An Australian Senator has pushed for the influence of the gambling industry over government policy to go under the microscope.

David Pocock, Independent Senator for the ACT, will push to refer the “extent and appropriateness of industry influence over government decision-making” as the Labor government faces increasing pressure to ban betting ads.

In an interview with ABC Radio, he said that it was “astonishing” that no action had been taken following the submission of the Murphy report in 2023, which was unanimously backed across the Australian parliament with no dissenting voices.

Pocock, a former professional rugby union player who made 83 appearances for the Australian national team, also accused the government of giving more credence to chiefs from the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL), two of the biggest sports leagues in Australia, than the report – which included 32 recommendations for gambling reform.

“This is a public health issue, we need to deal with it as such and we’ve seen the Prime Minister, [Anthony Albanese] listen to Peter V’Landys, [Head of the NRL] rather than Peta Murphy,” said Pocock.

He will make the referral to a Senate committee on Wednesday (5 January) and have it report back by 25 February.

Pocock will also demand an explanation as to why the records of interactions between Albanese and the AFL and NRL regarding online gambling reform were only discovered by a freedom of information request, rather than in an order for the production of the documents in the Senate. 

This, he said, shows a lack of respect for the upper house from the government.

Greens push watered-down gambling ad policy

Pocock’s referral comes at the same time that the Australian Green party will push a private senator’s bill to ban gambling advertising on digital platforms, before and after sports broadcasts and during children’s programmes. 

Under the proposal, ads will be capped at two per programme, which is a watered-down version of the total ban they were calling for previously and also recommended by the Murphy Report.

The plans fall in line with reports of a previous proposal from Labor to cap the number of gambling ads and ban them around live sporting events, however, these plans have since been quietly shelved behind the scenes.

According to a spokesperson for the Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, the government is still consulting with the industry and won’t progress legislation on advertising reform until it’s finished.