Australians will, within 12 months, be able to opt-out of all online gambling ads in one fell swoop, with the federal government pledging a one-stop register to avoid all wagering advertisements online.

In the meantime, from 1 January, all online services must provide an opt-out function if they want to display gambling ads. But little is known about how the one-stop opt-out register will operate, with questions about data privacy and how exactly people will be able to use it.

What is the opt-out register?

The Labor government long promised action on online ads as part of its gambling reforms.

It initially proposed a “triple lock” system which mandated any online platform showing gambling ads to provide an opt-out button (more on that below).

But late in the process, after negotiations with the Coalition, on Monday the communications minister, Anika Wells, announced a new opt-out register. She described it as a “a ‘one-stop shop’ to opt out of seeing wagering advertising on online platforms”.

It came after concerns people would find it difficult to opt-out of gambling ads on each individual website, so a central opt-out service was announced instead.

How will it work?

The government’s legislation leaves the details about how the register will work to the Australian Communications and Media Authority, which is responsible for designing, implementing and enforcing the register.

But Guardian Australia understands it is envisaged that any person would be able to put their name, email address or phone number on the register, and elect to never see any gambling ads on any online service: including streaming platforms, online banner ads, or podcasts. Platforms would have to scrape the register every 14 days to check that their users have not opted-out of gambling ads.

ACMA will develop the register over the next 12 months.

On Thursday, Wells likened the register to the Do Not Call list for spam phone calls, or the BetStop system for problem gamblers to avoid wagering promotions.

She said: “If you do not want to see gambling ads online, you will not have to.”

Asked in a press conference if the system could make it so difficult for online platforms to comply, that they may decide to not show any gambling ads at all, Wells replied: “What a great outcome that would be.”

But will it actually work?

Wells said she was confident because the government had previously built BetStop and other platforms.

“We have built similar things before, and we believe it’s possible … we know how to do it now,” she said.

But the proposed register would be more complicated, in that platforms would have to specifically carve out gambling ads from certain users who are still able to see other types of ads.

Wells downplayed concerns about its feasibility, saying: “the number one way you can make sure that you comply with the law … is to not show gambling ads. And if you want to show gambling ads, then you’re going to have to jump through these hoops.”

Guardian Australia contacted major media companies, streaming services and tech platforms for response to the proposed register. All declined to comment or did not respond on record, but several sources in the tech and media industries said they were anxious to see more detail and raised concerns about how it would work.

Wells said she met Meta and Google on Wednesday, but several other media and tech sources said they were surprised to hear of the register, claiming such an idea did not come up in government consultations, and they first heard of it was in media reports. One source claimed “who knows how it will work? Nobody knows.”

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called it “an absolute joke”, claiming Labor “don’t understand how the internet even works.”

Axel Bruns, a professor in the Digital Media Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology, said such a database of personal information could be a “honeypot” for hackers, saying such a repository would have to be kept highly secure.

He also raised concerns about the complexity of making all digital platforms comply and take notice of such a register, noting many websites outsourced their ads to an intermediary marketing company.

Will platforms comply?

The register has now passed into law, so it will be an offence if a platform serves gambling ads to someone who has opted out.

The maximum punishment is 1000 penalty units, or $364,000, for individuals and 5,000 penalty units or $1.82m for corporations.

What happens in the meantime?

The “triple lock” system will be in force from 1 January 2027. Under that system, gambling ads can only be served online to someone who is logged-in to an account on that website, is verified as being aged over 18, and has been given an option to opt-out on that website.

The penalty for breaches is also 1000 penalty units for individuals and 5000 for corporations.

Many other gambling ad changes will also apply from 1 January, including crackdowns on inducements, TV and radio ads, and jersey sponsorships.

Gambling ads on TV will be limited to three an hour between 5am and 8.30pm, as well as restricted during school pickup and drop-off times on radio.

Gambling employees will also be banned from making commissions from customer losses, and there will be restrictions on celebrities and sports players advertising gambling.