Canadian lawmakers are considering a national approach to sports betting advertising as research documents persistent exposure during televised games and public health groups seek stronger protections. Ontario and Alberta oppose the federal proposal, arguing that provinces should retain control over advertising rules.
Bill S-211, the National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Act, passed the Senate in October 2025. The House of Commons approved its second reading by 291 votes to 28 in April 2026, sending it to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. Committee approval would allow the measure to proceed to its third and final Commons reading.
The legislation would assign the federal heritage minister responsibility for developing an advertising framework through consultations. The minister would have one year after the law takes effect to report on that framework. A review would also examine whether existing broadcasting policies adequately address gambling advertising harms.
“It is a national framework around sports betting advertising,” said Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger, the bill’s Commons sponsor.
Chagger hopes subsequent measures will prohibit gambling promotions during live sports and on sportswear. She also supports limits on advertising hours and restrictions on endorsements by athletes and celebrities. The bill leaves the eventual standards to the framework process.
Researchers Find Betting Messages Throughout Broadcasts
University of Bristol researchers counted approximately 3,000 gambling messages across seven televised NHL playoff games involving Canadian teams in 2026. Around 95 per cent contained no harm-reduction information or age restrictions.
The analysis included commercials and branding visible during play. Researchers recorded logos on rink boards and uniforms, with messages appearing an average of two to three times per minute.
Raffaello Rossi, the study’s lead researcher and a senior lecturer in marketing, explained how sponsorship extends advertisers’ visibility.
“Advertising via logos around the stadium, on the jerseys, on the helmets is much more efficient, because you’ve got a lot of knock-on effects,” he said.
“For example, if a news broadcast shows the highlights of a match, you will see these logos all across the sporting event. If somebody shares something on their social media, you will see those logos.”
The findings showed exposure remained comparable to levels researchers recorded in 2024. Rossi also noted the arrival of prediction-market advertising and pointed to restrictions introduced elsewhere.
“Multiple countries since then have introduced quite strict regulations and restrictions on gambling marketing in sports. So, for example, in Belgium and Italy and Spain, there’s almost entire bans on sponsorship during sports.”
Provinces and Industry Defend Existing Oversight
Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey has urged Ottawa to leave advertising regulation with the province. He cited Ontario’s existing advertising standards and the protections introduced alongside its regulated market.
“Ontario has already established a comprehensive and modern regulatory framework for online gaming and sports betting, which came into force in 2022. Advertising standards and protections were a central component of this work,” he wrote.
Alberta’s Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, Dale Nally, warned that federal involvement would create two levels of regulation and threaten future provincial revenue.
The Canadian Gaming Association, which represents 80 gambling businesses, also opposes the proposal. It wants provinces to determine advertising requirements and has called for government funding to assess the “underlying health challenges” associated with gambling addiction.
“Unlike alcohol and cannabis, online gambling platforms, both regulated and unregulated, are readily accessible with just a few clicks. In this environment, advertising plays an important role in directing consumers toward regulated operators that are subject to stringent oversight, consumer protection requirements and responsible gambling standards,” its submission states.
Gambling researcher Matthew Young of Greo Evidence Insights questioned how provincial boundaries can govern advertising that reaches audiences nationwide.
“The entire world is grappling with this in some way,” Young said.
“The real challenge right now is that we have a regulatory regime that is built upon physical borders, but a product that doesn’t respect physical borders.”
“The argument that its provincial and territorial jurisdiction was all fine and well until ads from Ontario blanketed the nation and then suddenly New Brunswick had to deal with ads from Ontario.”
Health Advocates Describe the Effects of Repeated Exposure
A coalition of 12 mental health organizations and 28 addictions researchers has submitted calls for national action to Parliament. Participants include the Canadian Mental Health Association and Public Health Physicians of Canada.
Chagger cited financial losses and deaths when explaining her support for advertising restrictions.
“People are being impacted in a very harmful way. They are losing their livelihoods, they’re losing their homes, they’re losing their savings, they’re losing their lives,” she said.
Senator Marty Deacon, who initiated the legislation, said national broadcasts expose residents to promotions across provincial borders.
“These ads are ubiquitous across the country, especially in national broadcasts that are sponsored by betting companies, with logos plastered across broadcast desks, arenas and fields; this encourages Canadians in every province to gamble, even in those provinces who have held back,” she wrote.
“We know where this is going, but we’re allowing it to happen anyway.”
For T.S., a 22-year-old Ontario resident recovering from gambling problems, the advertising remains “frustrating.”
He began gambling with friends three years ago. After losing $14,000 in one night last year, he sought treatment and says he has not gambled since.
“Imagine you’re an alcoholic and there was a beer ad during every show you watched,” he said.
He described the effect advertising had during his gambling episode: “It certainly … would trigger me to go back and place another bet.”
T.S. supports banning online casino advertising or requiring warnings comparable to those used for other addictive products.
“I think similar to cigarettes, you could put labelling on the apps themselves, as well as the ads: ‘Here’s what happened to Terry when he spent half his life savings on blackjack one night.'”
Source:
MPs moving to restrict gambling ads in Canada amid mounting harms, cbc.ca, October 22, 2026
