The main target of the marketing machine.
Sports-betting ads run during games kids watch, on phones kids hold, in feeds kids scroll. They normalize a behaviour that is anything but harmless.
Underage gambling can start as young as 9 or 10 years old. A primary responsibility of government is to protect children and young people ā which is why advertising for tobacco and cannabis is restricted in Canada, and why sports-betting advertising should be too.
Among young adults (18ā29) who gambled online in the past year, 69.4% met the criteria for problem gambling. When an addictive behaviour is introduced to a young, developing mind, the addiction develops quickly and becomes very difficult to treat.
Sports betting is also the industry's gateway. The ads hook people ā especially young men ā on betting platforms, and once they have signed up, operators steer them toward their far more addictive online casino games.
One-pagers coming soon
Campaign members are preparing downloadable one-page briefs for this section: Child gambling and A crisis of masculinity. They will be posted here ā in the meantime, read the full case or browse the research.
It doesn't start with a bet.
It starts with an ad.
Tell your MP to pass Bill Sā211 ā it takes a minute.