The gambling industry would be banned from using its cash to top up the coffers of political parties in the ACT under a law to be proposed by an independent politician who wants to reduce the influence of "harmful industries".
Thomas Emerson will seek to ban political donations from the gambling industry, covering casinos to clubs operating poker machines.
"Australians are the biggest gambling losers in the world. Our community overwhelmingly wants to see meaningful gambling reform. But financial ties to the gambling industry have kept the major parties from taking bold action to tackle the immense harm caused by this industry," Mr Emerson said.
Mr Emerson said an analysis by his office showed ACT Labor and the Canberra Liberals had shared in more than $275,000 worth of support from the gambling industry in the past decade.
"There's clear evidence that the gambling industry increases its political donations when gambling reform is on the agenda," Mr Emerson, the independent member for Kurrajong, said.
"The Minister for Gaming Reform has promised significant gambling harm reduction measures in this term of government. Canberrans are rightly worried that political donations will influence the Assembly's posture toward forthcoming reforms in this area."
NSW banned the gambling industry making political donations in 2011 and extended the ban to cover not-for-profit clubs running poker machines in 2023.
The ACT banned property developers from making political donations in 2021 but carved out not-for-profit entities, including clubs and unions, despite their involvement in property projects. When the legislation was before the Legislative Assembly, the ACT Greens sought to include clubs in the ban.
Mr Emerson's private member's bill, to be introduced to the Legislative Assembly this week, would ban political donations from people or firms who are licensed to run gambling operations, and from entities that receive half or more of its income from gambling entities.
A multipartisan Assembly inquiry chaired by Mr Emerson last week recommended a total ban on gambling advertising in the territory.
Canberra Gambling Reform Alliance co-chair Kate Seselja said: "What I have witnessed both locally and federally is that political donations make decisions that should be easy to make, complex or biased. When we remove the layer of political donations from the equation, especially from predatory industries, we are closer to seeing our elected representatives able to operate free from capture."
Independents for Canberra, the now-defunct political party under whose banner Mr Emerson successfully ran for the Legislative Assembly in 2024, received a $5000 cash donation from the manager of a club with poker machines that would be banned under the proposed law.
"We received a $5000 donation from a community member who runs a club. Although this contribution was made in a personal capacity by a Canberran passionate about local politics, under our proposed policy, such donations could be prohibited," Mr Emerson said in September 2024.
"We are calling for a ban on donations from individuals and entities connected to gambling, which could include one of our early donors. The question is: is ACT Labor willing to do the same?"
Independents for Canberra first said it supported a ban on gambling industry donations in September 2024.
