More Than 80% of Canberra Residents Back Ban on Gambling Industry Donations to Political Parties

^{Thomas Emerson, an independent member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly}

More than 80% of Canberra residents support a ban on political party funding from the gambling industry, Canberra Daily reports. The survey results were presented by independent local lawmaker Thomas Emerson.

Of the 514 respondents, 86% backed a ban on such donations, while 83% said money from the gambling industry could influence politicians’ decisions on gambling regulation.

Emerson previously proposed legislation that would prohibit political parties from accepting donations from companies and organizations linked to gambling. According to him, over the past 11 years, the two largest political forces in the territory — Labor and the Liberals — received nearly A$276,500 ($185,000) from such organizations.

The amount included not only financial donations but also the free use of venues for party events.

Labor and the Liberals deny that such support influences their policies. Labor said it has not accepted cash donations from gambling clubs for more than a decade and pointed to reforms implemented in the territory.

In particular, the number of gaming machine licenses had fallen by almost 30% by July 2025 compared with 2018.

The Liberals argue that providing free venues cannot be treated the same as monetary donations.

The issue is being discussed beyond Canberra. At the federal level, the gambling industry also funds Australian political parties. According to the country’s electoral commission, gambling companies provided a total of A$6.24 million ($4.18 million) to major political parties over the past 11 years.