What the gambling reform law passed in August changes
The Act amends the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 and several other laws. The Federal Register of Legislation records assent on 26 August 2026, and it shows that every schedule apart from the transitional one commences on 1 January 2027.
- Advertising: licensed wagering services may not advertise during live sport, more than three times an hour on television, or on school days at drop-off and pick-up times on radio, and athletes and celebrities may not promote them.
- Inducements: licensed providers may not offer inducements to certain customers by message, call or social media, or pay commissions tied to customer activity.
- Illegal services: banks and payment systems must stop payments to them as far as reasonably practicable, and internet providers, DNS providers, app stores and search engines must stop their services being used for them.
- BetStop: penalties rise for providers that try to keep people off the self-exclusion register or take them off it.
Dates and notices
Sections 1 to 4 took effect on assent, and Schedule 5, which holds the application and transitional provisions, took effect the day after. Section 4 already bars a scheme made to avoid the new advertising and inducement rules before they start, with a civil penalty of 7,500 penalty units.
The Wagering Advertising Opt-out Register starts on a day fixed by proclamation, and the Act names no date for it.
Where the detail sits
The reform page lists each schedule, the advertising rules page sets out the broadcast limits and the payments page covers the bank duties.