Australian politicians were given approximately AU$245,000 worth of match tickets over a 21-month period by the country's leading sporting organisations as part of an effort to lobby against a proposed ban on online gambling advertising, according to calculations based on official government documents.The gifts, recorded in the parliamentary gift register, came during a critical period when a government-commissioned report had recommended a total ban on such advertising.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese received about AU$29,000 worth of tickets, mostly to grand finals and matches featuring his National Rugby League (NRL) home team, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, according to an exclusive report by Reuters.Peter Dutton, leader of the conservative opposition coalition, declared AU$21,350 in ticket gifts during the same timeframe, according to the register.Between June 28, 2023 -- the day the inquiry released its report -- and March 28, 2025, when parliament was dissolved, lawmakers from both major parties accepted 312 complimentary tickets to sporting events.No monetary value was listed in the register, but the AU$245,000 estimate was derived using corporate box seat pricing.The 21-month figure slightly exceeded the AU$234,000 worth of tickets declared during the previous term from 2019 to 2022, a period when sports attendance was largely affected by pandemic restrictions."We know vested interests have been lobbying hard to prevent a ban and the level of soft diplomacy revealed by this analysis of declared gifts to politicians is deeply concerning," independent senator David Pocock said.Value of gifts revealed for first timeWhile media outlets have previously reported on lobbying efforts by the gambling industry, this marks the first time a total dollar figure has been calculated for the value of sporting event tickets given to parliamentarians.The data sheds light on the role sporting bodies played in the campaign to oppose the ban. The ticket values were calculated based on the cheapest corporate box seat prices and were verified by Dr. Hunter Fujak, a senior lecturer in sports management at Deakin University, and Tim Harcourt, chief economist at the Centre for Sport, Business and Society at the University of Technology, Sydney.Proposed gambling ad ban stalledAlbanese's government had pledged to crack down on gambling advertising, following a 2023 parliamentary inquiry that recommended a "comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising for online gambling."However, the prime minister took the issue off the legislative agenda in late 2024. The matter has now been left for consideration by the next parliament, to be formed after the upcoming general election on May 3. Albanese's party is widely expected to win by a narrow margin.Public sentiment is strongly in favor of tighter controls, with polls showing that three-quarters of Australians support a ban on online gambling advertising.Lobbying growsLobbying activities, including gifting tickets, are legal in Australia. However, any gift worth more than AU$300 must be declared to the Prime Minister's Office and listed in the public parliamentary gift register.Australia continues to rank as the world's highest per capita gambling nation. Government data and projections from consultancy H2 Gambling Capital estimate that Australians will lose AU$34 billion to gambling in 2025.