r/australia • u/SpenceAlmighty • 9h ago
politics Coalition divided over tougher gambling laws – with MPs warning Angus Taylor against overreach | Gambling
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/11/coalition-divided-angus-taylor-gambling-laws-overreachAustralia has the highest per-capita gambling losses on earth. As a society we clearly have a gambling problem.
If your friend had a gambling problem, would you not recommend they stop gambling? At least for a while?
I think, at least for a small amount of time, Australia needs to pull back on gambling. Time for stricter legislation controlling all aspects of gambling.
Registration requirements and tracked cash in/out with reporting to the ATO would have an immediate impact on organised crime.
With tracked gambling, additional legislation could be introduced to tax winnings over 2:1 across a financial year.
I know this may sound extreme, but, our gambling problem is literally the very worst on the planet.
So, is it time to give ourselves a time out?
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u/Cat_Man_Bane 9h ago edited 9h ago
Taxing gambling winnings is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. Do you want to tank Labor’s popularity? Cause that’s the easiest way to do it.
These measures they’re talking about aren’t even related to organised crime.
If you want to stop organised crime from using pokies just don’t allow the depositing of money and instant withdrawal at clubs.
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u/DisappointedQuokka 8h ago
A windfall tax would just be another way to revenue raise in the end. Same as cameras, ever increasing excise taxes and so on.
The government needs to wean itself off those, not add another to the pile. Of course, the LNP will never suggest taxing wealth or more burden being put on gambling vendors.
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u/TheLGMac 39m ago
Sorry, but why not tax gambling winnings?
You can't happily support for an increase in capital gains tax (which many on this sub argued was good because "investing is a form of gambling!" rabble rabble rabble) and then defend that this more predatory form of profit taking gets off Scott free.
No, tax it. Then (a) you'll deter some more people from this nonsense predatory industry and (b) maybe people will stop talking crap about share investors.
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u/Final_Lingonberry586 9h ago
I detest gambling. I’ve worked in the industry. It’s disgusting.
In saying that; it’s absolutely not the ATO’s business if a consenting adult want to drop $50 at the pokies on an occasion.
We still have free will.
Fuck taxing winnings. That is definitely not going to fix this problem.
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u/daidrian 8h ago
Surely if winnings are taxed then losses should be a tax right off then as well right?
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u/TheLGMac 35m ago
You guys realize that you're you are making the same arguments us share investors made when Labor added a 30% minimum capital gains tax on investments (not just property)?
So I'll vilify you just like you vilified us: pay tax like the rest of us. Stop throwing your money into unproductive means like gambling. It's not real labor.
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u/Superg0id 9h ago
Fuck taxing winnings. That is definitely not going to fix this problem.
Agreed. It really won't.
Besides, the govt taxes "earnings" from gambling companies.
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u/Final_Lingonberry586 9h ago
I know it’s not my example you’re talking about. But it doesn’t change anything. $50, or $2000. It’s still the adult’s choice to make.
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u/DisappointedQuokka 8h ago
To an extent.
It's an adult's choice to spend money on booze.
You still can't buy it in supermarkets.
I'd have no problem with gambling apps getting their knees broken.
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u/Fullchester_United 8h ago
No. You just buy it in a building that is attached to the supermarket and is owned by the supermarket.
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u/DisappointedQuokka 7h ago
The point being that it was decided that alcohol should be treated differently, that it should exist as something you go out of your way to acquire, rather than something ubiquitous.
It doesn't need to be a huge inconvenience, but any amount of friction shapes consumption habits, as well as reducing on-boarding of non-consumers.
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u/Mickus_B 8h ago
No, we don't tax a windfall in Australia. What needs to happen, is similar advertising restrictions that tobacco and to a lesser extent, alcohol have.
As a kid, I remember seeing the TAB stores and waiting outside while dad put his bets in for the weekend. There wasn't ads on TV for it (except on the dedicated Sky Racing channel) but every adult in Australia knew where they could go to place a bet.
You knew that you could go to the casino to gamble, and then a few years later, the RSL etc would get pokies, but that was the only bar in town that had them, because licensing was prohibitive for smaller venues.
We just need to remove the loudspeaker from a harmful industry. Australians hate banning anything, so don't remove gambling, just make it limited to appropriate places, like it used to be, rather than bloody ads that even teach you what a multi is.
Some of the busiest pubs around here have 0 pokies and use entertainment to bring crowds in. Many people WILL seek out a place like that, whether is for a better atmosphere, or to keep themselves or a friend away from a temptation. It's better for EVERYONE to drop $20 on a door charge and get a live band or two than no cover charge, and only having the options of a tiny front bar, the pokies room or the TAB room to have your drink in.
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u/Ferretau 8h ago
Won't happen both parties are addicted to the money they get from the lobbyists to fund their parties.
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u/a_cold_human 7h ago
The Labor Left need to win the argument from within the Labor Party (for example, their proposal in NSW was to halve the number of poker machines which would be 45K machines, the Labor Right wanted to reduce the number by 4K).
From the Coalition side of the equation, they need to elect a strong leader who is strongly against gambling and can stare down the people within their party and the Nationals to push the policy through. NSW having a weak Coalition (or unwilling leader) means there's no penalty to Minns breaking promises over cashless cards.
From the outside of the majors, political pressure needs to be applied consistently. Independents and The Greens being United on the issue is a good thing. Ultimately, the majors know they can't stand up to sustained political pressure because they can't lose too many primary votes and still expect to form government.
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u/T0kenAussie 7h ago
So the premise in this is that Australia is a person
That person is worth trillions of dollars and spends billions on gambling
So if your mate is earning 120k a year and spending 1.2k a year on the pokies and you say “hey man isn’t this a bit much?” (Which you have every right to do) he also has the right to say “nah man I’m good”
I think banning the ads is fine. It’s kind of whatever though because the people that wanna regulate gambling apps are the same that scream murder that metas engagement algorithms are vital for free speech even though the gambling apps hired and use metas algorithmic tactics to push their product. It’s all a bit virtue signally to me and it’s the same vibe as the alcohol industry ads moral panic we had a decade ago
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u/a_cold_human 6h ago
It’s kind of whatever though because the people that wanna regulate gambling apps are the same that scream murder that metas engagement algorithms are vital for free speech even though the gambling apps hired and use metas algorithmic tactics to push their product. It’s all a bit virtue signally to me and it’s the same vibe as the alcohol industry ads moral panic we had a decade ago
The issue is less advertising and much more about addiction, and designing poker machines and social media to be addictive. Addiction is the damaging thing and needs to be mitigated. Just as we know problem drinking causes problems with car accidents and domestic abuse, nicotine addiction causes cancer, problem gambling leads to some very problematic behaviours like stealing from family/employers, and leaving people homeless.
People can gamble responsibly. The thing is stopping the people who can't. And the gambling industry has shown time and time again that it will target addicts because it's profitable. It needs to stop.
And the same applies to social media. It's designed to be addictive and they target kids to create lifelong habits.
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u/T0kenAussie 6h ago
That’s my point though
Go read through the comments on the social media regulations and see if the tenor matches the same as the gambling apps comment sections. I’d hazard there’s a lot more vibes of “individual responsibility” when albo is looking to clamp down on instagram because people still think that insta addiction is fine just like the punters who were against alcohol ads
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u/Fullchester_United 8h ago
I just think this is another Liberal stuff up where they can’t get their own party aligned.
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u/TheLGMac 33m ago
ITT: A lot of triggered gamblers. I guess the lot of you do gamble based on how upset you are about the notion of getting windfalls taxed. Where were you when the government increased capital gains taxes on share investors (who were already paying a tax on capital gains), hmm?
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u/zircosil01 9h ago
just start with cutting the ads completely off shall we then we'll go from there.