Lord Chadlington, a Conservative peer in the House of Lords, has welcomed Labour's consultation paper on limiting gambling adverts during sports games in an article for politicshome.com.
He says that gambling advertising has increased by 63% since 2012 and that during the World Cup there was 90 minutes of gambling adverts on TV.
He was responding to Labour's Tom Watson, who proposed a 'whistle-to-whistle' ban policy but Lord Chadlington says the ban should extend to an hour before and after live sporting events as well.
The Church of England's lead on gambling agreed with this, with the Rt Reverend Alan Smith, Bishop of St Alban's, telling The Telegraph: "In order to protect vulnerable people, we have to explore legislation as they are not prepared to be responsible.
"It is not just the amount of it but also the style that wills people to bet in a short time on something that will happen in the next few minutes which is particularly problematic for addicts."
The policy charity Christian Action and Research Education (CARE) added their support of Lord Chadlington's suggestions.
CARE spokesperson James Mildred said: "Lord Chadlington is absolutely right to call for bold action to tackle the prevalence of gambling advertising.
"The Government cannot ignore the fact his proposals carry cross-party political support, the backing of the Church of England and are also evidently popular with the wider public.
"We are on the cusp of a major gambling epidemic with hundreds of thousands of young people already gambling on a weekly basis, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of adult problem gamblers, with many more said to be at risk.
"In the light of this, banning sport betting ads before, during and after live events is badly needed but must be seen as a first step.
"What is clear is that we cannot simply turn a blind eye to these issues. Problem gambling is fuelled by targeted advertising that suggests gambling is fun, harmless and easy.
"But gambling advertising can cause serious harm so it is vital the Government looks seriously at these proposals. Bold action is needed to protect vulnerable people from the devastation so often caused by problem gambling."
Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.
