“Your ‘strict rules’ are failing our kids.”
Our April letter to Hon. Stan Cho, Ontario's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming — responding to his promotion of “responsible gambling” and urging a public-health approach instead. It preceded our May 29 letter requesting a meeting.
April 26, 2026 · sent with a copy of our letter to all Ontario MPPs enclosed
Dear Minister Cho,
Subject: The Public Health Crisis being Fueled by Gambling Ads
We have just written to all MPPs in Ontario expressing our profound anger and frustration about the harm created by the regime of sports betting that currently exists and is growing virtually unchecked in our province. Your copy of that letter is enclosed in this envelope.
We are also writing to you specifically in response to your statement posted on Instagram on April 2, 2026 regarding the Responsible Gambling Council's 2026 Young Adult Intervention PSA campaign, which you say has the goal of helping people make informed and safer gambling choices.
Fueled by a relentless barrage of aggressive ads designed to attract the vulnerable, especially young people, there is a growing public health crisis. In our letter to all MPPs we set out the alarming statistics.
The mental health practitioners, the pediatricians, the psychologists and psychiatrists, and the researchers are telling us that messages about “responsible gambling” do not work and that the most effective way to reduce the harms of gambling is to restrict the advertising.
Notwithstanding the growing body of research, you continue to promote the fallacy of “responsible gambling” and to brag that Ontario has created “best practices to safeguard players”. You say that “Since launching a regulated iGaming market in Ontario in 2022, Ontario has put in place strong rules to protect players…”. Yet it is since the legalization of online betting and the unleashing of aggressive advertising campaigns that are everywhere, including on kids' phones 24/7, that the calls to helplines have multiplied and the rates of problem gambling, including among the young, have skyrocketed.
Your “best practices” are failing Ontarians. Your “strict rules” are failing our kids.
A primary responsibility for action to protect children and young people rests with governments. We expect more from you. We do not expect you to ignore the experts and the research and to effectively promote the gambling companies. Please stop promoting “responsible gambling”, and please start taking a public health approach to this crisis. A meaningful step towards responsible action would be to pass Bill 107.
Respectfully,
Robin Campbell
Bruce Kidd
For the Campaign to Ban Ads for Gambling · BanAdsForGambling.ca