The Australian government has unveiled a AU$112.7 million (US$73.3 million) funding package over five years from 2025-26 to reduce gambling harms, as part of its 2026-27 budget. The package is titled "Addressing Online Gambling Harms". According to the report, ongoing funding beyond the initial term is estimated at AU$18.1 million per year.
The measures are supported primarily by the Department of Social Services, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts, and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). The details appear in the 2026-27 budget papers.
Where the money is going
The reported departmental figures vary by year. The Department of Social Services will lift its funding from AU$13.5 million in 2026-27 to AU$21.2 million in 2027-28. The Infrastructure department's funding towards gambling harms will rise to AU$12.5 million in 2026-27.
The ACMA will provide AU$3.2 million in initial additional funding and a further AU$5.2 million annually from 2026-27 to 2029-30. This will be partly funded through the levy on operators.
The report says the government's package has four major components, aimed at both the demand and supply sides of online gambling harm. The material supplied does not set out what those four components are, so they cannot be described here.
The self-exclusion levy
Part of the funding will come from reallocations within existing departmental budgets. The remainder will be financed by an increase in the levy charged to licensed operators that access the National Self-Exclusion Register (NSER). The levy supports the administration of BetStop, which requires licensed Australian bookmakers to check and honour self-exclusions.
ACMA receipts from the levy are projected at AU$16.9 million in 2027-28, declining in later years. The report says the increase was confirmed but the exact percentage was not detailed.
The report also gives some background on the levy. The ACMA implemented it in 2019 under the National Self-exclusion Register (Cost Recovery Levy) Bill 2019. An earlier amendment raised the levy from 30 per cent for the 2023 financial year to 35 per cent for 2024 and 2025. The ACMA has said the levy percentage is based on the upfront costs of operating and maintaining the platform. It intends the NSER to be cost-neutral in 2026-27, with only operating costs charged through the levy and not upfront costs.
In earlier documents, the ACMA forecast the cost of delivering and operating the platform in 2026-27 at AU$6.12 million, which the report describes as roughly a 15 per cent increase on the previous period.
Wider reform context
The budget follows by a month a federal announcement of gambling reforms focused on advertising and on curbing offshore operators. According to the report, those reforms take effect in January 2027. It links them to the recommendations of the late MP Peta Murphy, who called for a ban on gambling advertising alongside 31 other reform recommendations.
Under the new rules as described, televised gambling advertisements will be banned entirely during live sports broadcasts, and radio advertising will be prohibited during critical parental times. Gambling ads on digital platforms will be banned unless users are logged in, aged over 18 and given an option to opt out of seeing them.
Online casino-style services are prohibited for Australian residents under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, and BetStop applies only to licensed Australian wagering operators. Anyone concerned about their gambling can seek support through Gambling Help Online or by registering with BetStop.
The budget papers' full breakdown of the four components and the new levy rate were not included in the material available, and Pokiestralia will report them if they are published.