Advertising for online gambling should be banned in Australia within three years, a parliamentary inquiry recommended Wednesday, citing serious harm caused by an inescapable "torrent" that is "grooming children".
The inquiry said that partial bans do not work and called for a "phased, comprehensive" ban that "leaves no room for circumvention".
Australians spend more on online gambling than citizens of any other country, the report said, adding that almost half of those surveyed last year had placed a bet on sports or racing.
"Online gambling has been deliberately and strategically marketed alongside sport, which has normalized it as a fun, harmless, and sociable activity," parliamentary committee chair Peta Murphy said.
"Gambling advertising is grooming children and young people to gamble and encourages riskier behavior," she added. "The torrent of advertising is inescapable."
Gambling is big business in Australia, providing revenue for media organizations, bars and sports clubs.
The gambling industry is also a significant donor to major political parties.
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said tackling online betting alone would not be enough.
"We need to deal with online issues, we need to deal with social media issues, we need to deal with it comprehensively across the board," he said.
"It's no good doing just one portion of reform that then just opens up and channels it somewhere else."
The Alliance For Gambling Reform called on politicians to support the proposed ban, with the group's chief advocate Tim Costello describing Australia as being "in the grip of a gambling epidemic".
He said: "There is absolutely a need for a national strategy to combat the profound gambling harm that is being wrought in communities across Australia."
"Each year gambling rips $25 billion (US$16.5 billion) in losses out of our communities."
Responsible Wagering Australia, which represents many of the country's gambling firms, said that a blanket ban would be "a step too far", adding that it would encourage people to turn to "illegal offshore markets".
