Australian Minister for Families and Social Services Anne Ruston announced last month that the government will create an online National Self-Exclusion Register to help gamblers opt out of playing through online wagering sites and apps.
“As much as possible, government policy should preserve Australians’ ability to enjoy a punt while putting in place sensible and targeted measures to prevent and support gamblers facing significant risks of harm,” Ruston said.
“The National Self-Exclusion Register is a voluntary process where an individual can ban themselves from using all interactive wagering services across state boundaries for a period ranging from three months or permanently through one simple process. It is a measure that we believe will motivate gamblers to have periods where they do not gamble online at all as a way of changing their behavior and minimizing the risk they face of gambling-related harm,” she added.
Under the proposed register, interactive wagering service providers would be prohibited from directly advertising and promoting to those who register for self-exclusion.
The government also released a baseline study into online wagering, undertaken by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, which found that 52 percent of participants were classified as being at risk of or already experiencing gambling-related harm.
