Fresh calls for ad ban as gambling losses climb

Gambling reform advocates have renewed their push for a blanket ban on ads as new data shows losses on the rise.

The average loss for each Australian adult hit $1,555 a year in 2022/23, up from $1,395 in 2021/22.

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief executive officer Martin Thomas said these losses, based on figures collated by Queensland Treasury, would be reflected in "social harm on an industrial scale".

"These latest horrifying loss figures underscore the importance of the federal government adopting all 31 recommendations of the Murphy Report including a full ban on gambling advertising on broadcast media and online," Mr Thomas said on Sunday.

The landmark report into gambling put forward by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy called for a complete ad ban.

While a final policy hasn't been announced, federal ministers have been warning of unintended consequences from a blanket ban, including the impact on media company revenue.

The figures released last week showed total gambling losses -the net amount lost when accounting for winnings - was $32 billion in 2022/23.

This was up from $28 billion in 2021/22.

Australia's gambling losses are the biggest in the world, according to think tank the Grattan Institute.

One in three Australians gambled regularly and the nation was home to more pokies than ATMs or post boxes, the think tank found in its report.

It recommended a ban on all ads and a raft of other measures to reduce harm, including reducing the number of poker machines in each state.

Greens spokesperson for communications Sarah Hanson-Young said the government was dragging the chain on reforms.

"Labor have buckled to the bookies and the public expect better," she said on Sunday.