On September 8, 2025, the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published an opinion editorial examining the prevalence of betting advertisements during sports broadcasts and noting that it is their belief that the legalization of online gambling has transformed smartphones into accessible betting platforms. 

Gambling has been a part of daily life for decades, serving as a form of entertainment, social interaction, and economic activity. While gambling can have risks, its impact depends on regulation and individual circumstances. As gambling becomes more embedded in digital platforms and everyday experiences, oversight and regulation are important to reduce potential harm. The CGA has encouraged provincial governments to strengthen regulatory frameworks to address issues related to unlicensed operators. 

In 2022, Ontario established a regulated online gaming market, accompanied by a set of regulatory guidelines. According to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario’s (AGCO) advertising and responsible gambling regulations, operators must comply with over 20 requirements concerning gambling advertising. 

Since the inception of the regulated market, the AGCO has implemented regulatory enhancements, including the removal of athletes and clarification regarding the use of celebrities to prevent appealing to minors. Our position has consistently been that discussions surrounding advertising should be ongoing and informed by evidence-based research. Furthermore, we maintain that a robust regulatory framework must encompass comprehensive measures aimed at educating and safeguarding players. 

In Ontario, these include restrictions on mass market advertising of bonuses or incentives and mandatory training for staff who interact with customers, aimed at identifying and appropriately responding to players exhibiting signs of problem gambling, as well as assisting those experiencing harm. Operators must also provide 24-hour live customer support. 

Additionally, operators must: 

  • Prominently promote and make available tools to support responsible play – i.e. setting time, wager, and loss limits and a range of time-out settings (from hours to months) as well as the ability to self-exclude. 
  • Put out responsible gaming advertising to promote responsible gambling tools. 
  • Establish risk profiles and have a mechanism for intervention for those players who are exhibiting risky behaviour. Ontario is the only jurisdiction in Canada that requires this measure. 
  • The gaming industry in coordination with ThinkTV made it mandatory to include the Ontario Connex 1-800 number in all TV ads, improving awareness and knowledge of Ontario problem gambling assistance programs. 

Prohibiting advertising will not eliminate this activity. For over two decades, Canadians have had unrestricted access to unregulated online gaming and disregarding the existence of such activities or purporting that advertising is the cause of problem gambling would be unrealistic – and naïve. 

While the discourse surrounding gambling advertising in Canada has often been driven by emotion, the CGA maintains that a comprehensive discussion on gaming advertising is valuable, provided it is grounded in factual information and data. 

With the return of NFL and NHL, the returning focus on gambling advertising predictably reappeared, followed quickly with misinformation. So, we took a deep breath and dug back into our facts to demonstrate the amount of sports betting advertising has decreased: 

  • Online Gambling ad spend continued to decline in 2024, with a 1% drop year-over-year after a 7% decrease in 2023. 
  • TV remains the main medium for Online Gambling advertising. 
  • In 2024, Online Gambling made up 5% of Total TV Ad Spend and 2% of TV Ad Occurrences in Canada. 
  • It accounted for 2% of Total Media Ad Spend; Automotive, Financial & Insurance, Fast Food, and Pharma categories all spent more. 
  • Only 4% of NHL and 5% of NBA game ads were for Online Gambling. 

The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) commissioned a new 2024 study from Media Radar/Vivvix on online gambling and sports betting trends in Canada. 

The gaming industry does not control the presentation of sports betting commercials for broadcast, nor the in-game content that appears on screens. Broadcasters and leagues have developed their own policies that set restrictions on how, when, and where advertisements are shown. Responsibility is shared among broadcasters, leagues, provincial gaming regulators, and oversight bodies in Canada, such as thinkTV, Ad Standards Canada to ensure compliance with advertising standards. 

The CBC referenced a doctor who contributed to the CMAJ opinion editorial, stating that he has treated teenagers who borrowed a credit card to gamble and subsequently lost money. However, in Ontario, since the market’s launch in April 2022, minors have not been able to open accounts with licensed operators. We can’t say the same thing for provinces that haven’t chosen to regulate this activity and introduce safeguards. 

A relevant consideration is why other provinces have not adopted more robust measures to protect their citizens, especially considering widespread grey market activity in all provinces except Ontario. 

Gambling, including both online gambling and sports betting, has long been a normalized and widely accepted activity among many Ontarians and Canadians. Efforts by provinces to regulate and increase player protections in gambling are commendable. It is important to challenge assertions that the practice should remain hidden, banned or stigmatized.