You Can Face Fines or Jail for Publishing Online Gambling Ads
Interactive Gambling Amendment (Stop the Gambling Ads) Bill 2026
Independent BillHouse of Representatives
Senate
Assent
Topics
advertising advertising regulations betting services consumer protection gambling gambling advertising
Introduced by: Kate Chaney MP (IND)
Links to official parliament websites
Effects of this bill
If this bill passes, it means that:
It is a criminal offence to authorise or cause the publication of an unlicensed interactive wagering service advertisement in Australia.
People who publish these advertisements face a civil penalty of 180 penalty units (2026: $65,520) unless the law allows it.
Commercial radio broadcasting licensees must not broadcast these advertisements.
People can still broadcast or datacast these advertisements if the main purpose of the service is to provide a dedicated racing channel.
People can publish these ads in periodicals not distributed in Australia; they can also publish them on flights that do not start and end in Australia.
Listing the name of a licensed interactive wagering service provider in a telephone directory is not considered an advertisement.
People commit an offence if they authorise or cause an advertisement for a licensed interactive wagering service to be published in Australia.
Advertisements for products or services that are not licensed interactive wagering services are not covered by these rules.