Senators call on prime minister to ban advertising for sports betting
CBC
Two senators are calling on the federal government to ban advertising for sports betting in Canada.
A letter to the prime minister from Charlottetown Sen. Percy Downe and Waterloo Sen. Marty Deacon asks the government to have the CRTC ban all advertising for sports gambling apps and websites. It is supported by 40 other senators.
The letter says people of all ages who are exposed to the stream of ads are being influenced to turn their phone into "a pocket-sized casino."
It also references a CBC Marketplace report that found gambling messages fill up, on average, 21 per cent of a sporting event’s broadcast runtime.
Downe, the senator from Charlottetown, said he thinks the issue has gotten worse in recent years with amendments made to Bill C-218 in 2021, which legalized single-event sports betting.
Downe said it is different than just betting the outcome of a hockey game.
"You can now bet on who will score in the next five, what the odds are," Downe said.
"Everybody in effect is carrying a mini casino in their pocket. It's enticing more and more people to participate and many people, unfortunately, will suffer as a result of that."
Downe says there have already been a few changes with some bans on sports personalities being featured in gambling ads, but he wants to see the government take further steps.
"For the very same reason we banned cigarette ads on all platforms, we should ban this because of the harm it does to society, and there's no benefit," he said.
"You can't legislate away human weaknesses, but you can legislate away the ability of others to take advantage of them."
Elizabeth Stephen, a Halifax-based counselling therapist, says young people are at a higher risk when it comes to sports betting. She said she has noticed the number of gambling ads during televised games.
She said there should be guidelines around sports betting advertising even if there isn't an outright ban.
"Professional sports, it’s completely associated with gambling these days and it’s become so normal," Stephen said. "Youth, I mean their brains, and their interests are developing, they’re highly influenced.
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