Pressure mounts on Australia PM Anthony Albanese to stick to his principles and apply a blanket ban on gambling advertising across all media disciplines.

This weekend, the Alliance for Gambling Reform, a non-profit organisation combating gambling harms in Australia, published an open letter in response to reports that the Labor government will water down the measures of the Murphy Report.

The letter is endorsed by the signatures of 60 prominent Australians, including former PMs John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull, Lucy Turnbull, former NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, and former Victorian premiers Jeff Kennett and Steve Bracks.

The Alliance calls on the federal government to commit to its pledge to implement the gambling reforms advocated by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, who chaired the Federal Inquiry into Online Gambling, but who passed away in February fighting cancer.

The Labor government is expected to publish shortly the amendments of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, applying n..

The Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS), an independent vulnerable people registry, has entered into a partnership with Gamban to promote the latter’s safer gambling software to individuals who register with VRS.

VRS aims to “help flag vulnerable individuals to companies to help keep them safe” and those who register for their services can do so to “make people aware of their circumstances, or they can opt to be declined financial or related services for a period of time”.

Helen Lord, CEO of VRS, said: “Those experiencing financial vulnerability have very often experienced gambling harm. That is why it is so important that services like the VRS and Gamban work together to ensure that people presenting to either of us are signposted to any additional support they need.”

The VRS software will be promoted through TalkBanStop – a collaborative gambling harm prevention initiative formed in 2020 by Gamban and the non-profit self-exclusion scheme GAMSTOP.

Gamban also has a partnersh..

On Thursday, 8 August, the Senate of Brazil will begin hearings on Bill 2,234/22, which carries the federal mandate to modernise Brazil’s land-based gambling laws.

The Bill will be presented by Senator Irajá Abreu (PSD-TO), as the chief sponsor, calling on Senators to back the project to modernise Brazil’s land-based gambling laws pertaining to casinos, bingos, horseracing, and the sale of jogo do bicho (instant win games).

The Senate’s debate of Bill 2,234/22 has been awaited for over two years since Abreu took over the project from former rapporteur Renato Vianna (MDB-SC).

Headline measures call for the government to annul the 1946 Decree Law of President Gaspar Dutra, which banned casinos from operating in Brazil’s municipalities and districts.

The Bill calls for Brazilian states to be granted ‘municipal autonomy’ to operate gambling venues, dependent on meeting legal criteria in relation to the population and socio-demographics of the district, and the size, location, and type ..