The Peta Murphy gambling report, officially titled You Win Some, You Lose More: Online Gambling and Its Impacts on Those Experiencing Gambling Harm, was released on June 28, 2023, by the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs. Chaired by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, the landmark document presented 31 bipartisan recommendations, with Recommendation 26 calling for a phased total ban on all online gambling advertising over three years. This report has become the cornerstone of Australia’s gambling advertising reform debate, directly influencing the 2026 policy changes while highlighting a costly 1000+ day delay in government action.
- The 2023 report recommended a total ban on online gambling advertising within 3 years via 4 implementation phases
- As of April 2026, the Albanese government introduced only partial restrictions, drawing criticism from health and human rights groups
- Australians lost over $50 billion to gambling in the two years following the report’s release, underscoring the urgency of its recommendations
- The full report remains publicly accessible through the Australian Parliament website and independent mirror archives
Peta Murphy’s Gambling Report: Key Findings and the Call for a Total Ad Ban
The 31 Bipartisan Recommendations: Phased Total Ban and Public Health Framework
The committee’s 31 recommendations formed a comprehensive public health approach to gambling harm. Key elements include:
- Total advertising ban: Recommendation 26 mandates a complete prohibition on all online gambling advertising, covering digital platforms, social media, and sports sponsorships.
- Phased implementation: The ban would roll out in four distinct phases over three years, starting immediately upon report release.
- Public health lens: The report treats gambling harm as a population-level health issue requiring systemic regulation, not merely individual responsibility.
- Bipartisan consensus: All committee members supported the recommendations, reflecting cross-party concern about the social costs of gambling.
- Complementary measures: Additional recommendations target inducements, targeted advertising, and mandatory harm reduction messaging.
The phased approach balanced urgency with practicality, allowing industry transition while halting the most damaging practices immediately. By adopting a public health framework, the committee aligned gambling policy with evidence-based approaches used for tobacco and alcohol control.
This framing has since been embraced by leading health bodies, including the Australian Medical Association, in their calls for stronger regulation. The report’s public health model shifted the narrative from blaming individuals to addressing the predatory environment created by ubiquitous advertising.
Evidence of Harm: Inducements, Targeted Ads, and Sports Sponsorship Grooming Children
The report compiled extensive evidence showing how online gambling operators exploit psychological vulnerabilities. Inducements such as sign-up bonuses and free bets lure users into repeated engagement. Targeted advertising leverages user data to push gambling products to at-risk individuals, including those with existing gambling problems.
Perhaps most alarmingly, the report documented how sports betting sponsorships normalize gambling for children. Advertising during live sports broadcasts, stadium branding, and athlete endorsements create an environment where betting appears integral to sports culture.
This grooming effect exposes young people to gambling at a formative age, increasing the likelihood of future harm. The committee heard testimony that children as young as 12 were engaging with gambling ads during AFL matches.
The report also highlighted the devastating impact on families, including financial ruin, relationship breakdown, and mental health crises. Notably, the committee criticized the government’s own tagline “You win some, you lose more” as effectively an industry slogan that trivializes serious harm. This evidence underpinned the urgent call for a total advertising ban, arguing that partial measures would fail to break the cycle of addiction and normalization.
The Peta Murphy Gambling Report’s Influence on 2026 Reforms and the 1000-Day Inaction
How the Report Shaped the 2026 Partial Advertising Reforms
The 2026 reforms announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese directly reflect the Murphy Report’s blueprint but stop short of its central recommendation. A comparison reveals the gap:
| Murphy Report (2023) | 2026 Government Reforms |
|---|---|
| Total ban on all online gambling advertising | Partial restrictions only |
| 4-phase, 3-year implementation timeline | Caps on TV/radio ads, opt-in for digital platforms |
| Public health primary framework | Industry-friendly compromises |
| No gambling ads in sports venues | Limited stadium branding bans |
| End all inducements | Some inducement restrictions remain |
The reforms introduced caps on television and radio advertising, opt-in requirements for digital platforms, and bans on gambling ads at sports stadiums. For the latest gambling reform updates Australia, see our dedicated page. However, they preserve significant advertising avenues and lack the comprehensive scope of Recommendation 26.
Health groups have described these measures as a “timid” compromise that fails to address the root causes of gambling harm. The partial approach to social media advertising laws Australia exemplifies this watered-down strategy, allowing platforms to continue profiting from gambling content with minimal oversight.
The 1000-Day Delay: From June 2023 to April 2026 Inaction
From the report’s release on June 28, 2023, to April 2026 marks over 1000 days of government inaction on its core recommendation. During this period, multiple organizations documented the failure to act:
- The Australian Medical Association issued a statement in March 2026 highlighting the 1000-day delay and its public health consequences.
- The Australian Human Rights Commission raised concerns about the government’s slow response to evidence-based recommendations.
- Social media campaigns on Instagram and Facebook kept pressure on politicians, using the hashtag #1000DaysTooLong.
This delay allowed gambling-related harms to continue unabated. The report’s authors and advocates argue that each day of inaction translates into more Australians experiencing gambling harm and greater financial losses. The $50 billion lost in the two years post-report represents not just a statistical figure but countless personal tragedies—families losing homes, individuals facing bankruptcy, and communities bearing the social costs of addiction.
Criticism from Health and Human Rights Groups Over Watered-Down Implementation
Major health and human rights organizations have uniformly condemned the 2026 reforms as insufficient. Their criticisms include:
- Australian Medical Association (AMA): The reforms “fall far short of the Murphy Report’s evidence-based recommendations” and “fail to protect vulnerable Australians.”
- Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC): Expressed concern that partial measures “do not meet the human rights obligations to protect citizens from exploitative practices.”
- Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS): Called the package “a missed opportunity” that “leaves low-income households exposed to predatory advertising.”
- Wesley Mission: Stated that “the government has ignored the clear public health evidence presented in the Murphy Report.”
These groups argue that the reforms do not pass what they call the “Murphy Test”—whether the policy fully implements the report’s vision. Public opinion polls consistently show majority support for a total advertising ban, yet the government opted for a compromise that maintains industry influence.
The cost of this delay is stark: Australians lost over $50 billion to gambling in the two years following the report’s release, on top of the existing $31.5 billion in annual losses. The failure to act on sports betting advertising regulations is particularly damaging given the grooming effect on children.
Additionally, the report’s findings on AFL gambling impact and AFL gambling sponsorship remain highly relevant as sports betting continues to be heavily promoted. The broader gambling advertising ban Australia debate continues to center on whether the 2026 measures will ultimately achieve the report’s vision of eliminating harmful advertising entirely.
How to Access the Full ‘You Win Some, You Lose More’ Report Online
Table: Access Points for the Murphy Report
| Source | URL | Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official Parliamentary Archive | https://www.aph.gov.au/ParliamentaryBusiness/Committees/House/SocialPolicyandLegal_Affairs/Onlinegamblingimpacts/Report | PDF (Full Report) | Primary source, definitive version |
| Mirror Archive | https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/39053/1/Youwinsome,youlosemore.pdf | PDF (Full Report) | Preserved copy, reliable backup |
Official Parliamentary Archive: Step-by-Step Access Guide
Accessing the official report is straightforward via the Australian Parliament website:
- Navigate to the inquiry’s report page: https://www.aph.gov.au/ParliamentaryBusiness/Committees/House/SocialPolicyandLegal_Affairs/Onlinegamblingimpacts/Report
- Locate the “Full Report (PDF)” download button, typically positioned near the top of the page.
- Click the button to download the PDF file, which contains the complete 200+ page document.
- The file is free to download with no registration required.
The parliamentary website is the authoritative source, ensuring you have the exact version tabled in Parliament. The PDF includes all recommendations, evidence submissions, and committee member statements. This transparency allows citizens to scrutinize the evidence base for themselves and hold policymakers accountable for implementing the full suite of recommendations.
Alternative Mirror Links and Document Preservation
In case the official site experiences downtime or access restrictions, a mirror copy is maintained by the Irish National Documentation Centre on Drug and Alcohol:
- Mirror URL: https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/39053/1/Youwinsome,youlosemore.pdf
- This copy is an exact preservation of the original report, hosted independently to guarantee long-term accessibility.
- The mirror is particularly useful for researchers outside Australia or during periods of high traffic on the parliamentary server.
- Both sources provide the same content; the official archive remains the primary reference for citation.
Preserving parliamentary documents in multiple locations ensures that this critical report remains available to the public, supporting ongoing advocacy and policy analysis. The Murphy Report’s recommendations remain as relevant in 2026 as they were in 2023, and widespread access to the full text is essential for maintaining pressure for complete implementation.
The most surprising aspect of the Murphy Report saga is that a document with such clear evidence and bipartisan support could be ignored for over 1000 days while billions in gambling losses mounted. The report’s total ban recommendation was not radical—it was a measured public health response to an epidemic of harm. Yet political timidity allowed the gambling industry to continue operating with minimal interference.
You can take action today by downloading the full report from the links above. Read the firsthand accounts of gambling harm, study the committee’s reasoning, and use this evidence to demand that your representatives fully implement Recommendation 26. The Australian gambling advertising reform debate is far from over; the Murphy Report remains the definitive blueprint for a truly harm-reducing policy.
