The Federal Government’s ‘BetStop’ Register Has Received More Than 18,000 Applications from Gamblers Wanting to be Blocked from Online Services
- In short: The federal government’s ‘BetStop’ register has received more than 18,000 applications from gamblers wanting to be blocked from online services.
- Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says the strong take-up by younger Australians reflects the demographics likely to use online gambling services.
- What’s next? Ms Rishworth says the government is still considering its response to a report led by Labor MP Peta Murphy on banning gambling advertising outright.
18,000 people signed onto a national gambling exclusion register in its first six months.
SYDNEY, Australia (February 22, 2024) — Australians aged 40 and under make up the bulk of the more than 18,000 people who have signed up to the federal government’s gambling exclusion register in its first six months, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported today.
The register, known as BetStop, came into force in August last year and allows people struggling with gambling addiction to enrol to block themselves from online services.
The minimum exclusion period for making bets or opening accounts is three months, and the federal government says more than 16,000 people have remained on the register after that period.
More than a third of those who have signed up have elected to do so for the rest of their lives.
“I think it has exceeded expectations,” Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said.
“This is an incredible take-up, and shows that many people have welcomed the opportunity to have this intervention.
“To see people embrace BetStop and continue to use it for not just the minimum period, but for a much longer period of time, is very encouraging.”
Ms Rishworth said the strong response from Australians aged under 40 was expected when the register was being developed.
“We do know that online gambling is quite popular with younger participants, particularly younger males,” she said.
“I think it is really reassuring that younger people are not ignoring the potential problems and financial hardship that online betting can have, and they are embracing this.”
The government said there have been more than 8 billion real-time checks against the register by online gambling services, which are required to cross reference account requests with BetStop.
Demands for gambling advertising ban still being considered by government
Despite heralding the success of the BetStop register, the federal government is still facing questions about other measures to tackle crippling gambling addiction.
Chief among them is the call from a parliamentary committee, chaired by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, to ban gambling advertising within three years.
The government has faced sustained questioning as to how it plans to respond to the report.
“We’re obviously taking what was a very important House of Representatives report seriously,” Ms Rishworth said.
“There were many recommendations – I think there were 32 recommendations, advertising was one of those recommendations.
“To respond in a fulsome way, we need to take our time to do that.”
The federal government has also banned the use of credit cards for online gambling, and enforced more detailed taglines on gambling advertising.
SOURCE: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
