86 per cent of Canberrans want gambling money out of politics according to a recent community survey conducted by independent MLA Thomas Emerson.
In June, Mr Emerson introduced a private member’s bill to the ACT Legislative Assembly seeking to ban political donations from the gambling industry. More than 500 respondents participated in Mr Emerson’s survey, with results indicating strong community support for the bill to be passed.
“83 per cent of respondents to my survey said they believe donations from the gambling industry influence the decisions politicians make about gambling reform,” Mr Emerson said.
“This survey shows Canberrans overwhelmingly support strong action on gambling harm, and are concerned they’ve not seen it because of political donations exerting undue influence on the major parties’ policy agendas.
“Australians are the biggest gambling losers in the world. The industry likes to pretend it’s all a bit of harmless fun with mates, but gambling harm is a massive public health crisis that’s destroying lives and ripping families apart.
“Our community has just watched on in despair as the Albanese Government stitched up a deal with the Coalition to pass a weak gambling reform package that nobody’s happy about except the gambling lobby. The major parties chose to protect vested interests in spite of all the evidence, expert input, multipartisan committee recommendations, and demands of everyday Australians for serious reform.
“If that can happen in the Federal Government, it can absolutely happen here in the ACT, and this survey shows that’s not a risk Canberrans are willing to take.
“The data from this survey is very clear: Canberrans want gambling money out of politics. ACT Labor and the Canberra Liberals have an opportunity here to show they’re not like their federal counterparts, and are willing to put the best interests of their constituents ahead of the interests of the gambling industry.
“If Labor ignores this call to action by seeking to water down or block this legislation, that’ll be evidence the Barr Government is just as captured by vested interests as the Albanese Government.”
Mr Emerson said the recent revelation that reported incidents of gambling harm doubled in the last two years shows reform is urgently needed, and the Assembly should pass his bill to ensure any forthcoming gambling reforms were not unduly influenced by political donations.
“Over 72,000 incidents of gambling harm were reported in the ACT last year. That’s 200 incidents a day – a terrifying statistic for such a small jurisdiction,” Mr Emerson said.
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BACKGROUND:
In June, the ACT Legislative Assembly’s Standing Committee on the Integrity Commission and Statutory Office Holders announced it would inquire into Mr Emerson’s Electoral (Gambling Industry) Amendment Bill 2026.
Mr Emerson included his survey results as an attachment to his detailed submission to the inquiry, which is publicly available here.
Submissions supporting the passage of the bill have also been made by the Public Health Association of Australia, the Australia Institute, the Mental Health Community Coalition ACT, the Youth Coalition of the ACT, the Canberra Gambling Reform Alliance, the Australian Multicultural Action Network, the Canberra Alliance for Participatory Democracy, and Active Democracy Bean. All submissions can be found here.
The committee is due to report back to the Assembly by 28 October 2026.