John Howard, Dominic Perrottet, Jeff Kennett, Malcolm Turnbull back ban on gambling ads [Video]

Former prime minister John Howard has joined dozens of prominent Australians to call for a blanket ban on gambling advertising, urging Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to “show leadership” in outlawing it as tobacco promotion was in the 1970s.

“It’s just everywhere. I mean, I follow a lot of sport: I watch rugby league, I watch cricket, I watch the Olympics, I watch it all, and it’s just everywhere. It’s too much,” Howard said in an interview.

“The spread of gambling and the social harm from it is a serious issue for our country.”

The call injects conservative weight into a campaign that has been led mostly by figures on the left of the political spectrum, including late Labor MP Peta Murphy, whose influential 2023 report called for a ban on all gambling ads within three …