LABOR backbencher Marisa Paterson will move a motion in the Legislative Assembly this week calling for a “comprehensive” review of online
gambling in the ACT.

While the ACT Government has reform underway to address harm from poker machines, Dr Paterson said less focus has gone to addressing the harm from online gambling.

“We need to understand more about this type of gambling, and then look at ways to prevent that harm from occurring in the first place,” Dr Paterson said.

Drawing on her time as a gambling researcher – before entering the Legislative Assembly in 2020 as a member for Murrumbidgee – Dr Paterson said:

“Research suggests one in four adult males gamble online in the ACT, we also know that 25% of those people who gamble mostly online in the ACT are classified as at-risk gamblers, experiencing some level of gambling harm.”

Dr Paterson is also calling for a greater understanding of the online gambling market in the ACT.

“We need a clearer picture of who the companies are that take bets in the ACT, how ACT residents are advertised to, and we need to explore additional revenue streams that can be accessed to ameliorate the harm caused by these companies.”

The motion, if passed, will call on the ACT government to consider increasing taxes on the online gambling industry and report back to the Assembly by the end of 2023.