Australia's 2026 gambling reforms limit wagering ads, ban activity-based commissions and require banks to block payments to illegal operators from 1 January 2027, and restrict inducement marketing from a later day. They are in the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Act 2026, which passed Parliament on 19 August 2026 and received Royal Assent on 26 August 2026. The Act stops short of the full advertising ban a parliamentary committee recommended in 2023.
From 1 January 2027 wagering ads are limited during live sport and across TV, radio and online, illegal sites face wider access blocking, and leaving BetStop takes a new process. The inducement bans for the customers most at risk start on a day the Minister sets, and a national register for opting out of online wagering ads opens on a day fixed by Proclamation.
From announcement to law: the dates
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| June 2023 | The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs tables its online gambling report, with 31 recommendations |
| 2 April 2026 | The Government announces its reform package |
| May 2026 | The Government responds to the 2023 report, noting all 31 recommendations |
| 2 July 2026 | The bill is introduced in the House of Representatives |
| 18 August 2026 | The House passes it with 26 Government and 45 Opposition amendments |
| 19 August 2026 | The Senate passes it |
| 26 August 2026 | Royal Assent, as Act No. 72 of 2026 |
| 27 August 2026 | Schedule 5, the application and transitional rules, commences |
| 1 January 2027 | Every other Schedule commences |
| A later day the Minister sets | Inducement bans for designated customers and the harm-monitoring duty start to apply |
| A day fixed by Proclamation | The Wagering Advertising Opt-out Register opens for applications |
A companion law lets ACMA recover from the industry its costs of running BetStop, the inducement rules and the opt-out register. Outside the Act, the April 2026 package also expands Commonwealth-funded financial counselling for gambling.
Note: Checked on 7 October 2026 against the Act's revised explanatory memorandum, the Parliament's bill page and ACMA, which has said it will publish more information before commencement. General information, not legal advice.
Advertising limits on TV, radio and streamed sport
Until 1 January 2027 the existing rules apply. Gambling ads and the promotion of odds are not allowed during live sport broadcasts between 5:00 am and 8:30 pm, online streaming included. Those rules sit in the broadcasting codes and the Broadcasting Services (Online Content Service Provider Rules) 2018, which the 2026 Act repeals from that date.
From 1 January 2027 the Act itself sets the limits, and the same live-sport windows apply to sport streamed online. The April announcement said 6:00 am; the Act as passed starts the daytime window at 5:00 am.
| Where | Rule from 1 January 2027 |
|---|---|
| Live sport, 5:00 am to 8:30 pm | No wagering ads from 15 minutes before the scheduled start to 5 minutes after the end, breaks included |
| Live sport, 8:30 pm to 5:00 am | No wagering ads during play; ads only in breaks as the Act defines them, which excludes breaks after goals, tries or the end of an over |
| TV, 5:00 am to 8:30 pm | No more than 3 wagering ads on a channel in any 60-minute period |
| Radio on school days | None from 8:00 to 9:00 am or from 3:00 to 4:00 pm |
| Odds | No promotion of odds in broadcasts except on dedicated wagering channels and programs; racing odds fall outside the definition |
| Uniforms and venues | No wagering ads on sporting uniforms or at sporting venues; deals made before the bill was introduced on 2 July 2026 can run to 31 December 2031 if not extended or enlarged |
| Notable people | From 1 January 2027 no new deal may use athletes, celebrities or influencers to promote wagering, and no wagering ad featuring one may be broadcast or put online, whenever the deal was made; racing content on dedicated racing programs, channels and online services is excepted |
| Content | Ads must not be directed at children, show children betting, link betting with alcohol or make exaggerated claims |
Racing has exceptions throughout: wagering advertising about racing, and programs, channels and online services dedicated to racing and wagering, are treated differently. A dedicated racing or wagering channel is exempt from the TV cap, and ads during a racing program on a general channel do not count towards it.
Example: An illustrative TV broadcast of a night match scheduled for 7:40 pm that finishes at 10:00 pm. Wagering ads stop at 7:25 pm, 15 minutes before the scheduled start, and none run until 8:30 pm, breaks included. From 8:30 pm the overnight rule applies: none during play, and an ad can run only in a break the Act recognises, which does not include the break after a goal. The overnight rule ends when the match ends.
Each ad over the TV cap is its own breach. Illustrative: five wagering ads on one channel inside a rolling 60 minutes between 5:00 am and 8:30 pm is 5 - 3 = 2 contraventions, not one.
Online: the triple lock and the opt-out register
From 1 January 2027 a wagering ad may appear on an online content service only if the service takes reasonable steps to limit who sees it. The viewer must be logged in to a registered account, must not be under 18 (checked through age assurance) and must not have opted out. That is the "triple lock". Each service must also offer its own opt-out, and it has to be clear, simple, effective and easy to reach.
The Wagering Advertising Opt-out Register adds one place to opt out of online wagering ads across every service that uses the triple lock. ACMA keeps it, or engages a body with no gambling ties to run it. An applicant states that they ordinarily live in Australia, a registration stays in place until it is cancelled, and applications open on the day a Proclamation fixes.
Inducements: who cannot be sent offers, and from when
The Act defines an inducement as any payment or other benefit that could reasonably be expected to induce a person to wager or gamble. Its list includes credits and tokens, the form a bonus bet takes, as well as gifts, rebates, rewards and vouchers.
Part 7D's inducement bans apply from a day the Minister sets by notifiable instrument, which must fall after 1 January 2027. From that day a licensed online wagering provider must not send an inducement to a designated customer by email, text, instant or app message, or phone call. Nor may it use customers' contact details to target designated customers with inducement ads on social media.
| Designated customer | For how long |
|---|---|
| A new account holder | While the account has been open 14 days or less |
| Someone who has left BetStop | For 90 days after leaving, and after that until they expressly consent again to this marketing |
| A customer the provider identifies as at risk of gambling-related harm | From the time the provider identifies them |
From a day the Minister sets, providers must also watch customer activity for signs of harm. The indicators the Act's explanatory memorandum lists include rising spending, the number of deposits in one session, betting at unusual hours, failed or declined deposits, and removing or relaxing limits.
Example: Illustrative. After the Minister's start day, a punter opens an account with Bookmaker A and agrees to marketing at sign-up. For the account's first 14 days, Bookmaker A may not email, text, message or call them with a bonus bet offer. After that the 14-day bar lifts, but the national framework's consent and unsubscribe rules and any state inducement rules still apply, and if Bookmaker A later identifies the punter as at risk, the bar returns.
The betting inducement rules guide covers the state laws that sit beside this, such as NSW's offence of publishing an inducement. The national rules on sign-up offers and marketing consent are in the National Consumer Protection Framework.
Commissions to staff and affiliates
From 1 January 2027 a licensed provider must not pay or offer staff, or third parties such as affiliates, a commission tied to customer activity. Customer activity includes opening or reactivating an account, depositing, betting, and removing a gambling minimisation measure such as a deposit limit.
The Act reads "commission" broadly, covering bonuses, incentives, referral fees, revenue share, profit share, performance payments and variable pay, in money or not. It reaches the staff who acquire, manage or retain customers as well as outside referrers.
For a punter, the change is about who gets paid when you bet. From that date, a site that sends you to a bookmaker cannot be paid by that bookmaker for your sign-up, your deposits or your bets.
Illegal offshore gambling: payment and access blocking from 1 January 2027
ACMA's website blocking had reached more than 1,500 sites by May 2026, but the Government's response said the requirements behind it were onerous and stopped ACMA responding rapidly. From 1 January 2027 the Act adds four tools against illegal operators:
- banks, credit unions and other payment system participants must block payments from Australian accounts to them, using information ACMA can share
- digital services across the technology stack must take steps to block access to them
- ACMA can issue removal notices to have illegal gambling content taken down
- the ban on advertising illegal services covers social media
The Interactive Gambling Act explained sets out the enforcement tools ACMA already had.
BetStop and lottery changes
From 1 January 2027, after the first 3 months on the register, leaving BetStop takes two steps: you apply, then confirm the application in writing no earlier than 7 days after the day you made it. The BetStop guide compares the removal process before and after that date.
Online keno and foreign matched lotteries are banned as online services from 1 January 2027, while keno at land-based venues can continue. From that date the Act also clarifies what counts as a trade promotion gambling service, and the new advertising, inducement and opt-out rules must be reviewed after 3 years.
What changes for punters, and what does not
The new gambling laws change the advertising and marketing around a bet far more than the bet itself.
| Area | Before 1 January 2027 | From 1 January 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Ads during live sport | Codes and online rules: from 5:00 am to 8:30 pm, none from 5 minutes before the scheduled start to 5 minutes after the end; overnight, ads only in breaks | The same in the Act, with civil penalties, except the daytime ban begins 15 minutes before the scheduled start |
| Online wagering ads | No triple lock | Logged-in adults who have not opted out |
| Inducements by direct marketing | Only with express consent and a working unsubscribe | The same, and none to designated customers from the Minister's start day |
| Affiliate and staff commissions | Not banned by the Interactive Gambling Act | Banned when tied to customer activity |
| Payments to illegal operators | No duty on banks to block them | Banks and payment providers must block them |
| Leaving BetStop | Apply after 3 months; removed 7 days after a valid application | Apply after 3 months, then confirm in writing no earlier than 7 days later |
| Online keno | Sold as a lottery product | Banned online |
| Online betting on sport after it starts | Banned for providers | Banned for providers |
| Credit cards and cryptocurrency | Banned since 11 June 2024 | Not changed by the 2026 Act |
Deposit limits, monthly activity statements, simple account closure and the ban on sign-up offers continue unchanged under the national framework. BetStop keeps covering the same providers: online and phone wagering providers licensed in Australia.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Fewer ads and offers change what you are shown, not what a bet costs or how often it loses. If gambling is causing harm, BetStop, the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858 and Gambling Help Online are free; see responsible gambling for support.
Is it a full gambling advertising ban?
No. The headline recommendation of the 2023 report, from a committee chaired by the late Peta Murphy MP, was a comprehensive ban on online gambling advertising and sponsorship, phased in over three years. The 2026 Act restricts wagering advertising by time, place and audience instead, and it makes exceptions for racing advertising and for programs, channels and online services dedicated to racing and wagering.
Four other recommendations appear in neither the Act's revised explanatory memorandum nor the Government's May 2026 response: a national online gambling regulator, an online gambling ombudsman, a harm reduction levy and a legislated duty of care. The response "notes" all 31 recommendations and points to the April package. The Australian betting laws hub links the guides on the rules that already apply.