The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, has been personally briefed on how to implement a total ban on gambling advertising by a European regulator considered the gold standard for tough harm reduction policies.
Rowland’s briefing with the Belgian gaming commission on Friday comes after a June meeting between the regulator and her department’s deputy secretary, Richard Windeyer, who has helped prepare regulatory changes to reduce advertising and gambling harm.
The meeting in Brussels, which was sought by the minister, occurred a day after the chief executive of one of Australia’s largest media companies, Nine Entertainment, predicted the Albanese government would not introduce a total ban. Such a ban was recommended by a parliamentary inquiry led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy.
The meetings with the Belgian regulator have surprised many gambling reform advocates, who have recently cast doubt on the Albanese government’s willingness to ban gambling ads. Those concerns were partly based on the lobbying efforts of broadcasters, sporting bodies, gambling and tech companies that secured meetings with the minister or her staff last year.
Rowland has also secured a meeting with UK gaming commission in recent days. The UK authority is consulting on plans to limit poker machine deposits to £2 a spin and the introduction of affordability checks before people can gamble.
A spokesperson for the minister said the Albanese government was “committed to minimising the harms associated with online wagering”.
“Minister Rowland is grateful to British and Belgian regulators for their insights into the harms associated with online wagering, and how their jurisdictions are addressing these challenges,” the spokesperson said.
In March last year, Belgium banned gambling advertising from television, radio, cinemas, magazines, social media, websites, newspapers and in public spaces. It also introduced weekly deposit limits of €200 a week, which can only be increased after customer safety checks.
In a statement, the Belgian regulator said the country’s “recent introduction of new legislation on advertising and its role in player protection was of particular interest for the delegation. This meeting provided significant insights for all of us”.
The police and campaigns director of Financial Counselling Australia, Lauren Levin, who has studied the Belgian model and urged Australian politicians to follow it, hoped the meeting would strengthen the minister’s resolve.
“It is heartening that the minister is looking to learn from the European gambling regulation experience with boots on the ground,” Levin said. “The Belgian parliament has shown enormous resolve to get rid of gambling advertising and inducements, and the sky hasn’t fallen in.”
The Alliance for Gambling Reform’s Tim Costello, who has personally lobbied the prime minister to introduce a gambling ad ban, was also encouraged by the minister’s meeting.
“It’s very hopefully and I am pleased she is there,” Costello said. “Belgium has some of the tightest regulation in the world. If they were just ticking a box to say they’d been consulted, I’m sure the meeting would have taken place online.
“But I do not underestimate the fear and anxiety in taking on broadcasters, the sports betting companies, the AFL and the NRL and their vested interests.”
Samantha Thomas, a gambling researcher at Deakin university, who has published studies documenting the influence of gambling ads on children, hoped Rowland would follow the lead of governments who are taking “a robust public health approach” to gambling.
“It is very encouraging to hear that the minister and her team are meeting with those countries that have demonstrated that they are determined to stand up to the tactics of this powerful industry to protect the health of children,” Thomas said.
On Monday, independent MP Zoe Daniel asked the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, whether his government would commit to Murphy’s recommendations. The government will contest a byelection in her seat of Dunkley on Saturday.
“We are working to ensure that any action does not have unintended consequences, because that is what good governments do,” Albanese replied. “The government has been working hard on a comprehensive approach and that is what we are committed to doing.”