Ontario to ban gambling commercials featuring athletes, celebrities
Posted August 29, 2023 9:38 am.
Last Updated August 29, 2023 5:41 pm.
The province is banning gambling commercials featuring athletes and celebrities, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced Tuesday.
As part of the announcement, the AGCO said it plans to prohibit the use of athletes in internet gaming (igaming) advertising and marketing in Ontario. The new restrictions will come into effect on February 28, 2024.
Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, track star Andre DeGrasse and current NHL stars Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews are among the athletes who have appeared in ads for gambling sites.
“Following the first year of Ontario’s open, regulated igaming market, the AGCO identified advertising and marketing approaches that use athletes, as well as celebrities with an appeal to minors, as a potential harm to those under the legal gaming age and is taking this step to reduce the risk,” the AGCO said in a statement.
“In April 2023, the AGCO held consultations on its proposal to ban such ads and received submissions from a broad range of stakeholders, including mental health and public health organizations, responsible gambling experts, gaming operators, broadcast and marketing groups, and the public.”
NEW – Ontario is banning gambling commercials featuring athletes and celebrities.
"AGCO has determined that prohibiting the use of athletes and restricting celebrity endorsements would help safeguard children and youth who can be particularly susceptible to such advertising…
— Richard Southern (@RichardCityNews) August 29, 2023
In April 2022, Ontario became the first Canadian province to launch an open, regulated igaming market.
The decision was ultimately made after the AGCO determined that restricting the use of athletes and limiting celebrity endorsements “would help safeguard children and youth who can be particularly susceptible to such advertising content.”
RELATED: Online sports betting, gambling now legal in Ontario
The revised criteria also restrict the use of celebrities, role models, social media influencers, entertainers, cartoon figures, and symbols that “would likely be expected to appeal to minors.”
“Children and youth are heavily influenced by the athletes and celebrities they look up to,” said Tom Mungham, Registrar and CEO of the AGCO. “We’re therefore increasing measures to protect Ontario’s youth by disallowing the use of these influential figures to promote online betting in Ontario.”
As part of the requirements established by the AGCO, materials and communications shall not be based on themes or use language intended to appeal primarily to minors or appear on billboards or other outdoor displays directly adjacent to schools or other primarily youth-oriented locations, among other newly established guidelines.
In July, iGaming Ontario (iGO) released its report for the first full quarter of the 2023-24 fiscal year (April 1 to June 30). It revealed a record total gaming revenue of $545 million, compared to $162 million over the same period last year.
The $545 million is also up from the $526 million in total revenue generated in the final quarter of 2022.
According to the report, total sports-betting wagers for the first three months of 2023 totalled $2 billion, with gaming revenues of $138 million. That’s significant, given that $162 million was generated in total gaming revenues over the same time last year.
The AGCO is a provincial regulatory agency that’s responsible for regulating the alcohol, gaming, horse racing and cannabis retail sectors in Ontario.
iGO is a subsidiary of the (AGCO) and conducts and manages internet gaming in the province.
With files from The Canadian Press
