Senators in Canada are concerned about the effects gambling advertisements are having on its people and are mulling a proposal to ban them completely.
Let’s a closer look at the main concerns and how this ban might impact top-rated sportsbooks in the region.
Sober Second Thought
The Canadian Senate is often considered a body of legislators whose function is to provide a “sober second thought” regarding legislation that is being discussed and that which has already been passed. The topic has risen again but this time it focuses on the sports betting legislation that was passed in 2021 and the blizzard of sports betting ads that have followed because of it.
This process has given birth to Bill S-269, also known as the National Framework on Advertising for Sports Betting Act. The bill is scheduled for two hearings in front of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications in Ottawa. “We have the privilege of sober second thought,” said Ontario Sen. Marty Deacon, the sponsor of Bill S-269, during the hearing. “We have the opportunity to fix this.”
Deacon also added, “This encourages gambling, and associates them with the brand, which has been empirically proven to appeal to children. It has also done nothing to rein in the amount of ads Canadians are seeing nationwide, despite Ontario being the only province where you can legally bet with these companies.”
The thrust of the legislation is to conscript the Minister of Canadian Heritage to develop rules for mass media of sports betting ads throughout the nation. The framework would ostensibly set limits on the number of ads that could be run, where the sports betting providers could run them, and at what times of the day.
Some legislators are having second thoughts about voting to allow sports betting, which has led to an avalanche of gambling ads in all mediums. One such lawmaker is Quebec Senator Leo Housakos, the chairman of the transport and communications committee, who said, “I voted for the sports [betting] bill a couple of years ago. I’m in the middle right now, torn, on if I was wise by doing so.”
Celebrities Athletes Banned From Ads
The first step aimed at reigning in gambling ads revolved around banning the use of celebrity athletes as endorsers of mobile sportsbooks in Ontario. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) updated its marketing restrictions earlier this year and it was crafted so that young people in Canada would not be lured to gambling because some of the nation’s most popular athletes sponsor the digital sports betting sites.
Tom Mungham, the registrar and CEO of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, had expressed that changes were coming as far back as August 2023, saying, “Children and youth are heavily influenced by the athletes and celebrities they look up to. We’re therefore increasing measures to protect Ontario’s youth by disallowing the use of these influential figures to promote online betting in Ontario.”
However, athletes can be used to promote responsible gambling if there are no tacit or overt references to promoting gambling promotions or giving lessons on how to make a bet.
“Advocating for responsible gambling practices could include but is not limited to, educational content, information on the signs of problem gambling, accessing services, and responsible gambling controls such as voluntary breaks in play, self-exclusion, and financial and time-based limits,” the AGCO said
