Advocates warn Northern Territory gambling reforms may leave public at risk

Low taxes and fees mean the NT has become a haven for betting companies, and advocates say the federal government must step in to protect the Australian public.

Former gambling addict Mark Kempster. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Reforms to better regulate Australia’s $50bn online gambling industry have passed the Northern Territory parliament, but advocates warn the jurisdiction is ill-equipped to protect the public from predatory companies.

Wagering service providers operating nationally have based themselves in the Territory thanks to its low taxes and fees, with 32 sports bookmakers and two betting exchanges regulated by the NT Racing Commission.

Mark Kempster lives in Hobart but became intimately familiar with the NT Racing Commission as he battled a gambling addiction that nearly cost his family, health, and entire life savings.

“It couldn’t get much worse than the way I’ve been dealt with, something has to change,” Mr Kempster said.

The NT has become a haven for online betting companies to be registered thanks to low taxes and fees. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

The 35-year-old repeatedly asked gambling companies not to contact him with special offers and was listed on a self-exclusion register, but his details continued to be shared with bookmakers attempting to lure him back to betting with unsolicited gambling incentives.

Now working to help others recover from their gambling addictions, Mr Kempster said he frequently saw people relapse because the issue “hasn’t been taken seriously” by the NT Racing Commission.

He said the commission either ignored complaints, dismissed them for unclear reasons, or issued penalties akin to “a slap with a wet lettuce leaf”.

“Just in the last two weeks I’ve spoken with someone who’s gone and had a bet because he got another email from a company licensed by the Northern Territory commission,” Mr Kempster said.

“It’s the fourth or sixth time these breaches have happened, so it’s altered his life again, he’s gone back into a dark place and started betting again.”

The Racing and Wagering Act 2024 passed parliament last week, and will replace the old commission with a joint Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission to deal with monitoring, complaints, disputes and disciplinary matters of licensed companies.

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief executive Carol Bennett. Picture: Supplied.

Alliance for Gambling Reform called for a national wagering commission, saying the Northern Territory had proven it “was not equipped” to regulate the industry.

“The federal government must step in,” chief executive Carol Bennett said, in line with recommendations from last year’s ‘You win some, you lose more’ parliamentary inquiry into online gambling.

Ms Bennett said that in drafting its laws the NT government consulted 28 gambling companies and just one harm-minimisation organisation, resulting in proposed $1.7m penalties being slashed to $440,000.

“If the NT government were serious about who their clients were, they’d recognise that it’s the Australian public, not the gambling industry,” she said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was examining the inquiry report and consulting stakeholders.

“There’s more to do and we will be doing more,” he said.

The government said the new reforms should send a clear message the NT would ensure the industry was well governed, well regulated and well controlled. Picture Katrina Bridgeford.

Police Minister Brent Potter acknowledged concerns about the NT’s ability to regulate the industry, but said his government’s reforms “should send a clear message to the entire country that the Territory is not only willing but more than able to change with the times and ensure the industry is well governed, well regulated and well controlled”.

The CLP also backed the new laws, Shadow Gaming Minister Marie-Clare Boothby telling parliament that keeping the Territory’s licensed wagering industry in the Territory was “a cornerstone” of the party.

More qualified support came from the crossbench, with Independent MLAs Robyn Lambley and Yingiya Mark Guyula saying not enough was being done to address the significant harm gambling wrought on Territory communities, particularly Aboriginal communities.

While Indigenous people make up about a quarter of the Territory’s adult population, they experience more than 40 per cent of gambling harm, according to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

“It is essential that we keep this industry alive and viable, but you cannot ignore the social cost,” Ms Lambley said.

“Making money out of addiction and disadvantage is generally seen as unethical but it is how you do it, how you execute it.

“This Bill, for the most part, satisfies me that the ethical issues will be addressed.”