“It doesn’t mean gambling has to be stopped, but why wouldn’t we legislate this, so gamblers could easily know if they’re up or down?”
Tim Costello wants stronger rules to reduce problem gambling. Simon Schluter
The father of four said he loved sport, but was worried about the damage that problem gambling was inflicting on society.
Mr Costello, who has met with Mr Minear, said the proposal “makes a lot of sense” and he had submitted it to the government’s gambling inquiry.
“It’s a pretty transparent thing to more regularly and prominently see how much you’ve lost,” said Mr Costello, who has also been campaigning to ban ads for sports betting.
“I would like to see Jake’s plan in regulatory compliance.”
Since 2022, gambling companies have been required to provide clients with monthly activity statements.
For example, Betfair’s emailed statement shows the amount spent, winnings, losses and the net result for the month. It also includes the opening balance and any debits or credits.
The emailed statement relies on consumers opening up an attachment in a monthly email, whereas Mr Minear’s proposal would display the information at the top of an online gambling portal every time a punter logged in.
A study by the federal government’s behavioural economics team found gamblers who received activity statements reduced the monetary amount of their bets by between 4.9 per cent and 7.6 per cent, but they did not reduce the frequency of their bets.
Responsible Wagering Australia chief executive Kai Cantwell, who represents gambling businesses, said licensed wagering providers were required to send customers a meaningful activity statement every month they have been active.
“The government developed this measure based on best practice and have provided prescriptive rules about what must be included in the statements, such as the number of bets placed, the overall net win-loss for the specified period, opening and closing balances, deposits and withdrawals, the account balance, a column graph to illustrate wagering activity comparing amount spent against net result over time for the last six months and a clear comparison tracking to the same time from the last year.”
He said any future changes to gambling rules must be “fit-for-purpose” and achieve the “desired harm reduction outcomes”.
Responsible Wagering Australia represents gambling businesses including bet365, Betfair, Entain, Sportsbet, Pointsbet and Unibet.
$25b in annual gambling losses
The Albanese government is considering the government’s response to 31 recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, including a recommendation to ban all advertising for online gambling. The inquiry last year estimated total gambling losses at $25 billion a year.
Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has banned credit card deposits, adopted a national self-exclusion register, and ID pre-verification for new online gambling accounts.
There is a ban on television gambling advertising during live sports play.
Nevertheless, more than 1 million gambling ads aired on free-to-air TV, radio and online in the 12 months to April 2023, at a cost of $238 million, the Australian Communications and Media Authority says.
A Productivity Commission inquiry in 2010 concluded there was a significant social cost of gambling, estimated to be at least $4.7 billion a year from issues such as domestic violence, relationship problems and health effects.
The commission estimated there were 115,000 to 280,000 problem gamblers.
Ms Daniel, an independent MP for the Melbourne bayside seat of Goldstein, said Mr Minear’s initiative could complement a total ban on gambling advertising.
“Only a ban on gambling advertising will stop the gambling giants from doing what they do at the moment – grooming impressionable young people to get in over their heads in the first place,” she said.
“Enabling gamblers to see how much they are losing in real time, would make some punters think twice about taking another plunge.”