A spokesperson for the Canadian Psychological Association is calling on Parliament to ban sports betting advertising outright, as a federal bill that would set national rules for such ads returns to the House of Commons for final votes. Steven Joordens said young people are especially exposed to betting marketing and are particularly vulnerable to its effects.
The bill, S-211, was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Marty Deacon. The Senate passed it more than a year ago. On Nov. 4, the House of Commons heritage committee amended the legislation, and it now goes back to the House for final votes. The timing of its passage remains uncertain.
Single-event sports betting was legalized at the federal level in 2021. Online gambling expanded further after COVID-19 closures pushed more activity onto digital platforms. Ontario opened its online gaming market to private operators in 2022, a change that has brought a steady flow of betting promotions into everyday media.
Data cited in the reporting point to rising exposure among students. An Ontario student survey from 2025 found that 23 per cent saw online gambling ads daily. Online sports betting among Ontario students rose from 1 per cent in 2017 to 10 per cent in 2025, according to the same figures.
The concern extends beyond youth participation. According to an Alberta institute, the number of problem gamblers in Ontario rose from about 43,000 in 2018 to more than 130,000 in 2025. Advocates argue that heavy advertising is one factor in that growth, though the reporting does not establish a single cause.
The question of who should regulate these ads is central to the bill. Provinces have held jurisdiction over gambling since 1985, but advertising does not stop at provincial borders, which Deacon has pointed to as the reason for federal action. The Canadian Gaming Association, through its spokesperson Paul Burns, has argued that provinces should retain the regulatory role.
Burns put the scale of advertising in context. He said gambling ads account for about 2 per cent of television advertising, and that sports betting represents about 5 per cent of gaming revenue. His position is that the industry should be regulated by the provinces that already oversee it.
Pressure for stronger federal action has also come from Parliament itself. In November 2025, 40 senators wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney asking for a ban on sports betting advertising. Sen. Percy Downe has compared limits on gambling advertising to the tobacco advertising ban, a precedent supporters cite when arguing that advertising restrictions can be imposed on legal products linked to public health harm.
Whether S-211 will in fact restrict advertising, and in what form, will depend on the House votes still to come. The bill's amended text from the heritage committee and the final decision on its passage will determine what rules, if any, apply to sports betting promotions across the country.
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