A proposed ban on TV gambling advertising in the UK during sports events is being backed by the Church of England.
The ban is for an hour before and an hour after all live broadcasts, during which time bookmakers are banned from appearing on TV screens.
The proposal is now before an all-party coalition of political and church leaders and is being presented today. An alliance has been put together by Lord Chadlington, a Conservative peer, in conjunction with the Labour and Liberal-Democrat parties, plus the Scottish Nationalists and the Church of England.
The consortium is demanding that the UK Government closes a loophole that permits gambling operators to target viewers on TV and online with "live odds" on matches that may be watched by children.
Lord Chadlington favours the Australian system that bans ads from gambling companies before, during and after games. A spokesman for the Church of England said that the bookmakers had "singularly failed to exercise any kind of restraint" over their advertising during sports events. The peer had commissioned his own poll of 2,000 people that showed 58 per cent supporting a blanket ban on gambling advertising on all UK channels and platforms.
