Independent Senator David Pocock has accused the Albanese government of “clearly emboldening” the gambling industry through its ongoing failure to act on urgent reforms, saying Labor’s inaction has created the perfect conditions for companies like Tabcorp to aggressively expand inducements and in-venue betting.
Pocock’s comments come amid growing backlash over Tabcorp’s plan to revitalise its footprint in pubs and clubs, offering special promotions and happy hour-style inducements to entice more punters into betting rooms.
The wagering giant is also trialling a live in-play betting app in New South Wales venues, allowing customers to place real-time bets from their phones while inside licensed venues, marking the first time digital in-play betting has been legally permitted in Australia.
The late Labor MP Peta Murphy’s 2023 parliamentary inquiry into gambling advertising recommended a full ban on inducements, tighter restrictions on gambling ads, and a phased reduction in sports betting promotions across TV, radio, and digital platforms. But more than two years on, Labor has yet to formally respond to the report, let alone implement its 31 recommendations.
“Research shows inducements have contributed enormously to children and young people believing that gambling is a risk-free and normal part of enjoying sport, which is the exact association we should be working to break,” Pocock said.
Pocock criticised Tabcorp’s strategy of using incentives to drive up profits as “unsurprising when you consider the government has so little urgency in implementing the 31 recommendations of the Murphy Review”.
Tabcorp’s shift away from online-only offers and toward venue-exclusive promotions has also sparked concern among public health advocates, who warn these inducements are even harder to regulate and more directly linked to high-risk gambling behaviour.
Deakin University professor of public health, Samantha Thomas, who has been involved in research on the impact of inducements, called the practice an “influential form of marketing because they create a perception that the gambling company is giving you something and that gambling has less risk or no risk attached to it”.
“The lack of significant regulator action on inducements only benefits the gambling industry and their ability to extract more and more money from the community.”
Tabcorp’s plan includes major renovations to its betting terminals and lounges in licensed venues, aiming to modernise and monetise a retail presence that had fallen behind in the shift to online. To help fund this, the company will no longer pay commission to venues that generate under $10,000 in bets each week, sparking fury from the Australian Hotels Association, which says the change will hurt around 650 smaller pubs already struggling to stay afloat.
Tabcorp defends the decision as a “modest” impact, about $160 per week per venue, and insists the new inducements will help those same pubs reach the $10,000 threshold. “We are the most regulated wagering company in Australia,” a spokesperson said.
“As the state wagering licensee, we work more closely than any other operator with regulators and governments on compliance and harm minimisation,” the spokesperson said.
“Our retail staff undergo compulsory compliance training to identify potential problem gambling behaviour and how to safely intervene”.
But critics say the point isn’t how well Tabcorp complies with existing rules, it’s that the rules themselves are outdated and failing to keep pace with industry tactics.
“Australia’s infamous title as the biggest gambling losers in the world will only get worse without action, as reflected in these latest moves by Tabcorp,” Alliance for Gambling Reform CEO Martin Thomas said.
“The federal government has a golden opportunity to implement all 31 recommendations of the Murphy Review but the report so far has gathered dust for more than two years.”
Despite these concerns, federal reform efforts remain stalled. Labor’s proposed crackdown on gambling ads, once a key policy priority for former Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, was shelved in the lead-up to the 2025 federal election, reportedly due to lobbying from major media companies, sporting codes, and betting operators.
That decision sparked internal frustration. At the height of election discourse, the opposition seized on the government’s delay, with Liberal leader Peter Dutton accusing Albanese in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald of lacking clarity and resolve on the issue. “I don’t know what he really believes,” Dutton said.
“This PM is out of his depth, and he’s playing both sides of the street and trying to park this issue before the election. If there is a Labor-Greens minority government after the election, it will be [Greens leader] Adam Bandt calling the shots because he has a stronger personality than Anthony Albanese”.
Albanese did ultimetely win a majorty government, leaving Dutton’s threats to be all for naught, but still action remains halted.
The stalling is anticipated to continue even longer with former Communications Minister Michelle Rowland stepping into the role of Attorney-General earlier this year, being replaced by former sport minister Anika Wells.
