Labor risks betraying the legacy of one of its members if it does not implement a total ban on gambling advertising, an independent MP says.
Reports suggest the federal government won't adopt the recommendations of a landmark review that called for phasing out all gambling advertisements and will instead place a limit on when they could be shown.
The review, led by late Labor MP Peta Murphy and handed down in 2023, made 31 recommendations with the centrepiece a phase-out of gambling ads across three years to allow sporting codes to find replacement revenue.
Independent MP Kate Chaney, who was part of the review, said anything less than a total ban would go against the ideals set out in the report.
"That long delay (in handing down the government's response) was really going to be a slap in the face to Peta's legacy. I hope that's not the case," she told ABC Radio on Monday.
"I hope that the long consultation is because the government's actually going to do the right thing and make gambling ads history, just like we did with tobacco. We live in hope it's not too late, but the rumours are not encouraging.
"I don't think (Peta) would be thrilled to see that the resistance to keeping gambling out of sport was coming from our sports codes."
Ms Murphy, who was the member for Dunkley, died from breast cancer in December 2023.
Media reports suggest betting ads would be capped at two per hour on each channel, with ads banned for one hour on either side of live sporting events.
Ms Chaney said a partial ban on gambling ads would only mean the promotions were moved to different platforms and would not address the issue.
She said while there were concerns expressed from sporting bodies a ban on gambling ads would lead to a drop in revenue which would flow on to junior sport, similar claims had been made before.
"That's exactly what we heard from the tobacco companies a few decades ago and we've got to decide whether that's okay or not," Ms Chaney said.
"We can actually decide that we don't want to promote gambling to kids, and we need to separate gambling from from being part of the sport that Aussies love."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government had moved to implement gambling reform following the review's release, including efforts to set up a national self-exclusion register.
Independent MP Zoe Daniel, who has been part of a crossbench push for more action on gambling reform, called the forecast move "half-hearted and half-arsed".
"How many more young and impressionable sports fans are going to have their lives ruined before the government gets the message?" she said.
"Once again the gambling giants have been given the inside running on the government's plan while gambling harm experts have been frozen out."
