The Canadian Senate has taken an important step in regulating sports betting.
While the U.S. was focused on whether or not Missouri would legalize sports betting(among other important votes), the Canadian Senate was concluding its third reading of Bill S-269, the National Framework on Advertising for Sports Betting Act. The bill was approved on Nov. 5. It will now head to the House of Commons.
The legislation would require the Minister of Canadian Heritage to develop a national framework on the advertising of sports betting. That would include identifying measures to regulate ads, such as restricting the number, scope and location of such advertising as well as potentially further limiting or banning the use of celebrities and athletes.
It would also look to find ways to promote research and information-sharing related to the effects of advertising on minors, as well as set out national standards for the prevention and diagnosis of harmful gambling and related support measures.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission would also be required to review its regulations and policies relating to sports betting ads.
Bill S-269, sponsored by Sen. Marty Deacon, initially went through extensive discussion in the Senate Transport and Communications Committee. At that time, Deacon stated that Canada has “the privilege of sober second thought” on its rapid sports betting expansion and argued that lawmakers had not appropriately considered “the flood of advertising that would go along with it” when approving expanded online sports wagering.
While Ontario restricts some aspects of how sportsbooks can advertise, such as banning the type of inducements and welcome bonus marketing seen in many U.S. states, many argue that there has been a proliferation of advertising, the perceived harm of which has been debated in many corners.
The House of Commons will go through the same multi-reading process and debate as the Senate. If the House were to make any amendments, the bill would be sent back to the Senate for further review. If a final version gets approval from both chambers, it would be sent for royal assent to become law.
US also considers sports betting advertising
The progress of potential national betting advertising regulation in Canada comes at a time when it is also a hot-button topic in the U.S.
Rep. Paul Tonko and Sen. Richard Blumenthal‘s Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet (SAFE) Bet Act, detailed in September, would implement a set of federal minimum standards that state regulators and operators need to meet.
Those federal standards would cover a wide range of topics related to responsible and problem gambling and would include advertising as a heavy focus. The bill would prohibit advertising during primetime hours as well as during live sporting events, implement language restrictions on words like “bonus”, “odds boost” and “no-sweat”, prohibit education about how to bet within the advertising and limit celebrity spokespeople from offering suggested bets to users.
The SAFE Bet Act has received mixed reviews, with a variety of lawmakers, regulators and sports leagues warning of concerns about the proposed approach. While perhaps not to the same extent, Canada’s Bill S-269 has received pushback from some in the gaming and sports industries, including from the NFL and the NHL.
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