Major crackdown on problem gambling to ban bookmakers from offering credit

ONLINE gamblers will be forced to bet with their own money under a major crackdown on problem punting which will ban bookmakers from offering lines of credit.

Online gamblers will be forced to bet with their own money under a major crackdown on problem punting which will ban bookmakers from offering lines of credit. File picture

ONLINE gamblers will be forced to bet with their own money under a major crackdown on problem punting which will ban bookmakers from offering lines of credit.

Federal and state governments will also work together to stop online bookies including Sportsbet, William Hill and CrownBet using free bets and other inducements to entice punters to keep gambling. Major reforms to the $1.4 billion online gambling industry were agreed upon last night.

These include a national self-­exclusion register so gamblers can block themselves from betting with all bookmakers on their phones, tablets and computers.

And online bookmakers will be forced to offer a voluntary precommitment scheme to all punters, so they can set their own betting limits.

Human Services Minister Alan Tudge said the “practical, measured initiatives” could be in place by the end of the year to tackle the scourge of problem gambling, which is more prevalent online.

“The problems of the future are going to come from the online environment unless we take some sensible action now,” Mr Tudge said.

The minister added that the ­betting ­industry realised that it “needs to act more responsibly”.

Responsible Wagering Australia, which represents online bookmakers, welcomed the changes.

“We welcome Minister Tudge’s announcements and are broadly supportive, and look forward to working with the minister on implementing these measures,” said executive director Stephen Conroy.

Mr Tudge said banning lines of credit — and forcing gamblers to use their own savings or credit cards — had been a goal of his since a constituent was given $80,000 in credit by a bookmaker.

The man lost it all over a weekend and the bookmaker tried to seize his house to ­recoup the money.

“There’s too much of a conflict of interest for a gambling provider to effectively also be a bank,” Mr Tudge said.

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Australia's Human Services Minister Alan Tudge. Picture: AAPLukas Coch

He said “broad agreement” was also reached with state and territory ministers that “there needs to be stronger ­action in relation to the offering of inducements to bet or to bet more frequently”.

Bureaucrats will now be asked to develop recommendations to crack down on inducements such as bonus bets to sign up on gaming websites.

The first national self- ­exclusion register for online betting will allow people who feel they are developing problem gambling habits to exclude themselves from one site, which will then block them from accessing all other online bookmakers.

Some online bookmakers already offer voluntary pre-commitment schemes, but under the changes, Mr Tudge said they would now have to give punters the chance to set their own betting limits.

Anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello said voluntary pre-commitment was a step forward, but “about as useful as voluntary brakes in a car”.

He instead urged the government to crack down on betting ads. “We’re way behind in terms of where this should be regulated,” he told Sky News.

Mr Tudge said the reforms would “still allow people to freely have a punt when they want to”, while ensuring gamblers had more power to control their spending online.

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