Duties of the Committee
1.1
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services (committee) is established by Part 14 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (ASIC Act). Section 243 of the ASIC Act sets out the committee's duties as follows:
(a)
to inquire into, and report to both Houses on:
(i)
activities of ASIC or the Takeovers Panel, or matters connected with such activities, to which, in the Parliamentary Committee's opinion, the Parliament's attention should be directed; or
(ii)
the operation of the corporations legislation (other than the excluded provisions); or
(iii)
the operation of any other law of the Commonwealth, or any law of a State or Territory, that appears to the Parliamentary Committee to affect significantly the operation of the corporations legislation (other than the excluded provisions); or
(iv)
the operation of any foreign business law, or of any other law of a foreign country, that appears to the Parliamentary Committee to affect significantly the operation of the corporations legislation (other than the excluded provisions); and
(b)
to examine each annual report that is prepared by a body established by this Act and of which a copy has been laid before a House, and to report to both Houses on matters that appear in, or arise out of, that annual report and to which, in the Parliamentary Committee's opinion, the Parliament's attention should be directed; and
(c)
to inquire into any question in connection with its duties that is referred to it by a House, and to report to that House on that question.
Terms of Reference
1.2
The terms of reference include: current section 15C of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 that makes it illegal for providers of online wagering services to provide or facilitate lines of credit to gamblers, with an exemption for independently issued credit cards; and possible amendments to section 15C proposed by Committee Chair, Mr Andrew Wallace MP.
1.3
On 25 March 2021, the committee self-referred an inquiry into the regulation of the use of financial services such as credit cards and digital wallets for online gambling in Australia, including:
(d)
the extent of consumer detriment;
(e)
the level of existing voluntary bans by Australian financial institutions;
(f)
existing consumer protections;
(g)
the potential for a mandatory industry code;
(h)
regulatory approaches used in other relevant jurisdictions;
(i)
the provisions of the attached draft legislation to amend section 15C the Interactive Gambling Act 2001; and
Current section
Part 15C; Credit not to be provided to customers of certain interactive wagering services.
(1)
A person commits an offence if:
(a)
the person intentionally provides a regulated interactive gambling service that is a wagering service; and
(i)
the person provides, or offers to provide, credit in connection with the service to a customer, or prospective customer, of the service who is physically present in Australia; or
(ii)
the person facilitates or promotes the provision of credit (other than by way of an independently issued credit card), by a third person, in connection with the service to a customer, or prospective customer, of the service who is physically present in Australia
Possible amendments to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001
At 15C(1)(b)(ii), delete the words “(other than by way of an independently issued credit card)”;
At 15(C)(1)(b)(ii), after “physically present in Australia” insert “or;”;
After 15C(1)(b)(ii), insert: “(iii) where the service is provided online, the person accepts credit as a form of payment for the service.
After 15C(1)(b)(iv), insert “For the avoidance of doubt, 15C(1)(b)(iii) does not apply to debit payments.”
Conduct of the inquiry
1.4
The committee advertised the inquiry on its webpage and invited submissions from a range of stakeholders. The committee set a closing date for submission of 25 June 2021.
1.5
The committee received 22 submissions, which are listed in Appendix 1. The committee also received additional information, including answers to questions taken on notice (as listed at Appendix 1).
1.6
The committee held public hearings in Canberra via videoconference on 13 August 2021 and 3 September 2021 (as listed at Appendix 2).
Structure of the report
1.7
This report is divided into the following chapters:
Chapter 1 covers administrative information about the inquiry.
Chapter 2 covers the industry structure, the role of the regulator, and summarises consumer harm from online gambling with credit.
Chapter 3 considers the online payment system, the current bans on using credit for gambling in Australia, and the limitations of the system.
Chapter 4 discusses policy options for banning online gambling with credit.
Acknowledgements
1.8
The committee thanks all individuals and organisations who participated in the inquiry, especially those who made written submissions and appeared as witnesses in public hearings.
Notes on references
1.9
References to the Committee Hansard are to the Proof Hansard. Page numbers may vary between Proof and Official transcripts.