Canada’s chamber of sober second thought is once again poised to pass a bill that would restrict advertising for online sports betting in the country.
- The Canadian Senate is set to pass Bill S-211, which would create a national framework to restrict online sports betting advertising.
- The bill aims to limit the volume, content, and celebrity involvement in such ads amid concerns over their growing presence since single-game betting was legalized.
- Although industry voices argue the bill is unnecessary due to existing provincial efforts, the Senate remains committed to advancing national regulations before new markets like Alberta's open.
The Senate of Canada’s Standing Committee on Transport and Communications passed Bill S-211, "an Act respecting a national framework on sports betting advertising," last week without amendments.
S-211’s committee approval now tees it up for a third reading in the appointed Senate as early as next week. Another Senate approval would then kick the legislation over to the elected House of Commons for further scrutiny and potential passage into law.
We appear headed for another big debate about sports betting advertising in Canada, spurred on by legislation in the Senate that has been passed once already:https://t.co/Kg1jI5I5Ji @Covers
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) June 17, 2025
If it becomes law, S-211 would require the federal Minister of Canadian Heritage to create a national framework for sports betting-related advertising in Canada.
The framework would, among other things, identify ways to regulate those 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 in the promotion of sports betting.”
Regrets, they have a few
S-211 is in response to the advertising for online sports betting in Canada that followed federal lawmakers decriminalizing single-game wagering back in 2021. That was followed by the launch of a new, regulated Ontario sports betting market in 2022 that has authorized a small army of private-sector operators to take action and advertise themselves in Canada’s most populous province.
“In any event, much to my own regret, advertising and promotion was not addressed in any meaningful way [in the single-game betting bill], and we now see a sporting industry very much intertwined with gambling companies and sports broadcasters, some of which have betting companies of their own,” Ontario Sen. Marty Deacon, S-211’s sponsor, said in June. “As a result, I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that today in Canada, it is impossible to watch a sporting event without being encouraged to gamble at moments.”
Not everyone agrees with Deacon’s assessment, however. The Senate’s passage of sports betting-related legislation this year has thus far been met with less debate than a previous version, but the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) still weighed in with its thoughts this time around.
In a Sept. 29 letter to the Senate committee, CGA CEO Paul Burns pointed to a study the industry group had commissioned, which found gaming advertising represented only 2% of all TV ads in the first half of 2025, the same as in 2024.
“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,” Burns wrote.
Much was said at a Canadian Senate hearing yesterday for a bill seeking a national framework for sports betting ads.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) June 5, 2024
What struck me is the concern, and perhaps regret, among senators after passing single-game wagering legislation in 2021:https://t.co/yXqKGGd3Yn @Covers
It still seems likely that the Senate will pass S-211, given the chamber’s history on the subject. How the legislation fares in the House, though, is the bigger question.
A bill similar to S-211 was passed by the Senate in a previous Parliament without much opposition from lawmakers, but its progress came screeching to a halt in the House. An election call earlier this year then rebooted the legislature, prompting the Senate to restart its advertising reform efforts.
A spokesperson for Canada's Department of Justice told Covers in September that they could not comment on the government's intentions with respect to S-211. However, the federal government is at least keeping an eye on the situation.
"Concerns about online gambling advertising have been raised for many years, pre-dating the legalization of single event sports betting," the DOJ spokesperson said in an email. "While provincial and territorial governments are primarily responsible for conducting, managing, and regulating legal gambling within their borders, the Department continues to monitor the integrity and clarity of the framework."
Provincial iGaming expansion 'seems inevitable'
In the meantime, the CGA and others in the industry see the sports betting ad boom as already fading in Canada, or being curbed by provincial measures, namely Ontario's tighter rules for the use of athletes and celebrities in iGaming advertising.
Nevertheless, the Senate seems set on additional restrictions for the industry.
The Senate is also pushing for further regulation ahead of the launch of a new Alberta sports betting market, which is expected to happen at some point next year and will likely prompt fresh promotional efforts by operators.
The new market will be similar to Ontario’s, and will make Alberta the second province in Canada to permit private-sector operators such as bet365, DraftKings, and FanDuel to come under provincial regulation and offer sports betting, iCasino, and more.
“We have a chance to fix something here in this chamber,” Deacon said in June. “As other provinces allow for their own private markets, which seems inevitable, Canadians will be presented with a patchwork of regulation that will only be as good as its weakest denominator, given, as we have already seen, that the ads on the airwaves care little for provincial boundaries.”
