An open letter to the Dunkley community from Jodie Belyea MP

Following the recent passing of the Gambling Reform Legislation, it was important for me to share with the people of Dunkley why I supported the Government’s Gambling Reform Bill – and, importantly, the thinking, conversations and experiences that have led me to this decision.

When I was elected as the Member for Dunkley in 2024, I made a commitment to represent our community in Parliament. Across the past two and a half years, I have met with many people and organisations across our community and further afield who have advocated strongly for gambling reform. I have listened to people with lived experience, families, advocates, researchers, community organisations and service providers. People have written and spoken with me, sharing deeply personal experiences and asking me to push for stronger action. These interactions have stayed with me these past few years and inspired me to keep advocating for reform.

Before entering Parliament, I spent more than 30 years working in the community sector alongside people experiencing disadvantage, trauma and addiction. I know problem gambling can have real-life consequences, creating financial stress for individuals and families, resulting in relationship breakdown, isolation and loneliness. And, at its most devastating, it results in the loss of lives.

That experience has strongly shaped how I think about gambling harm. I view it as a public health issue and government has a responsibility to work to prevent harm wherever possible. Implementing measures to intervene earlier, protecting people who are susceptible to addiction and ensuring predatory behaviour by the gambling industry is better regulated are the responsibility of government.

Listening to community and advocating in the capital

I have taken my professional experience and the lived experiences of locals into government and raised them consistently with my parliamentary colleagues. I have continued to have constructive discussions with the Prime Minister and the Minister for Communications about the need for stronger protections, particularly around gambling advertising and inducements.

I have pushed for changes where I believed the initial proposals did not go far enough. I have advocated for tighter restrictions on gambling companies offering inducements and commissions, and for stronger rules around gambling advertising – particularly where children and young people may be exposed.

Why I believe action now matters

One lesson remained constant throughout my three decades working alongside people experiencing disadvantage, trauma and addiction:

Prevention is better than crisis intervention. The earlier we act, the greater our opportunity to prevent serious harm - financially, emotionally and within relationships. That is why I believe reducing exposure to gambling advertising, limiting inducements, strengthening self-exclusion measures and closing regulatory loopholes all matter.

None of these measures will eliminate gambling harm on their own. However, together they can change the environment in which gambling occurs. And that is an important part of prevention.

The foundation laid by Peta Murphy

This work did not begin with this Legislation. The Parliamentary Inquiry into online gambling and its impacts, led by my predecessor and friend, the late Peta Murphy, provided an important foundation for reform.

Its report, You Win Some, You Lose More, brought together evidence about the scale of gambling harm and set out a pathway for further action.

Recommendation 24 outlined a phased approach to reform.

This context matters. Peta knew gambling reform was never going to be achieved through one announcement or one piece of legislation. Public Health reform is a phased approach that requires research, advocacy, negotiation, implementation and evaluation.

Why this is not the end

Supporting this Bill does not mean I believe the gambling reform agenda is finished or everything has been achieved. It means I believe enough has been achieved in this Bill to make supporting it the right decision now and I also believe waiting for the perfect reform is not in the best interest of the community.

These reforms will reduce exposure to gambling advertising by

- strengthening protections for children and young people;

- banning inducements and referral commissions;

- strengthening BetStop and action against illegal offshore gambling;

- addressing emerging gambling products and close regulatory loopholes; and

- establishing a framework for reviewing the reforms and improving them over time.

Over the next three years until the Statutory Review, I will seek to understand the impact of the gambling reforms. Have they resulted in fewer Australians experiencing gambling harm; fewer families experiencing financial stress and relationship breakdown; more people having access to meaningful protections when they need them; and future generations growing up in an environment where gambling is less prominent and less normalised.

Because ultimately, these reforms are about improving the lives of people.

That is why I support this Bill.

Yours sincerely,

Jodie Belyea MP Federal Member for Dunkley

Gambling Harm Reduction Measures Implemented Since 2023 

1. BetStop – National Self-Exclusion Register 

2. Mandatory customer identity pre-verification before opening an online wagering account 

3. Ban on credit cards for online wagering 

4. Ban on credit-funded digital wallets/payment methods used for online wagering 

5. Monthly activity statements showing wagering wins and losses 

6. Evidence-based gambling warning messages replacing Gamble Responsibly 

7. Nationally consistent training for online wagering staff 

8. Mandatory promotion of BetStop by licensed wagering providers 

9. Mandatory minimum classifications for gambling-like content in computer games 

10. Increased enforcement against illegal offshore gambling websites 

11. Blocking of illegal offshore gambling websites by ACMA 

12. Blocking promotional material of  illegal gambling services

13. Review of online keno and foreign-matched lotteries 

14. Work to prohibit online keno pocket pokies 

15. Crackdown on foreign-matched lottery products 

16. Strengthening BetStop following its statutory review 

17. Restrictions on direct marketing of gambling inducements for new customers 

18. Restrictions on direct inducement marketing to customers identified as at risk 

19. Three-month restriction on inducement marketing after leaving BetStop 

20. Ban on commissions to staff/affiliates based on customer activity 

21. Restrictions on gambling advertising during children's programming 

22. 15-minute pre-event blackout for gambling advertising around live sport 

23. Five-minute post-event restriction around live sport 

24. Limits on gambling advertising on television 

25. Complete ban on gambling ads during live sport broadcasts within specified hours 

26. Restrictions on gambling advertising on radio during school drop-off/pick-up periods 

27. Restrictions on gambling advertising through online platforms 

28. Age/login requirements for gambling advertising online 

29. Option for users to opt out of gambling advertising online 

30. Ban on gambling advertising in sports venues 

31. Ban on gambling logos on sporting uniforms 

32. Ban on celebrities and sportspeople appearing in gambling advertisements 

33. Three-year statutory review of reforms