Anthony Albanese says he’s confident that gambling legislation will be introduced later this week

Albanese Albanese says he’s confident that his gambling legislation will be debated in the Parliament later this week after finding a pathway forward with the Coalition.

Fresh off the five-week winter recess, the Prime Minister offered key concessions on inducements during Monday talks with Opposition leader Angus Taylor to clear the bill for Parliament this fortnight.

Communications Minister Anika Wells also held negotiations on Monday afternoon with Greens spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young, as well as further discussions with Shadow Minister Sarah Henderson.

The intense negotiations followed damning evidence in a Senate inquiry over the break which detailed severe harm from targeted gambling inducements and allegations about predatory practicesm including offering drugs to VIP punters.

Addressing caucus on Monday, the PM said he expected “bipartisan support” for the gambling bill despite pressure to go further from the Coalition, Greens and crossbench.

The Prime Minister had outlined the Labor government’s proposed gambling measures during a National Press Club address in April which touched on but didn’t go as far as the landmark 2023 “You Win Some, You Lose More” Murphy Report.

The proposed legislation introduces stricter limits on sports betting advertising, such as broadcast caps, live sport bans, restrictions branding on jerseys and social media ads, and school commute time bans.

However, opponents across the political spectrum argued that it falls short of properly protecting children and vulnerable Australians.

During a Senate inquiry into the gambling reform bill, several key figures spoke out against promotional inducements — which is anything used to attract gamblers like bonus bets, deposit matches, refund offers, and boosted odds.

Among the witnesses who took part was former NRL player and gambling addict Luke Bateman who spoke about his personal struggles after VIP account managers targeted him using bonus bets and aggressive retention tactics.

“This will be the strongest anti-gambling legislation that Australia has ever seen,” the PM told his caucus.

“I’m confident that later in the week we’ll have the legislation in the House of Representatives with some really practical amendments.”

He claimed after negotiations with Mr Taylor, that the amendments would deal with inducements, targeted advertising, and reducing children’s exposure to gaming, as well as a “full suite of measures”.

“I think with bipartisan support about inducements,” Mr Albanese said, insisting the issues had been debated in a “constructive way”.

“Making sure that we get the balance right between people who want to go along and have a punt on a Saturday at the races — but also that problem gambling is actually dealt with.”

The PM is expected to continue discussions with Mr Taylor on Tuesday morning before parliament sits again.

Speaking in the Canberra light industrial suburb of Hume on Monday morning, Mr Taylor said the Coalition was approaching negotiations with “goodwill“ as he wanted to work with the Government to pass gambling legislation.

“We’ll work through this with the Government, we’re not going to negotiate this in public but it is clear there have been predatory inducements and we want to see that dealt with,” Mr Taylor said.

“We want to get a good outcome. We do need to make sure we get the balance right.

“We want to get the right outcomes for those who have gambling addictions and are trying to deal with them.

“We want to get the right outcome for younger, vulnerable Australians.

“We understand that personal responsibility is also an important part of this so it’s key to get this right and we will work with the Government to do that in so far as that’s possible.

Greens leader Larissa Waters and senator Sarah Hanson-Young highlighted the community’s pleas for tougher gambling reform at a Cnaberra press conference on Monday, insisting the government follow the Murphy report’s recommendation of a complete ban.

“These gambling companies have been having a free ride for too long. They make billions of dollars off misery and loss, heartache, and destroyed families,” Senator Hanson-Young said.

“The question will be whether the Prime Minister and Angus Taylor have the courage to do the right thing here.

“We’ve got to stop those predatory inducements. We need a national regulator, so there is a cop on the beat. We’ve got to stop those insidious and targeted ads that come online and down our digital platforms.”

The Greens were expected to use Labor’s bill expanding the eSafety Commissioner’s powers over Big Tech as leverage in gambling reform talks with Ms Wells, having previously teamed up with the Coalition to refer the measure to a Senate inquiry.

Opening on Friday, the nearly eight-week inquiry into the Online Safety Amendment Bill 2026 comes as legal challenges mount against Australia’s landmark ban.

The PM had championed the approach at the UN General Assembly in New York last year and on Monday confirmed he would use this year’s appearance at the international forum to spruik Australia’s approach to managing AI growth and data centre expansion.

Mr Albanese confirmed his upcoming strategy at this year’s UN assembly for Australia to “lead the world” on global AI standards during publicised remarks after caucus.

“The speech that I gave about setting up Australian standards for AI (at University of Sydney last month)... when I go to the United Nations in September next month, we’ll build on that to lead the world.

“Just like we have led the world in our social media policies as well going forward.”

Despite cross-party pressure and recent debate at Labor’s three-day Adelaide conference, only a single question was raised at Monday’s caucus meeting which insiders characterised simply as a request for an update on how amendment negotiations were progressing.

Mr Albanese had sought to justify last month’s tightly controlled Labor conference describing it as a “fantastic moment” of “unity” and discipline rather than a stage‑managed talkfest.

“What it was defined by, I think, was the unity of purpose. Of course, it was the culmination of a whole process,” he said.

“It used to be when I first started going to those conferences, people would come along with a pen and paper and write out things on the spur (of the moment) with 99 delegates.

“Now, we have the 60 members of the committee that do the work (through prior) meetings in Sydney and Melbourne.

“But right across the board, I think as a result of that conference, we have ways to move forward.”

The triennial conference, which had been widely criticised as an orchestrated affair, helps chart the party’s path forward.

However, it had drawn criticism from backbencher Ed Husic who claimed he was gagged on several key issues, including a debate on the war in the Middle East.

The single contested debate at the conference focused on whether to allow telehealth consultations for voluntary assisted dying and updated the Party’s constitution to grant MPs a conscience vote.

The VAD debate was raised again on Monday as Labor MPs gathered in Canberra, with the only other question raised to Health Minister Mark Butler about the new party stance.

Mr Butler had explained the necessity of “clinical safeguards” and confirmed that the Government would dictate the timing and implementation of any legislative changes regardless of any crossbench initiative.

Legislation overhauling the National Disability Insurance Scheme is also expected to pass in the next fortnight.

The PM also talked up his conversations with Mr Taylor on the matter to rein in the ballooning scheme.

“I met earlier today with the leader of the Opposition as well, to work through NDIS, and I expect those changes will pass in this sitting fortnight, which will be important to make sure that it’s sustainable going forward,” he said.

However, Labor’s drive to trim back on the NDIS has angered the Greens who on Monday called for the Government to scrap their proposed cuts and seek to improve the budget bottom line by taxing gas exports instead.

Asked if the Greens had a responsibility to consider budget management and if they had modelled what their NDIS approach would cost taxpayers, Senator Senator Jordon Steele-John didn’t list a figure.

He instead referenced to a recent inquiry into the cuts which had toured Australia across the winter break.

Senator Steel-John also claimed a solution could be taxing mining billionaires “like Gina Rinehart” “a little bit more” before families caring for people with disabilities were cut from the scheme.