OTTAWA — A psychologist is urging the federal government to implement a ban on all advertising that promotes sports betting while it considers a comprehensive national regulatory framework. This call for action follows the progression of Bill S-211, which is spearheaded by Senator Marty Deacon. The bill aims to establish a plan for regulating sports betting advertisements, setting national standards to mitigate the risk associated with problem gambling.
The Senate passed Bill S-211 over a year ago, and it has since advanced significantly through the House of Commons. On November 4, the heritage committee approved the bill with several amendments, which means it will return to the House for final votes soon.
Dr. Steven Joordens, who represents the Canadian Psychological Association, expressed disappointment that the bill has taken nearly two years to reach its current stage. He emphasized that immediate action is necessary to ban these advertisements. “At the time they’re finally potentially going to pass this two years later, it does not seem enough,” Joordens remarked.
Joordens highlighted the detrimental impact sports betting advertisements can have on young people. He noted that they are more likely to be involved in sports, exposing them to marketing aimed at gambling. “They’re much more likely to be in front of sport in the first place, are much more likely to be engaged in the sport, and so that means first of all, they’re much more likely to be exposed to the marketing,” he stated.
The rise of online gambling in Canada has been significant, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and the federal government's decision in 2021 to legalize single-event sports betting. Since Ontario opened its online gaming market to private operators in 2022, the number of available online gaming options has surged.
Provincial authorities argued that residents were already gambling through unregulated international websites. An alarming statistic from the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey indicated that in 2025, 23 percent of students reported encountering online gambling advertisements at least once per day. Joordens cautioned that young individuals lack the mental capacity to engage in safe gambling, making the advertisements they encounter particularly harmful.
He elaborated, saying, “An 18-year-old has the primitive brain fully developed that’s going to make them love the experience of gambling, but they don’t have the frontal lobes developed to let them know, ‘Hey this isn’t smart, you should really stop.'” Additionally, statistics from the survey revealed a significant increase in the engagement of online sports betting by students, rising from one percent in 2017 to ten percent in 2025.
The federal government has delegated the responsibility of regulating gaming to the provinces since 1985. Deacon contended that the cross-border nature of sports betting advertisements necessitates federal intervention. “In B.C., they’re getting Ontario ads, in P.E.I., in the North. So what we have is our provincial jurisdiction took a little bit of a dive when the type of ways of being exposed to this changed,” she explained.
The Alberta Gambling Research Institute reported in 2025 that the number of individuals with gambling problems in Ontario more than doubled over a seven-year span, climbing from about 43,000 in 2018 to over 130,000 by 2025.
Conversely, Paul Burns of the Canadian Gaming Association argued that provinces are best equipped to manage gambling regulations. He noted, “The provinces have set up regimes based on their wishes for the province, so we think they still have the best tools to do it.” Furthermore, Burns pointed out that gambling ads constitute only two percent of all television advertising, while sports betting revenue accounts for approximately five percent of total gaming revenue in Canada.
In November 2025, shortly after Senate approval of Bill S-211, 40 senators extended a request to Prime Minister Mark Carney, advocating for a ban on all advertisements promoting sports betting websites and applications. Senator Percy Downe, one of the signatories, remarked in January that the barrage of sports betting ads has become “relentless” and has “crossed a line.” He drew parallels to past public health measures, stating, “We banned ads for cigarettes because of the harmful effects of smoking on public health. We have mounting evidence that gambling is seriously harmful to Canadians’ health and so the same logic should apply.”
