the topic of gambling and the NHS, or a professional clinic, mentioned to support those with an agreed condition.

UK Parliament discusses gambling addiction reform

The topic “gambling treatment requirement” was centered upon in relation to an order that has been decided through a judicial process. An individual who receives a community order through this process would, as part of the proposed amendments, need to seek clinical support.

“This new clause would introduce a new gambling treatment requirement, requiring an offender to seek NHS gambling addiction treatment as part of a community order,” read the official submission as part of Section 26.

The submission, which was discussed but not approved, put an onus on the UK government to find solutions to support those who would be termed as having a gambling addiction.

There would be pressure on the “Government to report to Parliament on how it will improve support for offenders with gambling addictions and ensure that gambling disorder is recognised as a mental health condition by sentencing court.”

The debate also calls for the Secretary of State to publish a report within six months of the Act passing, explaining how courts will handle gambling disorder as a mental health issue. The report would need to cover access to clinical advice and treatment for offenders, both in prison and in the community. It could be an early move toward linking criminal behavior more directly with mental health and treatment.

MPs highlight gambling issues and treatment

Dr. Alison Gardner, Labor representative from Stoke on Trent, made mention of her own “flutter” with gambling, but then discussed the pitfalls of gambling addiction and its wider impact.

She said, “Problem gambling is associated with not only acquisitive crimes, but street violence, domestic abuse and neglect. That, of course, leads to many harms for the person themselves, their families and the victims of their crimes.”

Assistant Whip and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Jake Richards, acknowledged Dr. Gardner’s proposals on gambling treatment but disagreed that they should be mandatory, citing pressures on current government systems.

“As I have discussed with her (D. Gardner), there is the issue of the scale of demand and the current lack of any reliable data on how this would look in the criminal justice system.”

Featured image: Canva

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Former Tabcorp and ASX chief Elmer Funke Kupper has an op-ed in the Australian Financial Review that calls for a crackdown on gambling ads in Australia, following what he describes as “an invasion” of gambling ads during the AFL Grand Final on September 27. It was the most-watched game of 2025, attracting more than four million viewers across the country.

Kupper claims that around 750,000 of them were under the age of 20, exposing young people to a high proportion of gambling ads. This has renewed calls for the Australian government to speed up progress on a gambling ads ban.

“I was surprised to be confronted with several sports betting ads in the thirty minutes before the centre bounce,” Kupper wrote. “I thought that the AFL and the government had dealt with this, and banned gambling advertising close to the games.

“The government and AFL Commission should reconsider their stance. Implementing stricter gambling advertising controls should be one of the simplest acts of leadership. Let’s not have gambling ads at next year’s AFL Grand Final”.

Gambling ads in Australia

The conversation around gambling ads in Australia has been ongoing for several years now. The government was slammed back in February 2025 when it made a perceived U-turn on the topic, following on from a delay to potential reform at the end of 2024. In the summer, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that an outright ban on gambling advertising would be difficult to enforce.

Critics like Kupper speculate that the Australian government is reticent to give up the  hundreds of millions in ad revenue that come from gambling ads. Gambling companies account for an estimated $180 million a year into TV advertising, or around six per cent of total free-to-air revenue.

However, proponents of an outright ban continue to argue that this is a matter of public health. Indeed, Australia wouldn’t be the only country to pursue such a measure, with the UK recently passing gambling ad reform and Japan cracking down casino ads.

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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USPS, an independent government agency with 635,000 employees that lost $9.5 billion last year, has been exempt from DOGE-directed federal employee reductions.

DeJoy told Congress in a letter seen by Reuters that USPS plans to reduce its workforce by 10,000 workers in the next month through a voluntary early retirement program first announced in January.

The Post Office has cut 30,000 jobs since 2021.

USPS has now been exempt from DOGE-directed federal employee reductions after U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told Congress he signed an agreement with Elon Musk’s DOGE government reform team to provide assistance to the agency. AP

DeJoy said the agreement with DOGE and the General Services Administration will allow the government reform team to “assist us in identifying and achieving further efficiencies…. The DOGE team was gracious enough to ask for big problems they can help us with.”

DOGE is working across government to cancel contracts and shrink agencies.

DeJoy cited a number of issues including management of retirement assets and its workers’ compensation program by other government agencies, unfunded mandates and burdensome regulatory requirements.

DeJoy has led a dramatic effort to restructure the post office over the last five years — including cutting forecasted losses from $160 billion to $80 billion over a decade– that has used similar tactics to the DOGE team including shrinking the workforce and canceling or renegotiating contracts.

He said the Postal Regulatory Commission “is an unnecessary agency that has inflicted over $50 billion in damage to the Postal Service by administering defective pricing models and decades-old bureaucratic processes.”

DeJoy told Congress in a letter sen by Reuters that the company plans to scale back its workforce by firing 10,000 workers next month through a voluntary early retirement program. AFP via Getty Images

Representative Gerald Connolly, top Democrat on the committee overseeing USPS, said DeJoy was allowing DOGE to “infiltrate” the agency, suggesting DOGE would “undermine it, privatize it, and then profit off Americans’ loss.”

GSA and DOGE did not immediately comment.

Last month, two media outlets reported President Donald Trump was preparing to issue an executive order to fire the Postal Service board of governors.

The White House denied the plan but Trump said he was considering merging the Postal Service with the U.S. Commerce Department, a move Democrats said would violate federal law.

Since 2021, USPS has cut 30,000 jobs. CJ GUNTHER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Musk, a billionaire top adviser to Trump, said last week he thought USPS should be privatized.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said the Postal Service could help shrink the department’s costs by providing workers to conduct the U.S. census and handle tasks performed by 20,000 Social Security employees.

The Postal Service is adopting new service standards that will save the agency at least $36 billion over 10 years.

The Postal Service has lost more than $100 billion since 2007.

Last month, it reported a fourth-quarter profit of $144 million.

As electronic communications have proliferated, the agency has been hurt by an 80% decline in first-class mail volume since 1997.

Volumes are now at the lowest level since 1968.

DeJoy announced last month he plans to leave after about five years on the job.

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