A bill aimed at establishing regulatory guidelines for how sports betting operators market themselves in Canada is advancing in the nation's Parliament.
Senator Marty Deacon (ISG-Ontario) presented Senate Bill 269 in April. The law aims to establish a nationwide regulatory structure for sportsbook firms and the manner in which they can promote their in-person and online sports betting activities.
Deacon's legislation suggests restricting or prohibiting celebrity and athlete appearances in advertisements, capping the quantity of ads shown at sporting events, and banning commercial sports betting advertisements during live event broadcasts on television.
Deacon's legislation is anticipated to pass the Senate after gaining backing in its initial two readings. If it clears the chamber, it would proceed to the House of Commons for review.
In 2022, Ontario initiated legal single-game sports betting in Canada. The gambling practice has since disseminated to nearly all provinces in various forms, with provincial lotteries and/or alcohol and gaming commissions overseeing the sector.
The parliament members who advocate for limiting sports betting advertisements think that this regulatory shift would benefit the public.
"For most people watching these ads, they’re simply annoying. But for a number of people, they trigger addiction,” Sen. Percy Downe (CSG-Prince Edward Island) told CBC Radio.
“My particular concern is the impact on young people,” Downe continued. He says the common practice of sportsbooks tapping celebrities and popular athletes to market their gambling ops is of utmost worry.
"Young people aspire for that lifestyle thinking, ‘Oh, I can make some easy moeny,'” Downe continued. “Are we expanding the number of gamblers, and are we growing the addiction problem?”
The Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction contends that sports betting advertisements frequently employ “masculine” language aimed at persuading fans that engaging in wagering on games enhances their status as fans.
“When you have this huge amount of advertising coming in, that should be expected to increase gambling involvement, which should be expected to increase harm,” said Matthew Young, a senior researcher at the center. “Anything we can do to curtail or to reduce the amount of gambling advertising is in the public benefit.”
Canada's move to limit the advertising methods of sports betting companies aligns with a comparable trend in the US, where numerous states have enacted legislation to regulate their promotional content. Various state gaming regulatory bodies have instructed their licensed sportsbooks to eliminate contentious terms such as “risk-free” and “free bet” from their promotional materials.
In February, US Representative Paul Tonko (D-New York) presented the “SAFE Bet Act” (Supporting Affordability and Fairness With Every Bet Act). The legislation aims to prohibit sports betting ads from airing during live sporting events and restrict terms such as "bonus," "boost," "no sweat," and comparable language in sportsbook advertisements.
SAFE Bet would additionally ban the use of credit cards for funding an online sportsbook account at the federal level and limit a customer to a maximum of five deposits within a 24-hour period. Tonko's legislation is still with the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
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