Senator David Pocock ousted from sports club over gambling sponsorship row
Independent senator David Pocock says he was kicked out of the Australian Parliament Sports Club after he questioned its sponsorship links with Responsible Wagering Australia, the main lobby group for the gambling industry. He was later invited back after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reportedly said everyone should be welcome to play, but Pocock decided not to return.
Why I’ve been banned from playing parliamentary sport… pic.twitter.com/QA7KfXLYul
— David Pocock (@DavidPocock) October 10, 2025
The club runs friendly games between MPs, their staff, public servants, and journalists during sitting weeks. Pocock says most people involved didn’t know that Responsible Wagering Australia was one of the club’s sponsors.
The senator, who has been vocal about gambling reform, previously called an investigation into politicians receiving sporting event tickets as gifts from top leagues “deeply concerning.”
Pocock raises concerns over sports club alleged ties to gambling lobby
“Something most people probably don’t know is that every morning when Parliament is sitting, members and senators from all sides of politics play different sports together, early in the morning before Parliament starts,” the former Wallabies captain had said in a video posted on X.
“It’s a lot of fun and a great way to get to know people and get some exercise in before what can be very long days up in Parliament, it helps build relationships across the political aisle, and I think that’s really important in our democracy.”
Pocock said he was shocked to discover that the club allegedly “takes money from big businesses in return for access to morning sports, and in turn, the politicians and their staff that participate,” including groups like Responsible Wagering Australia.
“As a result, the Parliamentary Sports Club has been registered on the lobbying register for many years, something most of us had no idea about,” he said. “I only found out because they changed their name.”
Pocock also pointed out that the club’s president is Prime Minister Albanese, a situation he described as “very awkward.”
“[This] puts him in a very awkward position, as he’s effectively the president of a lobbying firm, which I think most Australians would have concerns about,” Pocock said. “It seems really nuts that it’s set up this way.”
After speaking up both privately and publicly about his concerns, Pocock said the club chose to keep its gambling sponsor.
“[The] club has decided not to tell these lobbyists that they can’t come, not to stop taking money from companies and rather focus on what sport is and can be about here at Parliament,” he said. “But instead, they’ve kicked me out of the club. They’ve told me that I can’t be a member and am not welcome to attend fixtures operated by the club.”
Pocock added: “I guess it goes to show how normalized the influence of people like the gambling industry has become in this place.
“When you raise questions about that, rather than dealing with what seems like a big issue to me and a lot of people I speak to, you get booted from the Parliamentary Sports Club.”
Responsible Wagering Australia represents major betting companies such as Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, and bet365. So far, neither the club nor RWA has made any public comment about Pocock’s removal.
ReadWrite has reached out to the RWA for comment.
Featured image: David Pocock via X / Canva
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