Online gambling advertising should be banned say parents ahead of parliamentary inquiry
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Rod's son Ollie was 18 when the first Covid lockdown began. He was bored and lonely and his part-time tennis coaching job was replaced by the JobKeeper payment. Olly started betting on sports games via apps on his phone. Rod thought he had brainwashed him but he got sucked in.
Ollie has stopped gambling and is moving on with his studies and his part-time job. His father Rod wants to see online gambling advertising completely banned. Rod is one of many parents who will make a submission to a federal parliamentary inquiry into online gaming and the impacts on problem gamblers.
Online gambling advertising should be banned, say parents ahead of parliamentary inquiry. Parliamentary committee to look at laws and regulation. MP Peta Murphy is chair of the House of Representatives standing committee on social policy and legal affairs. She wants to see if the current regulations are working.
There is a gambling ad every two minutes on free-to-air TV in Australia. Three quarters of children between 8 and 16 who watch sport think betting on sport is normal. For people ensnared in a casino addiction, the ubiquitous nature of the marketing makes it harder to break free.
Sandra's son has lost close to $100,000 in gambling. He applied for self-exclusion from online betting agencies, but he received a text message from one of them. The company was fined $13, 000. Sandra wants a ban on online gambling advertising and a parliamentary inquiry. She also wants to raise awareness among parents about the problem. She compares gambling addiction to a drug addiction. "There's no escape" for people with gambling issues.
Rod and his son Ollie are happy that Olly has given up gambling. Ollo used to gamble for a year and didn't enjoy watching the football. Rod wants to ban online gambling advertising.
Rod, Ollie, Sandra, William's names have been changed at their request for privacy reasons.
