The federal government is under increased pressure to act on gambling reform, after what has been dubbed a “clarion call” for change.

A poll conducted in June by advocacy group Alliance for Gambling Reform found more than 70 per cent of Australians believe there is too much gambling advertising in sport and want it to be banned.

The poll took in 1004 people aged over 18 years, with 77.6 per cent believing there was too much gambling advertising in sport, while 71.3 per cent thought gambling advertising should be banned from sport completely.

“This is a clarion call for the federal government to immediately act on the recommendation of a parliamentary inquiry to introduce a three-year, phased-in ban on all gambling advertising,” said chief executive of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Carol Bennett.

“Gambling advertising has become so synonymous with sport – it’s really corrupted our sport and we need to rein it back in.

“Aussies love their sport but they don’t want to see it run by vested interests – they want to see a reclamation of their sport and governments acting to safeguard their kids.

“This poll is a definitive call by the community to act on this decisively.”

In late June, the federal government tabled an inquiry into online gambling harm that found Australians were the world’s biggest losers per capita, spending an alarming $26 billion a year on legal gambling.

The inquiry recommended a complete, phased ban on all gambling advertising in every state and territory within three years, and warned that advertising was grooming children into gamblers.

But five months after the report was released, no advertising recommendations have been implemented and the government is still “considering” its response.

“The financial, social and health cost of this gambling epidemic is enormous and it is fuelled by a near-unregulated environment that enables the gambling industry to bombard our screens with ads, ” Bennett said.

“These poll results reveal the white-hot anger in the community about the proliferation of gambling advertising around sport that assaults us and which is particularly damaging to children.”

On both issues there was a stronger response against gambling advertising from men, who are mostly the focus of gambling advertising.

The polling also found more than 50 per cent of people polled also believed there was too much junk food and alcohol advertising in sport.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform is calling on the government to take urgent action and begin implementing the ban.

Bennett said that while there have been some reforms, they “are not working well”.

“The point here is that it’s a harmful product – it’s a really significant issue and it’s incumbent on the government to take action on it to protect the community.

“This isn’t just people being annoyed by it – we are wearing the costs of it, whether it’s domestic violence, financial stress or suicide.

“There are huge costs and people are really concerned we’re going to see a whole future generation wearing these costs.”

During the inquiry, major sporting codes claimed gambling revenue formed an important part of their funding, including at a grassroots level.

The NRL and AFL acknowledged concerns about the harm of gambling advertising but did not support any changes to current restrictions that would affect their revenue.

“The gambling industry, sporting codes and media all have vested interests – it generates revenue, as well as donations – you’re challenging a lot of interests and that means we’ve had pretty lax legislation until now,” Bennett said.

“The phase-in has to allow enough time for the industry to adapt and look for other revenue sources.

“But we have seen adaptations in the tobacco industry, and we do adapt – the question is how important is this to the community and will the federal government act in the best interests in the community?

“The reality is that unless there’s a comprehensive ban we’re going to continue seeing the same problems.”

• Gambling Help Online on 1800 858 858
• Lifeline on 13 11 14