Legislation has been introduced to the federal government that could change the online gambling landscape. It comes as new research finds an alarming rate of gambling-related suicide. 

The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Credit and Other Measures) Bill 2023 will see the use of credit cards, credit related products and digital currencies banned from online wagering. 

The legislation is in response to a ‘loophole’ that allowed credit cards to be used to deposit money into online gambling accounts, despite them being banned as a payment method in physical gambling locations. 

In the same week, research found that 184 suicides in Victoria over eight years were related to gambling, prompting demands for gambling to be treated as a public health issue. 

“We must adopt a national public health approach to preventing gambling related deaths consistent with the approach to other products that involve commercial determinants of health, such as tobacco, alcohol and other drugs,” Alliance for Gambling Reform CEO Carol Bennett said. 

“We know gambling causes financial distress but also poor health, mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, family violence, family breakdown, poverty and homelessness. Now we have evidence of significant numbers of gambling related suicide,” she said.

The legislation being introduced this week, however, forms part of a response to recommendations from a parliamentary inquiry into online gambling. 

“It’s as simple as this: people should not be betting with money they do not have,” Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland said. 

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019 saw gambling-related transactions as the most common online product that money was spent on. 

During the pandemic, online gambling increased by 16 per cent, a figure which has remained in a post-pandemic world. 

New evidence suggests that problem gambling should be treated as a public health priority.

A recent study by Federation University in partnership with the Coroners Court of Victoria, referred to the Victorian Suicide Register which showed at least 184 suicides were directly related to gambling and that 17 other suicides were by ‘affected others’ such as family members.

The researchers say that the true number of gambling related suicides was likely to be much higher. They refer to reporting methods used in Hong Kong which revealed that 20% of all suicides could be identified as being related to gambling.

“Legislating a ban on the use of credit cards for online gambling will help to protect vulnerable Australians and their loved ones,” Minister Rowland said.

The legislation includes digital currencies as a way of ‘future proofing’ the law, with fines of up to $234,750 for companies who don’t enforce it. 

The legislation follows last month’s introduction of BetStop - the National Self Exclusion Register - which allows Australians to ban themselves from three months to a lifetime.

A meeting of state, territory and Commonwealth ministers responsible for online wagering nationally will be held before the end of the year.