Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insists that Labor has not been swayed by gambling donations or private interests as he inches closer to a compromise deal with Opposition Leader Angus Taylor over the vexed and long-delayed issue of wagering reform.

Crossbench MPs on Wednesday conceded that they may have “lost the battle” on tougher gambling advertising restrictions but would keep fighting as the major parties hashed out the fine print on amendments.

Albanese and Taylor are expected to agree to tighten up gambling promotion conditions and simplify rules for streaming advertising, although a fresh sticking point has emerged over Labor’s move to ban offshore lotteries, which is dividing Coalition MPs.

The Coalition sought amendments after a Senate inquiry last week heard claims that problem gamblers had been lured by VIP agents offering thousands of dollars in free bonus bets as well as hotel rooms, flights, drugs and escorts.

But Coalition MPs have this week split over the opposition’s approach, with five backbenchers urging a joint meeting of the Liberals and Nationals to do more to protect children and addicts. Four cautioned against a hardline approach, warning the Coalition could not be seen as overzealous about regulation or as pushing the industry underground.

Liberal MP Zoe McKenzie on Wednesday evening said the Coalition had been asking the government to go further. “In the last week, everything has been on the table,” she said. “We will see where it lands.”

But Labor’s package is likely to remain largely unchanged, aside from some action on inducements, given neither Albanese nor Taylor have an appetite for a “nanny state” debate that could be weaponised by One Nation. The laws won’t introduce a full advertising blackout, national regulator or an all-out ban on promotions – measures recommended by the bipartisan 2023 Murphy report, which has become the gold standard for reform advocates.

Independents accused the government and Coalition of shying away from reform to appease private interests, pointing to this masthead’s report that donors with gambling links had reported $5 million in donations to Labor and $4.5 million to the Coalition over five years.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie on Wednesday referred those details to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, and reported his concerns that government MPs were ignoring the public interest because they were being improperly influenced by gambling interests.

“It’s not just money, it’s hospitality, it’s personal friendships. There’s a point at which the level of influence on a government and the decision that government makes is entirely improper,” Wilkie said.

Independent MP Andrew Gee, a former National, claimed the major parties were beholden to their donors. “Don’t think that money doesn’t talk in this place because it does. I’m speaking as someone who has escaped a major political party,” he said.

“Corporations would pay big bucks to meet with every single MP that they wanted to. So if you were an MP, you had to sit there for 15 minutes ... and after that, a bell would ring. Included on that list were gambling companies. That’s the power of money talking. They get access to politicians.”

But Albanese said his position had not been influenced in the way that was being suggested, after Wilkie put the allegation to the prime minister during Wednesday’s question time.

“I don’t suggest members on any side of this debate have been influenced,” Albanese said.

“People come to these issues with a genuine perspective, and we have genuine differences as well on some of these issues. But to question people’s motives is, I think, undermining the civil debate that is required on these issues.

“We will have a debate on our legislation, constructive discussions are continuing. I expect there will be amendments to the legislation that I hope to receive the support of the entire parliament.”

Labor MPs including Alicia Payne and Peter Khalil on Wednesday afternoon emphasised the laws were an important first step, but there was more to be done.

Albanese, meanwhile, said he wanted to defend people’s freedom to bet while addressing problem gambling. “What we need to do in a debate like this, that can be emotional, is to make sure that we get the policy right. And our government is determined to get the policy right,” he said.

Amendments hashed out this week

The Coalition’s focus in negotiations has been VIP inducements and bonus bets, as well as rules for streaming services.

The new rules require online platforms to have a “triple-lock” function to show unlimited gambling ads – they must register their users, prove they are over 18, and offer them an opt-out function.

Some Coalition MPs want an “opt-in” function instead, although a compromise will more likely give streaming services options between the triple-lock or the same hourly ad limits as free-to-air broadcasters.

But Labor and the Coalition are at odds over one element of the bill that stops firms from offering tickets to foreign lotteries. Labor argues the measure will close a loophole that allows Australians to access foreign gambling products.

But the main company in question, the Lottery Office, has challenged that basis; its chief executive Jaclyn Wood says the ban sets a “dangerous precedent” for banning industries the government doesn’t like.

The Coalition also wants to preserve jobs for 50 employees at the Gold Coast-based firm, which sits in Liberal MP Leon Rebello’s seat. Rebello said Labor’s proposal was “anticompetitive behaviour dressed up as gambling reform”.

The opposition’s suspicion is that Labor’s policy is designed to appease the Lottery Corporation, which dominates the market. One Nation and some Nationals MPs have sided with the legacy lottery outfit and the newsagency lobby, which also supports the ban.