Minister's Words To Gambling Reform Advocate 'Shocking'.

Communications Minister Anika Wells is under fire from a host of supporters and crossbenchers for informing a former gaming addict to persuade wagering business about reforms, not her.


Kate Seselja got rid of a pokies addiction that practically caused her taking her own life.


Ms Seselja said Ms Wells informed her during a meeting in August 2025 it was not the minister who required convincing about betting reforms but the wagering business, tv networks and sporting codes that produced profits from gambling.


"I was flabbergasted," Ms Seselja told AAP.


"To be asked if I had actually tried to have conferences with them, as a lived experience advocate, was dreadful.


"To have that level of detach to the reality of betting harm faced by millions of Australians, to recommend that people with lived experience go meet with these predators, made me lose belief in the political system."


Fellow advocate Anna Bardsley from the Gambling Harm Lived Experience Experts (GHLEE), who also attended the conference, supported the exchange.


Ms Wells' workplace did not deny the comment was made, stating the minister welcomed the chance to consult with the two advocates to listen to their experience with betting harm.


A representative pointed to Labor federal government steps consisting of the intro of the self-exclusion register BetStop, a ban on credit cards for online gaming and modifications to cautioning taglines after ads.


"The Australian government takes seriously our duty to protect Australians, especially young and susceptible people, from the damages of online gambling," the spokesperson stated.


Independent MP Kate Chaney branded the minister's remarks a betrayal of Australians experiencing gambling damage, saying they were "shocking but regrettably not unexpected".


"Being told to lobby the betting market yourself, after a decade of determined advocacy and almost losing your life to dependency, is a of management," she stated.


Ms Seselja said staff from the interaction minister's workplace told her to keep defending reforms throughout a subsequent meeting in March.


"I really broke down and lost it at the staffer, because I stated to her, if you're not going to do your task, then resource GHLEE to do it," Ms Seselja stated.


"People are passing away and nobody is stopping the carnage."


Independent senator David Pocock described Ms Seselja's recount as deeply troubling, while independent MP Monique Ryan attacked the federal government for stopping working to take responsibility for the problem or stand up to vested interests.


Alliance for Gambling Reform chief supporter Tim Costello branded the remarks and inaction on the problem "a complete failure of federal government", adding he was gobsmacked the federal government had not reacted to a gambling harm report launched practically 1000 days back.


The landmark report into betting damage bied far in June 2023 by late Labor MP Peta Murphy suggested a phase-out of advertising, curbing incentives and an overarching nationwide harm-reduction framework.