Gambling is a topic that is hot in the mind of the Australian public and politicians at the moment, with reforms to gambling ads having just been debated and passed in federal parliament. 

The reforms that passed the federal parliament fell short of what many health experts and gambling reform advocates called for. But combating the harms of gambling isn’t just limited to legislative reforms, we can also make an impact on gambling with where we invest our money. 

Ethical investors often seek to avoid having gambling in their portfolio due to its social harms, including financial loss, addiction, mental health issues, and social problems, disproportionately affecting vulnerable individuals and communities.

1. Direct Exposure

This can include ETFs that have investments in companies that have ties to, or are themselves, operating some form of gambling. Think casinos, lotteries, sports betting operators, and online gambling operators.

2. Indirect Exposure

This can include ETFs that have links to companies that may not be directly engaged in the operation of gambling, but have some indirect links that allow them to profit off or support the gambling industry. An example of this would be companies that make revenue from gambling advertising, such as commercial television companies.

Many ethical branded ETFs listed on the ASX have ethical screens that are used to filter out gambling-linked investments from the ETF.

These are some of the ETFs with the strongest screens for gambling, avoiding any companies that generate revenue through gambling. You can read their ethical profiles of these ETFs on the SIX platform to see if they match your values:

• BetaShares Australian Sustainability Leaders ETF (FAIR)
• VanEck MSCI Australian Sustainable Equity ETF (GRNV)
• Vanguard Ethically Conscious Australian Shares ETF (VETH)

Some ethical ETFs that have ethical screens for gambling may only partially screen out gambling, or have a limit on how much revenue a company can make before they are screened out (this is often around 5-10%). 

To find more ETFs that have ethical screens for gambling, head to the Find Stocks tab on the SIX Platform and select the Gambling Ethical Filter as a negative screen you want to avoid in your investment.