Lawmakers in Ottawa are perhaps better positioned than ever to curb what some Canadians perceive as an explosion of sports betting-related advertising in the country.
Another vote on Bill S-211, the proposed "National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Act," has been scheduled for April 22 in the House of Commons.
- Canadian lawmakers are advancing Bill S-211, which aims to create a national framework to restrict sports betting advertising without fully banning it.
- The bill has Senate approval and is heading for further votes in the House of Commons, where majority government support could improve its chances of passing.
- Growing concern over increased gambling ads and related harms since legalization in 2021 and Ontario’s 2022 iGaming launch is driving momentum for regulation.
S-211 has already passed the appointed Senate but still needs a second and third reading in the elected House before it can become law. Next Wednesday’s vote will likely see the legislation referred to a House committee for further study.
The bill, which could curb the volume of ads for sports betting in Canada, appears to have a fair number of supporters as well. That includes members of the governing Liberals, who, after some recent floor crossings and byelections, now possess a majority of seats in the House, which will make passing the legislation of their choosing much easier.
“The least we can do right now in the House is to pass the bill, send it to committee and give it the consideration it deserves as we take on this scourge,” said Karim Bardeesy, a Liberal MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry, during debate on the bill this week.
Time will tell if S-211 has the support to pass the House, but the issue of sports betting advertising continues to interest lawmakers in the nation’s capital. The Senate passed similar legislation, S-269, in late 2024, but political happenings in the House delayed and ultimately doomed the legislation.
Bill S-211, which proposes additional restrictions on sports betting-related advertising in Canada, just passed the appointed Senate and now heads to the elected House of Commons.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) October 21, 2025
Will have a fresh story, but wrote about it last week as well:https://t.co/aVmRg0BBhu @Covers pic.twitter.com/8v6S2Qbzru
Lawmakers now have another chance in a much more stable political situation. A majority in the House reduces the likelihood of a sudden election or other turmoil that could derail S-211, especially if the government decides to back the bill.
That may give hope to Canadians concerned about the amount of sports betting advertising they’ve seen following the federal decriminalization of single-game sports wagering in 2021 and Ontario’s launch of a competitive iGaming market in 2022.
The latter move authorized a small army of private-sector sports betting and iCasino operators to do business in Canada’s most populous province. Their marketing efforts, particularly during live sporting events, have grated on some viewers. The advertising isn't always contained to Ontario either, which has irked regulators and voters in other provinces.
Timing is everything
Furthermore, recent research from the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests the legalization of single-game sports wagering and the launch of Ontario’s private iGaming market have contributed to increased calls to the province’s gambling helpline.
Alberta is also on the cusp of launching an Ontario-like market for online sports betting and iCasino sites, which could prompt additional advertising efforts.
“The choice that Parliament made five years ago has, yes, resulted in the growth of an industry, but at that time, we did not have the technological power to identify and lure people in this way,” Bardeesy said.
In other words, it might be an opportune moment for lawmakers to pass S-211.
The proposed "National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Act" would require the Minister of Canadian Heritage to develop that national framework.
This would include identifying measures to regulate sports betting ads, “with a view to restricting the use of such advertising, limiting the number, scope or location - or a combination of these - of the advertisements or to limiting or banning the participation of celebrities and athletes,” the bill says.
BREAKING: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney secured a majority government with a special election outcome Monday night. https://t.co/vACjGoMogj
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 14, 2026
The legislation doesn’t propose an outright ban on gambling ads in Canada, even if that is what some lawmakers may want. S-211’s sponsor, Ontario Senator Marty Deacon, said there is some legal uncertainty as to whether gambling-related harms rise to the same level as those of, say, cigarettes.
“That’s the bar a gambling ad would have to clear before the Supreme Court of Canada,” Deacon explained during discussion of the bill last June. “And while a ban was my initial aspiration, approach, and dream, we decided it was prudent here to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good: to ask for reasonable guardrails rather than seeking a ban that could lead to years of court battles.”
That said, the gaming industry has argued the legislation is unnecessary and that advertising rules would be better left to the provinces.
“Bill S-211 is unnecessary, as what it aims to do is already being undertaken by provincial governments, their agencies, gaming industry stakeholders, and a network of academic research organizations,” Canadian Gaming Association CEO Paul Burns wrote in a letter to a Senate committee last year.
