Industry Weighs In on Canadian National Sports Betting Ad Bill

Posted on: November 22, 2024, 06:59h. 

Last updated on: November 22, 2024, 09:34h.

Mark Keast Read More
Expertise: Canadian Gaming, iGaming, Las Vegas, Sports Betting, NFL, Boxing, UFC.

A new national advertising bill for the gaming industry in Canada is generating no shortage of industry reaction.

Wayne Gretzky (L), Tom Brady (Center), and Vince Vaughn (R) are among the celebrities who pitched online gambling on behalf of BetMGM in the US and Canada. New national sports betting ad legislation in Canada would likely clamp down on the use of celebrities. (Image: BetMGM)

Bill S-269, sponsored by Canadian Senator Marty Deacon, calls for the Minister of Heritage Pascal St-Onge to develop new national standards on sports betting advertising around what goes into gambling ads, when they run, and the volume of advertising that’s out there.

Upon the bill becoming law, the minister would begin a dialogue with provincial lawmakers, indigenous groups, and gaming regulators to set the new framework.

Volume of Gambling Ads the Concern

Single-game wagering became law in Canada in 2021 (Bill C-218), and an open, competitive, regulated iGaming market went live in Ontario in April 2022. Alberta is next up, and is likely to launch an Ontario-style market in 2025.

The volume of gambling advertising since the Ontario market went live has been a concern for many people as the operators who entered the market were looking to get a competitive edge. There’s been no shortage of investigative media reporting critical about what’s gone on.

In a presentation to the Senate chamber in September 2023, Deacon referenced the high volume of ads during the spring 2023 Leafs-Panthers NHL playoff series. And that’s not even factoring in the intermission segments where panelists give tips on betting odds, she added.

Of significant concern for Deacon and many others, and a primary reason for sponsoring the bill, is concern about the impact of gambling on young people. A recent Australian study on the topic, Deacon said, found that young people are more likely to bet on impulse, potentially creating a new generation of gambling addicts.

Then there are the growing numbers of adult problem gamblers, she said, inundated with temptation when they sit down to watch a game. Deacon said the mental health impacts on those people, as well as on people in their circle, could lead to collateral damage, including increased crime, bankruptcy, and suicides.

Problem Gamblers

Deacon talked about the United Kingdom, which legalized single-event sports betting in 2005, with few restrictions on advertising, and now has an estimated 300K people as problem gamblers, 55K of them children.

“This is all more than being just an irritation or distraction,” she told the chamber. “These promotions have very serious, evidence-based negative consequences.”

An Ipsos poll in 2023 found that 63% of those surveyed were tired of seeing gambling ads, with those Canadians wanting limits on advertising.

Canadian provinces are the only entities that can determine what happens within their borders when it comes to gambling. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) brought in its own set of advertising restrictions, introduced last February, that among other things, restrict the use of celebrities “who would likely be expected to appeal to minors.”

David Rivers, senior vice president of marketing, PointsBet Canada. Image/PointsBet Canada

Ontario is open to private operators who obtain licenses from the AGCO, but the only place one can bet legally in Alberta, for example, is the provincially run Play Alberta platform.

Some gaming ads are broadcast nationally, so they appear in markets where private operators like BetMGM don’t have a license (they are licensed in Ontario). That’s confusing for people – 39% of British Columbians, 27% of Atlantic Canadians, and 42% of Albertans think those companies are permitted to operate in their province, Deacon said.

Industry Calls for Self-Regulation

That AGCO action to impose advertising restrictions didn’t go far enough, Deacon added.

Deacon isn’t calling for a full ban on gambling advertising, just legislation that restricts advertising from a national perspective, similar to what she said we see in the cannabis, tobacco, and alcohol industries.

“PointsBet remains committed to adhering to the highest standards of advertising compliance — we recognize the importance of responsibly marketing the iGaming industry to maintain the trust of participants and stakeholders,” said David Rivers, PointsBet Canada’s senior vice president of marketing.

“It’s worth noting that much of the current concern around gambling-related advertising stems from below-the-line activities, where less oversight exists compared to above-the-line advertising, which is already highly regulated and transparent, ensuring compliance with the AGCO’s standards, ” he added. “We welcome ongoing discussions with regulators and stakeholders to ensure a balanced approach that safeguards consumers while supporting a responsible and competitive market.”

CGA Study: Number of Ads has Decreased

The industry and the media have been debating the worthiness of the bill, including a Globe and Mail editorial on November 13, that argued the federal government needs to get this bill into law before Christmas since “Viewers’ synapses are inundated with ads for online betting during sports broadcasts.”

The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) has, on the other hand, been particularly outspoken in defense of the industry.

The CGA recently commissioned a study from Vivvix/Media Radar to quantify just exactly how many ads were shown across Canada in the summer of 2024.

The study looked at all Canadian media between 2019 (pre-Ontario regulation) and 2023 (a year after regulation). Media included television (network and elective), print (newspaper and magazine), out-of-home, radio, and digital (desktop display, desktop video, mobile web browser). It also reviewed both NHL and NBA games originating from Canadian broadcasters.

CGA President and CEO Paul Burns said the study factually demonstrates that media have overblown the number of ads that have appeared, and that he doesn’t think the Deacon-sponsored bill is necessary. The Ontario market, after a wild initial period where major operators were getting licensed and jumping in (51 are currently licensed in Ontario), he said, has matured.

More Resources for Problem Gamblers

“For the first time since Ontario’s regulated market opened, we can measure what is occurring when it comes to iGaming advertising,” Burns told Casino.org. “It is also worth remembering that there are many levels of regulations in place before a television ad is aired (AGCO standards, thinkTV, Ad Standards Canada) as well as parameters established by the leagues and the broadcasters. Operators must be compliant with all of these before an ad can be shown.”

Burns, in an interview this week with Gaming News Canada, said legalized gambling has existed in Canada for almost 40 years, and is a highly regulated, dynamic, and customer-driven business.

That sense of urgency, call to action, all of those things that you can’t do in an ad, they’ve been around for years (for gambling),” Burns said. “This assumption that there’s no rules (in the gambling industry) has been permeating in the debate in the media since 2022. A lot of this stuff is false, it’s misleading. Our commitment to responsible gaming far outstrips what’s occurred in the UK or many other countries.”

Burns added that what regulators want is to curtail volume and ban advertising.

“If you want to do that then do it,” Burns said. “There is a need for a better conversation because the industry isn’t in denial — it isn’t running from anything.”

Legislative Gridlock

“I think (the bill) is a knee-jerk reaction to a lot of poorly researched and sensationalized media coverage demonizing betting and gaming advertising in Canada,” said Mark Harper, head of emerging markets for BVGroup, told Casino.org. “As an example, online gambling has only represented 2% of all TV ad occurrences in 2022 and 2023, in Canada. And further online gambling only represents 8% of total media ad spends. Only 6% of NHL hockey game ad occurrences were for online gambling ads.”

Burns added in his conversation with Gaming News Canada that people think there’s more gaming advertising because there’s a newness to the regulated industry. In reality, he said, you’re likely to see products in other industries advertising more.

The whole discussion might be moot as Bill S-269 made its way through the Senate earlier this month, and is now back in the House of Commons for its first reading, the first step in a final chapter of passage before it’s given Royal Assent and turned into law.

Election On the Horizon

The Liberal minority government and the Conservative opposition are embroiled in a privilege debate involving access to unreacted documents that’s been going on for months. The whole legislative process is gridlocked and, with the Christmas recess coming up fast (December 17), and other bills to get to, the politicians may never get to it.

With the Conservatives working to bring down the Liberal government in a nonconfidence vote, and an election scheduled on or before Oct. 20, 2025, its unclear if the bill will ever become law.