A new investigation has revealed that Australian politicians were gifted nearly A$245,000 (US$147,000) worth of sporting event tickets over the past two years by top leagues like the AFL and NRL.
This figure is raising the eyebrows of many amid a stalled push to ban online gambling ads.
The tickets, declared in the parliamentary gift register, were handed out between June 2023 and March 2025, coinciding with intense lobbying against a proposed nationwide ban on gambling advertising.
The gifts included high-value access to grand finals and VIP hospitality, often placing politicians directly alongside senior sports executives.
According to calculations verified by academics at Deakin University and the University of Technology Sydney, these gifts represent a conservative estimate.
The timing has led critics to suggest the sporting codes used these perks as a potential tool of influence.
Independent Senator David Pocock, who has been vocal about gambling reform, called the findings “deeply concerning.” He added, “It is appalling that 18 months after the landmark report into online gambling harm, and after a full term of a Labor government, the prime minister has failed to take any meaningful action to ban gambling advertising.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese received about A$29,000 worth of tickets, mostly to see his favourite NRL team, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, has yet to act on a 2023 parliamentary recommendation for a comprehensive ban.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton also received over A$21,000 in tickets during the same period.
Though legal, the practice of gifting tickets worth more than A$300 must be declared but critics argue it reflects the soft power sporting leagues wield.
“You’re not just buying them a ticket in the box and giving them hospitality, you’ve got their ear for the length of the game,” said public health expert Charles Livingstone.
Meanwhile, lobbying group COMPPS — representing major sports bodies — reportedly coordinated a targeted campaign post-report, inviting key politicians to events and briefing sports officials on how to push back against the ad ban.
Kate Chaney, a committee member behind the original ban proposal, said sports organisations are “addicted to gambling money” and choosing profits over public interest.
With polling showing three-quarters of Australians support a gambling ad ban, critics say the political delay highlights how access, not public will, is shaping policy.
