Australia Passes New Gambling Rules for 2027

Australia has passed a federal gambling reform package that will change wagering advertising, inducements, BetStop and the treatment of some illegal and lottery-style gambling services.

Most of the rules are due to start on 1 January 2027. Gambling advertising will still be allowed, but under tighter limits.

From 1 January 2027

The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 covers several parts of Australia's federal gambling rules.

It includes:

• tighter limits on wagering advertising during live sport
• bans on wagering advertising in sports venues and on players' and officials' uniforms
• bans on athletes, celebrities and influencers promoting wagering
• new television, radio and online advertising restrictions
• limits on direct inducements to some customers
• measures aimed at disrupting payments to illegal gambling services
• changes to BetStop
• bans on online keno and foreign-matched lotteries
• tighter rules for services relying on the trade promotion exclusion

Separate levy legislation allows some of the cost of the new system to be recovered from gambling companies.

Advertising

The rules differ by channel.

For live sports coverage between 5am and 8.30pm, the government's summary says wagering advertising will be restricted from 15 minutes before the event until five minutes after it.

Television will be limited to no more than three wagering adverts an hour between 5am and 8.30pm. Radio restrictions will apply around school drop-off and pick-up periods.

Online ads can still appear in some circumstances. The government says this includes logged-in adults who are given an option to opt out. A central Wagering Advertising Opt-out Register is also planned.

Athletes, celebrities and influencers will be barred from promoting wagering. Sports venues and uniforms are covered by separate restrictions.

Actual exposure will depend on enforcement and on how operators change their marketing once the rules start.

BetStop and inducements

Direct marketing of inducements will be prohibited for 14 days after a person signs up with a wagering company. The restriction will also apply for three months after someone leaves BetStop and to customers identified as at risk of gambling-related harm.

BetStop will be changed following its statutory review. The government says the changes are intended to strengthen the national self-exclusion system.

The rules themselves cannot show whether that will happen. That will need evidence from the system in use.

Illegal operators, keno and lotteries

Banks and payment systems will be able to block transactions to illegal gambling operators. The Australian Communications and Media Authority is also being given stronger powers to act against illegal gambling websites.

Online keno and foreign-matched lotteries will be banned.

Trade promotion gambling services are covered too. Linking a gambling-style promotion to a product does not automatically bring it within the trade promotion exclusion. The legal conditions still have to be met.

The enforcement position before the new rules

ACMA's report for April to June 2026 provides a useful baseline. It recorded 417 complaints, 30 completed investigations involving 76 sites, 56 breach findings, 18 formal warnings and 187 websites blocked.

Those figures describe enforcement activity before the reforms are due to start. They do not show whether the new rules will reduce illegal gambling or advertising exposure. That can only be assessed after implementation.

After the rules start

The government has presented the reforms as a major consumer protection package. For now, that is a statement about the policy, not evidence of its effect.

Advertising exposure, gambling harm, use of illegal services and take-up of opt-out or self-exclusion tools will all be relevant once the rules are operating.

Some of the harder questions are practical. Opt-out settings need to be usable. Age and account controls need to work. Payment blocking has to cope with different payment routes. Enforcement also has to reach sponsorship, creator content and direct communication, not only conventional adverts.

Some campaigners and parliamentarians wanted a complete ban on gambling advertising. Parliament chose a more limited approach that keeps some advertising while adding new restrictions.

For readers in Great Britain, this is a comparison rather than a change in British law. Great Britain already has its own rules for licensed operators, including age controls and the GAMSTOP self-exclusion system.

There will be much more to learn once the Australian rules have been in force for a while. At this stage, Parliament has set the policy. The outcomes are still unknown.

This article was published on 21 August 2026 and updated by the GamRight editorial team on 28 August 2026. It summarises Australian federal legislation and government material and is not legal advice. Please use our contact page to report a factual error or request a correction.