Australian Gambling Groups Accused of Underhanded Lobbying to Prevent Ad Ban

Australian MPs have been criticized for accepting tickets to high-profile sporting events from gambling companies.

Critics argue that gambling interest groups are lobbying politicians to refrain from implementing a gambling advertising ban in the country. Lobby groups have also been accused of funding sloppy research and advocating for a social media ban as an alternative to restrictions on advertising.

At least six federal Labor and Liberal politicians have disclosed they accepted free tickets from Tabcorp and Sportsbet, two of the country’s biggest betting companies, in the last six months.

Sportsbet provided tickets to rugby union, the Australian Open, and horse race meets to the Labor MPs Raff Ciccone and Dan Repacholi, Coalition shadow ministers Dan Tehan and Tim Wilson, and Liberal MP Mary Aldred. Additionally, Tabcorp gave hospitality tickets to Anthony Chisholm, the assistant minister for regional development and agriculture, for horse racing in Victoria and Queensland.

A Sportsbet spokesperson said the company makes “significant contributions” to sports and racing and is lobbying for “meaningful, measured reform” in advertising.

The company defended the gifts as standard practice, stating, “From time to time, like many businesses, we host stakeholders including elected representatives and their staff at major sporting and racing events.”

The gifts are not unusual, with at least 30 MPs accepting tickets to cricket matches, while PM Anthony Albanese and assistant minister Ged Kearney also accepted tickets to see Oasis.

Independent MP: It ‘Stinks’

While corporations frequently give ministers such gifts, Kate Chaney, an independent MP pushing for gambling reforms, said it “stinks.”

In comments to the Guardian, she added, “Party politicians who accept ‘hospitality’ from these companies need to wake up and stop pretending that gambling companies give away free tickets to politicians because they’re nice guys.”

Chaney was also a vocal critic of the Australian Parliament Sports Club allowing gambling lobby groups to be members, arguing the industry is attempting to make betting indispensable to sport.

There have been increased calls for bans on gambling advertising in Australia, with opponents such as Chaney arguing that the government is delaying reforms due to lobbying.

Gambling Companies Also Funding Education Efforts?

Questions have also arisen in Australia over gambling companies funding researchers. Professor Sally Gainsbury, a director with the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Institute, receives direct and indirect funding from Entain Australia, Sportsbet, Star Entertainment, and the European Lotteries Association.

The OurFutures Institute has applied for AU$20 million ($14 million) in funding for Gainsbury to lead a gambling education program. The group’s funding submission, however, was heavily criticized by another independent MP, David Pocock.

Pocock said the report, Youth Gambling in Australia Evidence Review, “appears to just be slop written by AI.” The report allegedly contained broken links, references to non-existent research papers, and claims that proved to be completely fabricated.

Pocock told Guardian Australia, “From my preliminary assessment, the review is full of AI hallucinations, including references to studies that don’t exist and statements presented as fact that are completely false or grossly exaggerated.”

The director of the OurFutures Institute attributed the errors to the use of a reference “editing tool” and said the claims in the paper were evidence-based and sound.

Pocock has also called for bans on gambling advertising and led a panel that included Chaney and cricketer Usman Khawaka last year. The panel cited concerns that gambling ads were encouraging minors to wager on sports.

The government has recently introduced a ban on social media for teens, but that was also hijacked by gambling interest groups, according to critics. Gambling groups allegedly lobbied for the ban as an alternative to a ban on gambling advertising.