Is Canada getting ready to ban sports betting ads?

One consistent around the world in recent years is frustration with the amount of sports betting ads on TV, radio and in print. It’s virtually impossible turn on a game or sporting event without being told the most recent odds or given the latest promotions for signing up.

Early rules did address advertising

The province of Ontario addressed the one issue by putting in a rule from the start that sportsbooks could only promote offers and incentives on their websites or by email to those who agreed to accept mailings from them. But in the rest of the world, including the U.S., ads promoting gambling incentives are constant. And Ontario also addressed another issue of concern early in 2024 by disallowing advertising of sportsbooks by athletes and celebrities, since the Ontario government deemed that these promotions were influencing minors. That ban excluded athletes, role models, social media influencers, entertainers, cartoon figures and any symbols “that would likely be expected to appeal to minors.” But it seems that some of those rules are subjective, since Jamie Foxx still appears in ads for MGM and other “celebrities” are in ads for other companies. I guess while Connor McDavid or Wayne Gretzky are deemed influential to minors, Jamie Foxx is meaningless to anyone under 19 years of age. As it stands, no other province has issued an similar ban on sports betting advertising since they are all run by the provincial lotteries (although Alberta seems just about ready to have a model similar to Ontario), but what is clear is that people in general are getting sick and tired of the constant ads for sports betting in general.

Ban talk gaining momentum

Two Canadian Senators, Percy Downe and Marty Deacon want the ads stopped completely.

They have asked Prime Minister Marc Carney to instruct the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to ban all advertising for sports gambling apps and websites. Their motion has received support from 40 other senators. The country has 105 Senators, meaning that 40% of the Senators are supporting the motion for a complete ban! While Senators have no power to enact new laws, they are very instrumental in affecting change, and any changes to existing laws must go through them. When Canada looked at changing the criminal code to allow single game sports betting, a bill to amend the criminal code passed with bipartisan support in the House of Commons when Stephen Harper was Prime Minister, but that change was nixed by Senate later when they refused to vote on the bill before the session ended. The Senate which are all unelected patronage appointments by the Prime Minister included many athletes like Ken Dryden who were lobbied by the NHL not to let the bill pass. And the Senate did just that, making up the excuse that they were not going to agree to the change because it did not receive proper debate in the House before being passed.

The truth is that the lobbying, combined with a spending bill scandal in the Senate forced the decision, since it was a way to show they were relevant, as Harper and others considered reforming the Senate as an elected body rather than patronage appointments by the Prime Minister. Eventually, in another vote under Justin Trudeau, the single game sports betting bill that was killed, later was agreed to by the House, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down PASPA and the country realized it was a losing battle.

Downe has said that the proliferation of ads is not only annoying but also dangerous because everyone has a mini casino in their pocket and said it should be treated the same way society treated smoking ads:

“For the very same reason we banned cigarette ads on all platforms, we should ban this because of the harm it does to society, and there’s no benefit,” he said. “You can’t legislate away human weaknesses, but you can legislate away the ability of others to take advantage of them.”

Psychologists have noted that over 20% of every sportscast is gambling ads and that it’s pretty much impossible for vulnerable people not to be affected by the ads. They also say kids are most vulnerable.

Paul Burns, the CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association was asked about the ads previously and said that sports betting is a legal product and like with any legal product, companies have the right to advertise. “Advertising is an important part of a regulated marketplace. It’s one of the privileges that operators have,” Burns told reporters after the initial athlete ban.

As it stands now only Italy has a broad ban on sports betting advertising while the UK, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Australia have bans across certain platforms and “whistle to whistle” bans during live games meaning that no sports betting ads can be shown as long as a game is taking place.

Does a ban have legs – will a full ban happen?

I spoke to ‘Joe’, a friend who works for the CRTC but asked to remain anonymous and he said that he thinks that Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is facing a lot of backlash right now for not doing enough with Trump and tariffs, may see this as an easy way to win support without really doing anything or affecting his base.

“Everyone is sick and tired of all the sports betting ads and if a law can be passed that would stop advertising not only during games but also during popular Prime Time TV shows, I think most of the public would pat the government on the back. Obviously, the marketing reps from the likes of FanDuel and Bet365 would complain vehemently, but I think the congratulations for the action would supersede the upset about an ad ban.”

I spoke to other gambling analysts in Canada and they said that a full ban on a legal product may be seen as a violation of the law, since it would be hard to prove that sports betting is detrimental to health the way cigarettes are which was the justification for the ban on tobacco. And alcohol ads along with lottery ads are still allowed on TV and in print ads so a ban using the reason of morality would never work. Consequently, the expectation is that there will be a compromise like in other countries and there will be bans in place during live games and in timeslots that caters to minors (i.e. Saturday mornings).

I asked Joe if he had any timeline and he said no, but he expected to hear from the government sometime next year and has no doubt that if it comes up for a vote in the House it would receive almost unanimous support. Any party that votes it down would be seen as pariahs. For his part Joe said that he agrees with a ban too because he’s sick of being bombarded with ads of up-to-the-minute-odds during every hockey and football game but at the same time he also understands that in a free country, legal companies have a right to advertise, so a partial ban during games is the way to go. And it may be coming to Ontario in the near future.

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