A recent Reuters report shows that several Australian politicians received about A$245,000 ($147,000) in match tickets over nearly two years from the country’s most popular sporting leagues.
Politicians Receive Match Tickets
In 2023, Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is one of the alleged recipients of said match tickets, had promised a crackdown on gambling advertising. However, late last year, Albanese took the issue off the legislative agenda, which is to now be discussed in the new government, set to be formed after the May 3 general election.
Over a period of 21 months, Albanese was gifted A$29,000 (about $18,500) worth of tickets. This was a part of a lobbying campaign against a proposed ban on advertising of online gambling. The gift register shows that the majority of this sum was to grand finals and games played by his National Rugby League (NRB) home team, the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition conservative coalition, Peter Dutton, received A$21,350 (around $13,600) in tickets during the same period.
More politicians from both of Australia’s main parties received 312 free tickets between June 28, 2023, and March 26, 2025. This was around the time the government initially recommended a ban on advertising online gambling. This information is open to the public, as similar lobbying is not illegal in Australia.. However, individuals who receive gifts worth over A$300 must report to the Prime Minister’s office. Reuters used this data to make the calculations that show how much Albanese and Dutton, as well as other politicians, received.
What Are the Reasons For the Ban?
As we mentioned, these gifts are related to a lobbying campaign against a proposition to ban online sports betting advertising. The said proposition has been in limbo since 2023, but its proponents cite the gambling harm that can sometimes come from overexposing people to this type of advertising.
Australians lose more money to gambling per person than any other country, according to government data. Consultancy firm H2 Gambling Capital projects that gambling losses in Australia will reach A$34 billion in 2025. However, sports organizations in the country benefit financially because, unlike in many other nations, they receive a share of the money wagered on their events.
They also generate income through sponsorship deals and broadcast rights. In a confidential submission to the government, the NRL stated that its share of gambling revenue, currently around A$70 million ($44.7 million) annually, would be cut by more than half if a proposed ban is implemented, according to a person familiar with the document. Although this gambling revenue makes up only a small portion of the NRL’s A$745 million total revenue in 2024, it is the league’s fastest-growing income source, having increased fifteenfold over the past decade, according to one anonymous source. Meanwhile, the NRL attributes about one-third of the A$400 million a year it makes in broadcast rights, its main earner, to sports betting advertising.
NRL and Others Are Against the Ban
A lobbying group called the Coalition of Major Professional and Participation Sports (COMPPS) started the lobbying campaign after the 2023 report was published. The group often invited politicians to events and seated them close to sports body officials, mostly from the NRL and the AFL (Australian Football League). Said officials discussed the impact of banning online gambling advertising.
Both the NRL and the AFL documented their opposition to the ban in messages to Albanese. Late last year, the AFL suggested an alternative regulatory scheme. Albanese’s office confirmed it had received the correspondence from both sports organizations, however, it did not give details.