AN inquiry into the impacts of online gambling has been launched.

Dunkley MP Peta Murphy chairs the House of Representatives’ standing committee on social policy and legal affairs. The committee is seeking submissions on online gambling and the impacts it can have on problem gamblers.

Murphy says that the committee’s inquiry will “be a fresh look at online gambling and whether current laws, regulations, consumer protections and education and support programs are enough to reduce harm to gamblers”.

“The committee is concerned about the increasing reach of online gambling platforms into Australians’ lives, the exposure of children and young people to gambling advertising and how this may contribute to increases in problem gambling in the future,” she said.

The Department of Social Services reports that online gambling is the fastest growing method of gambling in Australia. A survey conducted this year estimated that one in 10 Australians had gambled online in the past six months.

The inquiry will look at existing consumer protections, programs to address online problem gambling, the effectiveness of counselling and support services, current regulatory and licensing regimes, the definition of “gambling service” in the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, emerging technologies, illegal online gambling services, and advertising restrictions.

Submissions to the online gambling inquiry can be made until 11 November.

Frankston gamblers lost more than $52 million on electronic gaming machines in the 2021/2022 financial year, Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission figures reveal.

Venues with pokies had three months of trading interrupted by COVID-19 restrictions last year, meaning Frankston gamblers are likely to lose even more money on the machines this financial year.

Details: aph.gov.au/onlinegambling.

First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 4 October 2022