Tomorrow’s Melbourne Cup will spark a national surge in gambling as the Australian Government continues to delay its response to a parliamentary report, You win some, you lose more. Among other things, the cross-party report called for gambling ads to be phased out, more and better public education, and the establishment of a national online wagering regulator.
A recent Lancet Public Health Commission report, involving Monash University’s Associate Professor Charles Livingstone, also called for urgent global action on gambling harms. The report, compiled by more than 20 global experts on gambling harms, regulation, and policy, confirmed the importance of better regulation, and the prohibition of gambling promotions, particularly advertising and marketing visible to children and young people.