Australia’s long-awaited gambling advertising legislation will be sent to a Senate inquiry after the opposition Coalition and the Greens withheld support, delaying a package that critics in Canberra describe as a capitulation to wagering and media lobbyists. The bill, which caps television ads at three per hour and bans them during live sport before 8.30pm, falls short of a 2023 parliamentary report’s call for a total blackout. The inquiry, expected over the winter recess, means the reforms—originally slated to take effect in January 2027—face further parliamentary negotiation and potential amendment.

Within the Liberal party room, MP Simon Kennedy drew on his experience attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings with a former teacher to argue the government’s plan does not match the scale of harm. The Coalition’s communications spokeswoman, Sarah Henderson, said the opposition wanted “meaningful and workable reform, not just headlines,” while the Greens’ Sarah Hanson-Young labelled the bill a “half-arsed measure.” Communications Minister Anika Wells warned that further delay would only benefit those seeking to stall implementation, noting the policy had been publicly debated for three years since the Murphy report.

Viewed from Brasília, the scrutiny of gambling advertising is also intensifying. Federal deputy Erika Hilton has requested that consumer authorities extend their oversight of betting ads to all television broadcasters, including Globo and SBT, after an investigation was opened into streaming channel CazéTV for allegedly abusive promotions during World Cup matches. Hilton argued it was improbable that only one outlet had breached the rules, demanding that the law apply equally across open, subscription, and internet channels. In London, the Competition and Markets Authority proposed a different regulatory intervention, seeking to force Apple and Google to allow app developers to steer users toward off-platform payment options, with any resulting fees required to be fair and lower than current commissions.

The Australian government is simultaneously pursuing tougher oversight of the professional services sector. A Treasury position paper released by Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino found “strong and compelling evidence” that the big four accounting firms need stricter regulation, proposing to give the corporate regulator powers to impose hefty fines. The move follows a whistleblower scandal at KPMG involving alleged misuse of client data. The gambling bill’s fate now rests on the Senate inquiry’s findings and cross-party negotiations, while Brazil’s consumer secretariat weighs Hilton’s request and the UK watchdog consults on its app store proposals.