前橄榄球运动员兼社交媒体影响者卢克·贝特曼在澳大利亚参议院听证会上作证，揭露博彩公司如何通过提供酒精、毒品和定向优惠来诱导赌徒增加投注。[1]贝特曼称博彩公司的VIP经理向其提供毒品，并在每周三和周六向其发送定向优惠，承诺"若存入1000美元，我们将给予1000美元的奖励赌注"。[1]
贝特曼等赌博改革倡导者批评政府的赌博改革法案未能禁止这些诱导措施，尽管2023年墨菲报告已建议全面禁止此类措施。听证会披露的案例表明这些措施的危害范围，包括一名财务顾问因赌博成瘾在17个月内盗取公司1230万美元，期间获得TAB公司5万美元的奖励赌注和Sportsbet飞行优惠。[1]另有一个家庭在30天内因获得5.5万美元奖励赌注而损失50万美元。[1]倡导者称约200万澳大利亚人处于赌博风险中。[1]
政府为该立法辩护，称其比现状更严格。[1]通讯部长阿妮卡·韦尔斯建议人们使用BetStop自我排除注册，该注册系统截至6月已有4万人激活排除。[1]总理阿尔巴尼斯称政府"平衡得当"，但倡导者认为此回应"力度不足"，未能解决公共卫生危机。[1]
Former Australian rugby player and social media influencer Luke Bateman testified before the Senate that betting companies actively encouraged him to gamble more by offering alcohol, drugs, and targeted promotional incentives. [1] Bateman alleged that a VIP manager from a betting company asked him directly, "What drugs do you want?" [1] He also described receiving personalized bonus offers on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with messages such as, "If you deposit $1,000, we'll give you $1,000 in bonus bets." [1]
The testimony highlighted severe consequences of such inducements. One financial advisor who fell into gambling addiction stole $12.3 million from his employer over 17 months while receiving $50,000 in bonus bets from TAB and flight perks from Sportsbet, with his monthly betting transactions exceeding $20 million. [1] In another case, a family lost $500,000 within 30 days after being awarded $55,000 in bonus bets. [1]
Gambling reform advocates have criticized the Albanese government's proposed legislation, arguing it fails to impose a comprehensive ban on betting inducements despite the 2023 Murphy Report recommending exactly that—a recommendation now 1,132 days old without implementation. [1] Communications Minister Anika Wells suggested people use the BetStop self-exclusion register, which had 40,000 active registrations as of June, while advocates estimate approximately two million Australians face gambling-related risk. [1] Prime Minister Albanese stated the government was "getting the balance right," though reform advocates characterized the response as insufficient. [1]