Groups Urge Senate to Restrict Youth Online Gambling

Advocates asked a Senate committee reviewing the Digital Duty of Care Bill to add underage gambling restrictions to the draft legislation.

Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Youth

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a stately government building facade in deep red and cream with a single navy accent, evoking institutional weight on the question of online gambling rules for minors. — The Alliance for Gambling Reform urged a Senate committee reviewing the Digital Duty of Care Bill to add restrictions on underage online gambling, which the draft omits. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should online betting sites face the same age checks as porn sites?

The Alliance for Gambling Reform urged a Senate committee to add underage gambling restrictions to the Digital Duty of Care Bill during its review on Tuesday. The draft Bill requires age assurance for pornography but does not name online betting services.

Why it matters

Advocates say online wagering carries similar potential harms to pornography, yet the draft Bill does not cover it. Teenage gambling can have devastating consequences for mental health and family relationships.

Three-quarters of 120 teenage boys at one high school raised their hands when asked about betting, according to advocate Mark Kempster. Kempster said he has spoken to about 30 under-18s this year showing gambling problems, though no national survey figures were cited.

The players

Alliance for Gambling Reform

An advocacy group that campaigns against gambling harms in Australia and whose chief executive, Sunita Bose, argued that online wagering poses risks similar to pornography.

Sarah Hanson-Young

A Greens senator in Australia who has pressed for stronger protections for young people from online harms.

The details

Teenagers use accounts set up by older friends to gamble online, and betting sites have no age block for under-18s once the website is accessed. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young described underage online gambling as an open secret and said she had been inundated with stories from parents and teachers.

Tuesday: Senate committee reviewed the Digital Duty of Care Bill.

Youth Lens

The advocates' push extends the age assurance requirement the Digital Duty of Care Bill applies to pornography to online betting, which the draft does not currently name. The debate centres on whether protections written for one category of adult content should cover the wagering platforms teenagers reach through older friends' accounts.

Parents may need to check whether teenagers have access to betting accounts set up by older friends. Until age checks apply to betting services, the Bill's current protections will not cover online wagering for under-18s.

The takeaway

Parents and teachers can ask teenagers directly about betting apps and shared accounts, since advocates say the problem is already visible in schools. Watching for changes in mood or money can help spot early signs of gambling problems.