Bill S‑211: An Act respecting a national framework on sports-betting advertising.
In October 2025, the Senate unanimously passed Bill S‑211 after thorough study and testimony from leading public-health, legal, and sport voices. On April 22, 2026, it passed second reading in the House of Commons by a large majority that included Prime Minister Carney. Committee hearings and final votes are expected for the fall of 2026.
Through the Senate, past second reading — final votes expected in the fall of 2026.
Bill S‑211 passed second reading in the House on April 22, 2026, by a large majority that included Prime Minister Carney. With Parliament adjourned for the summer, committee hearings and final votes are expected for the fall of 2026 — please write your MP to request that they follow through to ensure the bill becomes law. (It is a reintroduction of the 2024 session's Bill S‑269.)
A national framework — built to be enforceable.
The bill requires the Minister of Canadian Heritage to develop a national framework on sports-betting advertising. The framework may restrict ad volume, placement, and the use of celebrity and athlete endorsements. It would also set national standards for addiction prevention and support.
- Develops a national framework on sports-betting advertising
- May restrict ad volume, placement, and celebrity / athlete endorsements
- Sets national standards for addiction prevention and support
- Requires the CRTC to review its broadcasting policies for harm reduction
- Promotes research and information sharing on prevention and diagnosis for minors
- Framework must be tabled within one year of the bill coming into force
- An implementation report follows within five years
A good first step — not the last one.
Senator Marty Deacon, an Olympic sports leader and the bill's sponsor, has been candid: a full ban on gambling advertising would raise Charter questions and risk a rougher path through Parliament. S‑211 is what is realistically on the table right now — and it is necessary.
The Campaign to Ban Ads for Gambling supports Bill S‑211 wholeheartedly. Once it passes, we will keep advocating for the type of framework we ultimately believe is needed: a total ban on all sports-betting advertising, the way Canada banned advertising for tobacco and cannabis. And once a robust framework for sports-betting advertising is in place, the Campaign will continue to advocate for a ban on all gambling advertising.
Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Urge your MP to vote for Bill S‑211.
The push is building at Queen's Park, too.
Bill S‑211 is a federal bill, but the pressure for limits is also growing provincially. Earlier this year, MPP Lee Fairclough introduced Bill 107, the Stop Harmful Gambling Advertising Act, at Queen's Park — a bill that would have banned all online gambling advertising in Ontario, not just sports-betting ads. Although it was supported by all three opposition parties, the Ford Government voted it down.
The fight matters because Ontario licenses private operators, and most of the ads Canadians see are produced for Ontario audiences before reaching every other province and territory. And Alberta is now licensing online gambling platforms of its own.
Federal and provincial action reinforce each other. Ottawa can set national standards, while the provinces, as licensing bodies, can impose advertising restrictions as a condition of the licences they grant. As a Canada-wide campaign, we believe every province and territory that licenses private operators should ban gambling advertising — and we are urging them to do exactly that.
Our model regulatory regime.
Bill S‑211 directs the government to build a national framework — but it doesn't write the rules itself. Once Bill S‑211 passes, the Campaign to Ban Ads for Gambling will present a draft regulatory framework that includes a ban on advertising, marketing, and promotion, comparable to the regulation on tobacco and cannabis.
Public-health, legal, and sport voices testified in support.
Bill S‑211 passed third reading in the Senate after thorough study and testimony from, among others:
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
Canadian Psychological Association
Lord Michael Grade
British broadcasting regulator
Bruce Kidd
Olympian and Professor Emeritus of Sport Policy
Canadian Parks and Recreation Association
Raffaello Rossi
Lecturer in Marketing, University of Bristol
Who testified at the Senate on Bill S‑211
- Jean-François Crépault, Senior Policy Analyst (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health)
- Will Hill, Executive Director (Canadian Lottery Coalition)
- Steve Joordens, Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough (Canadian Psychological Association)
- Bruce Kidd, Member (Campaign to Ban Advertising for Gambling)
- Stewart Madon, Director, Professional Practice (Canadian Psychological Association)
- Raffaello Rossi, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Marketing, University of Bristol Business School (as an individual)
- Martin Sampson, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Parks and Recreation Association (as an individual)
Senators Marty Deacon and Brent Cotter.
Sen. Deacon (Ontario), an Olympic sports leader, and Sen. Cotter (Saskatchewan) first introduced this legislation as Bill S‑269 in June 2023. After it passed the Senate unanimously in November 2024 and died at prorogation in January 2025, Sen. Deacon reintroduced it as Bill S‑211, which the Senate passed unanimously on October 21, 2025.
"The ads we see permeate every phone and every television screen across the country. This is a problem that is not going to get better on its own. We're steering straight toward the iceberg if we do nothing."
Senator Deacon describes the current state of Canada's sports-betting market as a "Wild West" — saturated with advertising from Ontario — until this year the only province licensing private operators, with Alberta now following — and unchecked by any national framework.
Read the bill yourself.
The full text of Bill S‑211 is published by the Parliament of Canada.
Open Bill S‑211 on parl.ca →The Senate's done its part.
Now your MP needs to hear from you.
Bill S‑211 is one vote away from becoming a national framework. Send a letter — takes a minute.