Bulletin No. 11, June 12, 2024
This Bulletin is published by the Campaign to Ban Ads for Gambling, a group of individuals interested in securing legislation to ban advertisements for gambling, just as has been done for tobacco and cannabis.
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In this Bulletin:
1. Public Hearing by Senate Committee
2. iGaming Ontario Stats for Third Quarter 2023
3. Subscribe to the Bulletin
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1. Public Hearing by Senate Committee
Public input on Bill S-369 happened at the Senate Transportation and Communication Committee on June 5. There were six invited speakers – three in the first hour and three in the second hour, each given five minutes, followed by 45 minutes of general questioning by senators. It seemed clear from the questioning that there was general support among the senators for a complete ban on gambling ads.
Bruce Kidd started, presenting on behalf of BanAdsforGambling.ca. His speech can be found on our web site. He was followed by Jean-Francois Crepault of CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) who summarized CAMH’s position – See Bulletin No. 9 – and then made it clear that CAMH generally believes a complete ban on advertisements is preferable.
Steve Joordens, Professor of Psychology at University of Toronto, Scarborough, spoke on behalf of the 7000 members of the Canadian Psychological Association. He gave a very powerful speech, arguing that gambling ads pushes people into addiction, and we should not permit that.
The second hour began with Raffaello Rossi of the University of Bristol, who talked about the study be did for CBC on gambling ads during NHL and NBA games – see Bulletin No. 6. He said there were on average three gambling ads per minute during those games. He also talked about the research he had done which showed that gambling ads which adults find boring often appeal to young people, and suggested this was a deliberate strategy of the international gambling companies to get youth interested in gambling.
Will Hill, Executive Director of the Canadian Lottery Coalition, representing many provincial lottery corporations (although not Ontario) argued that provincial lotteries provide employment, that revenues go to good causes, and help corner stores which sell lottery tickets. He said the big problem was unregistered gambling opportunities and thought that needed to be addressed. He admitted that people were not buying as many lottery tickets now as they did in the past. Raffaello Rossi argued that the lottery ads appealed to younger people and therefore were a problem.
The third speaker was Martin Sampson, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Parks and Recreation Association, although he was speaking not for the Association but on his own behalf. He talked about how he saw the ads which appealed to his two teenage sons who are hockey players and in an emotionally powerful speech he said they are `carpet-bombing my sons’ minds.’
Senator Paula Simon of Alberta made the point that Alberta, like other provinces, seems addicted to gambling. As a journalist, she had found that the costs of gambling outweighed revenues to the government. Other senators also made good points or asked strong questions, including Donna Dasko, Roger Cuzner, and Marty Deacon (the sponsor of the Bill) as well as the chair, Julie Mirveille-DeChene.
The video of the committee’s session can be found by following this link:
https://senparlvu.parl.gc.ca/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2?fk=642628&globalStreamId=3
Each hour begins with the five minute speeches of each presenter.
We have been informed the committee will not meet again to complete public presentations until the Fall, when the Senate reconvenes. We do not know who has been invited to speak then. The timing is disappointing but not something in our control.
2. iGaming Ontario Stats for Q3 2023
iGaming Ontario reports that during the third quarter of last year, total wagers were $17.2 billion, a 21% increase over Q2, and total gaming revenue was $658 million, a 22% increase. This figure represents total cash wagers across all Operators, minus player winnings derived from cash wagers and does not take into account operating costs or other liabilities.
About 1.2 million player accounts were active during Q3, with an average monthly spend per active player account of $186.
Casino games, including slots, live and computer-based table games and peer-to-peer bingo, accounted for nearly $13.7 billion (79%) of total wagers and $471 million (71%) of gaming revenue. Betting on sports and esports accounted for $3.1 billion (18%) of total wagers and $171 million (25%) of gaming revenue.
See https://igamingontario.ca/en/news/igaming-ontarios-fy-2023-24-q3-market-performance-report
iGaming Ontario does not report on the cost of gambling to addicts, family breakup and so forth, nor does it discuss the very limited amount the Ontario government spends on gambling problems, thought to be less than $15 million a year.
4. Subscribe to the Bulletin
There is no charge for the Bulletin, and we will not share subscriber names. We need as much support as we can get, so please send this Bulletin to your friends and colleagues. Subscribe at info@banadsforgambling.ca . And we are delighted to receive your financial support. Make a donation by going to our site.
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