Interactive Gambling (Cost Recovery Levy) Bill 2026

Summary

This legislation creates a new cost recovery levy on interactive gambling operators in Australia, allowing the government to charge companies that offer online betting and gaming services a fee to cover the costs of regulating their industry. The levy is a funding mechanism that shifts some regulatory expenses from taxpayers to the gambling companies themselves, similar to how other industries pay fees to fund their oversight. This matters because it establishes a dedicated funding source for gambling regulation and consumer protection, potentially improving the government's ability to monitor and control online gambling activities while reducing the burden on general government budgets.

What happens at this stage

The main debate on whether the chamber supports the broad purpose of the bill. Members speak to its overall merits and concerns rather than the fine print. The government outlines its policy intentions; the opposition and crossbench put their case. This is the stage that determines whether the bill proceeds at all.

Next: Consideration in Detail (House) or Committee of the Whole (Senate), where the bill is examined clause by clause