After it drew links between the saturation of advertising and harmful gambling, the government – which needs support from the Greens and two independents to pass legislation in the Senate – is facing pressure to act.

“Aren’t you already making enough bloody money off the misery of society?” she asked.

Should gambling firms be allowed to make political donations?

But independent senator David Pocock told SBS News the need for “more than just simply slogans at the end of ads” was already clear.

Senator Pocock said that people under 18 should not be seeing gambling ads at all, describing regulation of social media – where many young people are exposed – as the “missing link”.

“It’s not good enough, and we can change it.”

The major parties raked in more than $2 million in donations from the alcohol and gambling industries before the May federal election, split roughly evenly between Labor and the Coalition.

She insisted she had not breached the ministerial code because neither donation reached the threshold for mandatory disclosure, but she later accepted the public “expects better” and pledged not to take additional money from the company.

Michelle Rowland insists harm minimisation is Labor’s priority. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas

Senator Lambie said the controversy showed politicians “don’t give a crap” about gambling’s impact provided they’re “getting their cheque”.

Senator Pocock said there is a “strong argument” that the gambling companies should not be making political donations at all, describing the harm posed by gambling as an “inconvenient truth” for politicians who benefit.

“Clearly they’re not doing that because they just like that political party. They’re strings attached; they want good policy outcomes,” he said.

“At a time where people are saying people are doing it tough, we know that it disproportionately affects people who can’t afford those sorts of losses.”

A ‘moral issue’

“I don’t care how many dinners the minister has, or how many dollars in donations she collects. She must accept that her job now is to clean this up.”

Incoming NSW Premier Chris Minns will trial cashless pokies, instead of sweeping reforms promised by his predecessor Dominic Perrottet. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins/James Gourley

Outgoing NSW premier Dominic Perrottet promised sweeping reform of the industry, including making all pokie machines in the state cashless by 2028, had he won Saturday’s state election.

But Labor’s victory will instead prompt a small trial of cashless pokie machines, with a view to reform later down the line.

“It is the most embarrassing moment of today that the Liberal Party is out on the front foot against gambling, and Labor’s like sleepy, sleepy, still comatose.”