Senator Marty Deacon hopes the new legislation will prompt the government to regulate the "torrent" of sports betting ads that she says Canadians are "subjected to on a daily basis" in an effort to prevent young people and groups vulnerable to develop gambling addictions.
Deacon is introducing legislation Tuesday through a Senate Public Bill to force the government to set guidelines and regulate ads, he said, to "get ahead of these issues."
"The reality is that you can't sit in this country and enjoy a sport without being exposed to a barrage of that kind of publicity," he said. "However, these ads are much more than just annoying, and can lead to addiction and other harm, through gambling problems."
According to Deacon, the legislation would see the government work with provinces and other stakeholders to:
- โidentify measures to regulate sports gambling advertising in Canada, such as limiting or prohibiting the participation of celebrity athletes, restricting the use of non-broadcast advertising, or limiting the number, reach, or placement of such advertisements;
- identify measures to promote research and intergovernmental information exchange in relation to the prevention and diagnosis of minors involved in problematic gambling activities and support measures for those who are affected by it;
- establish national standards for the prevention and diagnosis of problem gambling and addiction and support measures for those affected by it; and
- instruct the CRTC to review its regulations and policies to assess their adequacy and effectiveness in reducing the incidence of harm resulting from the proliferation of advertising and betting on sporting events.โ
Deacon pointed to other countries, such as the UK, Italy, Spain, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands, which have recently introduced regulations on sports betting advertising.
โI think it would be foolish to wait and see if these same problems arise in Canada and then only react to them when so many lives have been ruined by problem gambling as a result,โ Deacon said.
He added that a full ban would be difficult, if not impossible, to do, citing historical challenges in tobacco regulation, but said his proposed legislation is "an opportunity to address these issues before they really kick in and a lot, much worse".
Calling on the government to "find a way to advertise to Canadians without creating addicts," Deacon said the changes he'd like to see aren't limited to the guidelines he's set.
Deacon was joined by Senator Brent Cotter, a former law professor, who said the pervasiveness of the ads deters the sporting event itself, which should be the focus.
"People can make their own decisions about how they enjoy sporting events, but that has detracted from the kind of core and culture that we've generally embraced with regard to sports," Cotter said.
According to David Hodgins, director of the clinical psychology program at the University of Calgary, "sports betting should be viewed as a potentially harmful activity similar to other potentially addictive behaviors/substances."
He told CTVNews.ca last month that the activity should be subject to "careful regulation," similar to alcohol and tobacco.
Canada legalized single-game sports betting in 2021, which both Deacon and Hodgins supported at the time, and left it up to the provinces and territories. how would they regulate The industry.
"Sports betting can cause significant harm, including runaway debt, stress for families, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression and even suicide," Bruce Kidd, a former Olympian and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, told CTVNews.ca. last month. "The American Psychiatric Association classifies gambling addiction as a 'gambling disorder,' the only non-substance-related disorder so classified."
Kidd recently launched the Campaign to Ban Gambling Ads, which claims that ads have gotten out of hand and should be banned, specifically because of the potential harm to young people and those dealing with gambling addiction.
With files from Daniel Otis of CTVNews.ca
