“Nothing makes sense especially when you consider that problem gambling on lotteries alone is more than problem gambling on both racing and sports,” he said.

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“Rather than suppressing the majority, let’s have a greater focus on how we can help those with an addiction problem.

“The nanny state ideology however has significant ramifications on the funding of junior sport.”

The digital ad ban has emerged as a flashpoint in a broader plan to curb problem gambling and break the link between sport and betting by scaling back promotions.

The federal plan aims to cap the number of ads on TV and impose a total ban on ads during and around sport broadcasts, as first reported by this masthead in August. It also proposes a total ban on social media and digital platforms, apart from some exemptions for search engines.

Nine, the owner of this masthead, is opposed to a total ban on gambling ads and has a TV rights deal with the NRL.

Public Health Association of Australia chief Terry Slevin said the advertising ban had to include all digital platforms and apps, a proposal backed by some Labor backbenchers, such as Dr Mike Freelander, who have pressured Albanese to go harder.

“Whatever we put in place, this multi-billion dollar transnational business will find every possible opportunity to find a way around it,” Slevin said. “So we need to put proper, comprehensive controls in place now.

“That means governments being brave enough to stand up to their influence and power and the depth of their pocket and look after the constituents who will be voting for them – or not, as the case may be – at the next election.”

Sports leaders and wagering groups have argued for a model that would allow ads online if users proved they were adults and opted into viewing the promotions on platforms such as the AFL or NRL apps.

Government officials are consulting on a total digital ban because they doubt age limits could be enforced across the internet, even though Labor wants to keep children off social media.

On September 11, the prime minister told parliament he did not want an “intrusion into people’s personal liberties” if they chose to gamble.

“The connection, as well, between sport and gambling needs to be broken because sport should be enjoyed for what it is,” he said.

Liberal figures including former prime minister John Howard and former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett have called for a total advertising ban, while former Labor foreign minister Gareth Evans said gambling reform was an example of the government’s “cautious, defensive, wedge-avoiding mode”.

Australians spent $244.3 billion on all gambling in the year to June 2023, including $23.3 billion on wagering, the growth sector for sites and apps that take bets on sport.

Spending on poker machines was far greater, at $191.2 billion, despite the stricter controls on the promotion of gaming machines at casinos, clubs and pubs.

A key factor in the government proposal is the expectation that curbs on advertising in one sphere, such as TV, will see an explosion in promotions on digital platforms, where gambling sites can use detailed knowledge of their customers to target the heaviest gamblers.

The money lost on all types of gambling was $32 billion, an increase of 14.2 per cent from the previous year, according to the figures collated by the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office on behalf of all states and territories.

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Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said parents should be able to watch sport with their children without being bombarded by wagering ads.

“As we lead into finals season, we want Australians to be excited about the game, not the odds,” she said.

“The proposed model focuses on breaking the nexus that exists between wagering and sport, minimising the exposure of children to online wagering harm, and tackling the saturation and targeting of gambling ads.

“Business models have developed over many years without regulatory constraint – and this has resulted in a structural overreliance on wagering revenues.”

Rowland confirmed she was consulting stakeholders including the sporting codes.

The major sporting codes have gained lucrative revenue streams from gambling in three ways because the advertising is factored into billion-dollar deals for television broadcast rights, the wagering companies strike direct advertising deals with codes and clubs, and some codes take “product fees” from bets placed on their sport.

The AFL gained at least $6 million a year over five years from its direct sponsorship agreement with Sportsbet, the Australian Financial Review reported earlier this year. Gambling advertising on football grounds was worth another $3 million, the report said.

The AFL lifted revenue by 12.6 per cent to $1.1 billion last year, according to its annual report. Nine News reported last month that the AFL would lose $120 million a year if the government banned all gambling advertising. The AFL declines to comment on the record about the gambling debate.