The spike during events such as the Melbourne Cup, NRL and AFL grand finals and State of Origin is mainly attributed to small bets of less than $100, according to research from the e61 Institute.
The race that stops the nation is an outlier in that there is a sharp spike in people betting and the proportion of people placing relatively large bets.
An average punter would spend $50 more during Melbourne Cup week, which is higher than during footy staples.
"Beyond these peaks, there also appears to be a broader increase in participation during the AFL and NRL seasons, with betting activity lower at other times, such as during the cricket season," the report said.
"It is not clear if these differences are due to seasonality, differences in audiences, or cricket's relatively weaker association with gambling advertising."
Those who gamble more than $500 remain relatively stable throughout the year.
But even though smaller betting amounts are associated with more casual and less problematic gambling, there are concerns they could have harmful consequences in the long run.
Online gambling has increased substantially, quadrupling to cover more than 33 per cent of adults since 2017, according to separate Australian National University research.
The prevalence of sports betting apps was driving risky behaviour and problem gambling as they made it more accessible and harder to stop, researcher Aino Suomi said.
The institute called for more research into the behaviour of punters to better respond to curb gambling harm with effective policy.
"At present, policymakers know little about how consumers respond in real time to sporting events, gambling advertising, changes to gambling salience or policy interventions," it said.
"There is also a lack of evidence on how short-run effects translate into long-run outcomes."
There are growing expectations in the industry that the federal government will enact long-awaited gambling reform by the end of the year.
The Albanese government has yet to formally respond to a landmark inquiry into gambling harm, which recommended phasing out online betting ads, two years after the parliamentary committee handed down its final report.
The report also recommended banning betting inducements from wagering companies, which are promotions or offers designed to encourage further gambling.
The gambling lobby has indicated it is open to some restrictions on the broad advertising of inducements but opposes banning promotions to customers.
Independent senator David Pocock says inducements result in more teens thinking betting is risk-free.
This can include bonus bets - when a wagering company offers credits when bets fail or money is deposited to encourage people to place more bets.
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