Bulletin No. 17, January 21, 2025
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. Our website is BanAdsForGambling.ca
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In this Bulletin:
In this issue:
1. Bill S-269 approved by Senate now dead
2. FIFA 2026 world cup and gambling advertising
3. Michael Lewis on sports gambling
4. Subscribe to the Bulletin
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1. Bill S-269 approved by Senate now dead
Bill S-269, The National Framework on Advertising for Sports Betting Act, may have been unanimously approved by the Senate, but now that Parliament has been prorogued, it is dead.
We have written to Members of Parliament of all parties who have expressed support for control gambling ads, asking them to raise the issue with their political parties in the hope it can become a part of the coming election campaign. We encourage all of our readers to contact their own MP and make the same request. Here’s the kind of message you might send:
“As you know Bill S-269, The National Framework on Advertising for Sports Betting Act, was unanimously approved by the Senate, and we received strong expressions of support from MPs of all parties. Yet further progress on the bill has been stopped with the prorogation of Parliament. We need to bring the idea forward.
“Ideally, the *** (fill in the party appropriate of the MP you are contacting) would make the strict regulation of advertising for sports betting a plank in its forthcoming election campaign, and commit itself as a Government to introducing effective legislation. It is our sense from all the polling that has been done that this would be a popular stand to take. Would you be willing to put this idea forward, talk to other candidates who are running and ask then to include it in their programs, and ensure the idea was placed before the Commons when it returned?
“Are these ideas possible to implement? Any advice you have for us would be greatly appreciated.”
You might also add the latest evidence:
“Mental Health Research Canada reported in June of 2024 that the risk of problem gambling in Canada is 7% among adults, 15% among youth 18 to 34. That’s more than a million Canadians. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto reports that for every person addicted to gambling, another 5-10 are negatively affected. Gambling can lead to runaway debt, stress to families, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and even suicide. It’s particularly rampant among young men. Coaches and athletic directors say athletes are gambling away their tuition, meal and rent money.
“In a recent report, The Lancet calls gambling ‘an expanding public health threat’, and concludes that ‘governments have paid too little attention to gambling harms and have not done enough to prevent or mitigate them.’ It documents how the gambling industry has manipulated digital platforms to make them even more addictive. It calls for ‘stronger policy and regulatory controls focused on harm prevention and the protection of public health, prohibitions or restrictions on access, promotion, marketing, and sponsorship; the provision of affordable, universal support and treatment for gambling harms, and international coordination.”
Let us know of any responses from MPs.
2. FIFA 2026 World Cup and gambling advertising
It was recently reported that the organizer of the FIFA World Cup in 2026, the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) has launched an invitation for interested parties to bid to become the official betting partner/sponsor of the senior women’s and men’s national team and club competitions that will take place from 2025-2028; see Concacaf issues tender for first betting partner. The company selected would be a Tier 1 sponsor for the federation. The stories suggest that sponsorship might be connected to the men’s World Cup. We can only imagine that such a sponsor would seek signage in Toronto and Vancouver – where these events will take place - to advertise its involvement.
Our concern is that the World Cup in Toronto and Vancouver could become a vehicle for the further celebration of sports betting, to the significant detriment of children and youth and other vulnerable people.
We have asked the mayors of Toronto and Vancouver to direct World Cup Hosting 2026 to ban all ads for sports betting and other forms of gambling that will be displayed during the games. The cities may not have jurisdiction over the televised broadcasts or social media, but they should be able to control anything placed in the stadium and elsewhere in the city. We also have encouraged the cities to develop public service announcements outlining the health risks of sports betting that could be displayed during the World Cup.
3. Michael Lewis on sports gambling
The renowned American journalist Michael Lewis has now turned his attention to sports gambling and will be devoting his podcast to this subject for much of 2025.
He did a portion of one podcast on the subject, which can be found here: Michael Lewis podcast on sports betting
The first twelve minutes deals with the issue and he makes several interesting observations:
Fanduel and Draft King control 70 per cent of market. Sports betting is now a $100 billion a year activity world-wide. The social effects in states in the USA which permit sports betting compared to states which do not permit sports betting are frightening: bankruptcies are up 20 – 20 per cent; savings are down; suicides are up. Six of seven young men who gamble in the US have gambling problems; 26 per cent of young men who gamble in the UK are in trouble. We are wiring young minds to look for and expect a dopamine rush.
Companies mine data by excluding those who are smart betters and focusing on those who do not know what they are doing.
4. Subscribe to the Bulletin
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