Almost two-thirds of all major sporting teams in one Australian state are receiving money from gambling companies, an ABC analysis has found, revealing a concerning and "toxic" reliance on gambling sponsorship and advertising. Seven sporting codes and their domestic clubs were examined for any relationship or commercial partnership with gambling organisations, including casinos. The ABC looked at publicly available information for 74 teams across the NRL, AFL, Rugby Australia, Football Australia, Cricket Australia, Netball Australia and the NBL. Eight of the 13 teams examined in Queensland were sponsored by gambling companies, and six of the strongest commercially-viable clubs in the state — the Lions, Broncos, Dolphins, Cowboys, Titans and Suns — all had at least one gambling sponsor. In contrast, just one team in Victoria — the Melbourne Storm — was sponsored by a gambling company, while there were none in South Australia. Experts believe the disparity is due to a lack of national cohesion across clubs and codes about gambling sponsorships and partnerships, and social responsibility. In New South Wales, several sporting teams have signed up to Reclaim the Game, a government-established initiative which reduces or removes sports betting advertising from home games, and educates fans, players and staff about the risks associated with gambling. Similar programs — Love the Game and Here for the Game — have been established in Victoria and South Australia. Professor Samantha Thomas, an expert in public health and gambling at Deakin University, says some states have "tried really hard to do as much as they can" to separate gambling advertising from sport "in the absence of any proper federal regulation". "We're also starting to see that kids are drawing pictures of themselves and their favourite footy jerseys, which may have that gambling logo across it. "Every single thing that we see in our research … over a decade with children shows us that marketing is doing its job … it's creating brand loyalty for kids, but most importantly, it's making kids think that gambling is a normal and a central part of sport." In a statement, the Queensland government said it remained "open to engaging in constructive discussions with sporting clubs and organisations regarding initiatives they wish to pursue". Push to 'break the nexus between sport and gambling' Gambling and casino logos aren't just appearing on sports jerseys, merchandise and stadium signs — the marketing is extending to social media, interview banners, podcasts and even onto microphones. The Brisbane Lions have previously posted social media reels sponsored by betting company TAB, while the Brisbane Broncos held their recent fan day at the city's new Star casino precinct. The ABC's analysis found that the NRL had the most teams sponsored by gambling companies across any sporting code — 10 out of 16. Of the seven sporting codes examined more broadly, the NRL, AFL, Rugby Australia, Cricket Australia and NBL all had public partnerships with sports betting companies. It was unclear whether Netball Australia and Football Australia partnered with gambling companies. Codes that have these partnerships can make what's known as "product fees" on the bets placed on their sports. According to the NRL's most recent public financial records, "the Group will receive royalties from the sports betting operators as the sales relating to each bet occurs or is settled". The AFL and NRL declined to comment for the story, including when asked for a breakdown of earnings from these wagering product fees. Independent senator and former Wallabies captain David Pocock believes there needs to be "far more transparency around kickbacks". "You see someone like Peter V'Landys (NRL CEO) out there talking about banning gambling advertising ... as the 'nanny state', yet the NRL has received hundreds of millions of worth of taxpayer money over the last decade. "The AFL received hundreds of millions worth of taxpayers money … so taxpayers are giving these sports money and in return they're saying, 'Well, we've actually got no social contract with you'. "There's a very clear path for the for the parliament to take." 'Sporting codes need to have a long hard look in the mirror' A 2023 parliamentary inquiry into online gambling harm chaired by late Labor MP Peta Murphy made 31 recommendations on how the industry should be regulated. One of the key recommendations was for the federal government to bring in a phased ban on gambling advertising, which would end with the prohibition of all online gambling advertising and sponsorship. Kate Seselja, co-chair of the Canberra Gambling Reform Alliance, has been in recovery for 12 years and made submissions to the inquiry. She believes the relationship between sport and gambling is "toxic". "There's no doubt that gambling harm in Australia represents a massive public health crisis. What we're not seeing is an adequate response from government. "For Australians to lose almost $32 billion to an industry per year, that delivers nothing as far as benefits to the community in any way, shape or form, is absolutely ludicrous." According to Professor Thomas, moves to separate sport from industries linked to public health problems aren't unprecedented. She says sporting codes staunchly opposed the banning of tobacco advertising and sponsorship years ago. "We did see those same arguments back then, but they definitely survived and thrived after the ending of tobacco sponsorship and advertising," she says. "While we're waiting for the government to act, we would expect that sporting codes, who have a responsibility to be health promoting environments, should actually step up and start to remove as much gambling advertising from their environments as possible." While Professor Thomas says there are clubs and codes already "doing the right thing", she believes the government needs to "do more" and act on the recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry. Federal Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth and Sport Minister Anika Wells were both contacted for comment.