Australia to get national online wagering Self-Exclusion Register

Nov 2019 – The Morrison Government announced it will move to legislate a national online wagering Self-Exclusion Register that will allow people to ban themselves from all online wagering sites and apps in one step. An independent baseline study by AIFS’ Australian Gambling Research Centre found that 52% of people who wager online were at risk of or already experiencing gambling-related harm. The study will allow the government to assess the effectiveness of the register and other measures designed to reduce gambling-related harms for consumers.

Footballers finding sports betting hard to resist

June 2019: News media around Australia were quick to point out the paradox in the AFL’s suspension of Collingwood player Jaidyn Stephenson on June 19 for match betting. Citing findings from the AGRC’s Weighing Up the Odds report, Tasmania’s Examiner editorialised: ‘[The AFL] encourage gambling and then are surprised when one of their players is sucked into the vacuum’.