Understand the issue
Explore how gambling advertising affects young people, families, communities, and sport, with links to the research behind our case.
Explore the evidence →A Canadian nonprofit campaign
It doesn’t start
with a bet.
It starts with an ad.
Ban Ads For Gambling is a volunteer-led, non-partisan nonprofit working to end harmful gambling advertising in Canada. We publish evidence and help Canadians speak up for change.
Heritage Committee hearings
Bill S‑211 goes to committee
The House of Commons Heritage Committee opens public hearings on the bill. We’re asking it to pass S‑211 with two amendments: widen it beyond sports betting to online casinos, prediction markets and other online gambling, and immediately prohibit all gambling advertising, as Canada has done for tobacco and cannabis.
As reported in The Globe and Mail.
Our work
Public education. Evidence. Citizen action.
We help Canadians understand gambling advertising, bring the case for reform to decision-makers, and make it easier for people to speak up. Our resources are free to read and share.
Read our public advocacy
Read the campaign’s letters to governments, sport organizations, and broadcasters, alongside our whitepapers and published opinion pieces.
Read our publications →Make your voice heard
Find your federal MP, review a draft letter, and send your own message supporting a national framework on sports-betting advertising.
Write your MP →Ontario not-for-profit corporation #1000551763 · Incorporated May 30, 2023 · Contact the campaign
What you can do
Two minutes. Two ways to help.
The fastest way to make a difference is to persuade Parliament — and to help keep this volunteer campaign running.
01
Write your MP
We find your MP and draft a letter urging support for Bill S‑211. Review it, edit it, send it — all from this page.
Write your MP02
Donate
We’re volunteer-led and take no money from the gambling industry. Your donation helps us maintain our website, publicize the campaign, and keep making the case to Canada’s elected officials.
DonateTake action today
Tell your MP. Takes a minute.
We’re calling on Canada’s elected officials to protect the young and other vulnerable people, families, athletes, and fans. Enter your postal code — we’ll find your MP and draft a letter you can review, edit and send, all on this page.
Join Canadians from coast to coast to coast urging Parliament to pass Bill S‑211.
The problem
Gambling ads are everywhere — and the harm is real.
On TV. In sports arenas. Online. In social media. Even on public transit. They are designed to make betting normal, harmless and exciting. They target the young and the vulnerable. They’re fuelling a public-health crisis we can no longer ignore.
9.9%
of respondents in a 2024 Canadian online-panel survey met the criteria for problem gambling1
23.5%
of surveyed young adults (18–29) who gambled online reported high levels of gambling-related harm1
69.4%
of surveyed young adults (18–29) who gambled online in the past year met the criteria for problem gambling1
9–10
age at which underage gambling can begin in Canada2
More than a generation ago, we banned ads that promoted tobacco. It’s time to do the same for gambling.
Sources
- Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), Greo Evidence Insights & Mental Health Research Canada, Online Gambling Among Young Canadian Adults: A Call to Action (2025).
- Canadian Paediatric Society, “Teen gambling.”
The solution
We’re not trying to ban gambling. We’re fighting the marketing machine that fuels addiction.
The Campaign to Ban Ads for Gambling is calling on the federal government to set real, national limits on sports-betting advertising — and ultimately to ban it the way Canada banned ads for tobacco and cannabis.
Our approach is step by step: first, pass Bill S‑211 to rein in sports-betting ads — the most aggressive corner of the market — then work to ban all gambling advertising.
Tell your MP- Advocate for a national law to ban gambling ads — starting with sports-betting ads through Bill S‑211, then all gambling advertising
- End sports-gambling promotions by broadcasters and social-media influencers
- Prohibit gambling ads on TV and radio, online, on social media, in podcasts, in sports arenas, and on athletes’ uniforms
- Enforce oversight rules and regulations by government
The harm
The harm is devastating.
Gambling addiction damages health, relationships, and finances. Every ad increases the risk — and the people closest to a problem gambler bear it too.
When gambling becomes a problem, it can result in lower self-esteem, anxiety, depression, runaway debt, family breakup, domestic abuse, substance abuse, the abuse of athletes who are the subjects of betting, and suicide.
High-risk problem gambling is linked to other forms of addiction, including alcohol and cannabis dependency.
The science of addiction
Gambling ads are designed to hook people.
Gambling addiction is recognized as a non-substance-related addictive disorder1. Like drugs and alcohol, gambling activates the brain’s dopamine system — the "reward" pathway that fuels the cycle of addiction.
Sports-betting advertising is engineered to be a cue. Bright, constant, impossible to avoid — exactly the conditions that drive cravings and relapse. A systematic review of 166 studies2, cited in a Canadian Medical Association Journal editorial, found that "responsible gambling" warnings do not reduce harm.
The youngest brains are the most vulnerable. Underage gambling can start as young as 9 or 10 years old3.
Read the full case →Sources
- American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) (2022).
- Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), editorial: Protecting Canada’s youth from the risks of exposure to gambling advertising (2025).
- Canadian Paediatric Society, “Teen gambling.”
Where the bill stands
Bill S‑211 has passed the Senate — and second reading in the House.
An Act respecting a national framework on sports betting advertising passed third reading in the Senate on October 21, 2025. It passed second reading in the House of Commons on April 22, 2026, by a large majority that included Prime Minister Carney. The bill is at consideration in committee in the House of Commons. Report stage and third reading have not yet been reached. Please write your MP to request that they follow through to ensure that Bill S‑211 becomes law.
Status checked against Parliament’s official bill record. Check that record for subsequent changes.
Introduced
Senate, 2025
Passed Senate
Oct 21, 2025
2nd reading, House
Apr 22, 2026
House committee
Current stage
Report & third reading
Not yet reached
Royal Assent
Pending
In the news
Following the issue.
Where the campaign and the wider movement stand right now.
A national framework at committee stage
Bill S‑211 passed the Senate in October 2025 and second reading in the House on April 22, 2026, by a large majority. The bill is now at committee stage in the House. It would set Canada’s first national rules on sports-betting advertising.
Read about the bill →Lee Fairclough’s Ontario bill
Earlier this year, MPP Lee Fairclough put forward a bill that would have banned all online gambling advertising in Ontario. Although it was supported by all three opposition parties, the Ford Government voted it down.
Ontario context →"More Than the Score" PSAs
The Canadian Mental Health Association’s public-service campaign confronts the normalization of betting in sport — including around the 2026 World Cup.
Visit the campaign →Voices
Join the voices calling for change.
"Gambling ads are insulting to the audience, bad for children and youth, and they demean sports and its integrity."
— Raffi
"When governments use gambling to extract money from citizens, you know civilization is in decline."
— John Ralston Saul
"Why gamble on their future? Let’s do something about it now."
— Karl Subban
"The damage done to young people is immeasurable."
— The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson
"This is in complete disregard to the evidence available showing the harmful effects — primarily on young people. Shame on the government systems allowing it."
— Clara Hughes
"The ads we see permeate every phone and every television screen across the country. This is a problem that is not going to get better on its own."
— Sen. Marty Deacon, sponsor of Bill S‑211
Public opinion
Canadians are with us.
An Angus Reid Institute survey (May 2026) found Canadians deeply uneasy about the growth of sports betting — with the volume of advertising a leading driver of concern.
46%
say the growth of sports betting in Canada is a bad thing — only 8% say it’s good1
69%
expect the number of problem gamblers to rise as the industry keeps growing1
28%
worry that someone they know has developed a sports-betting addiction1
37%
of men aged 18–34 worry someone they know is addicted to betting1
54%
of bettors have never used any "responsible gambling" safeguard tool1
13%
of Canadians placed a sports bet in the past year — highest among young men1
Sources
- Angus Reid Institute, “Risky bet?” — released May 19, 2026; 1,803 Canadian adults surveyed May 7–11, 2026.
Common questions
Answers, in plain language.
Does Bill S‑211 ban gambling ads outright?
No. S‑211 doesn’t ban betting or ads outright — it directs the federal government to develop a national framework that can limit how much sports betting is advertised, where, and whether celebrities and athletes can promote it. The Campaign views S‑211 as a critical first step; we will keep advocating for a full ban on all gambling advertising after it passes.
What about people who gamble responsibly?
S‑211 doesn’t stop anyone from betting. It targets the constant marketing that normalizes high-risk gambling — operators lean on "responsible gambling" slogans, which tell you to be careful but still bet. In fact, "responsible gambling" is a strategy invented by the British betting industry a generation ago to sanitize a seedy, harmful industry and normalize betting. It was imported wholesale when online betting was legalized in Canada in 2021. But a review of 166 studies cited in a Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) editorial1 found those warnings don’t reduce harm.
Is this only a federal issue?
Federal action comes first: advertising crosses provincial borders on TV, radio, and online, and only a national framework like S‑211 can set consistent, enforceable standards. But the provinces have real power too. As the bodies that license online gambling platforms — Ontario and, now, Alberta — they can impose advertising restrictions as a condition of the licences they grant. We believe every province and territory that licenses private operators should ban gambling advertising, and we are urging them to do so.
Sources
- Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), editorial: Protecting Canada’s youth from the risks of exposure to gambling advertising (2025).
About the campaign
A national, non-partisan, volunteer-led effort.
The Campaign to Ban Ads for Gambling is guided by a group of respected Canadians from sport, public health, media, and community leadership: Alan Broadbent, Robin Campbell, Guylaine Demers, Jennifer Diakiw, Peter Donnelly, Joel Finlay, Janice Forsyth, Steve Joordens, Gretchen Kerr, Bruce Kidd, Ellen Li, John Macfarlane, Wendy MacGregor, Ian Morrison, John Sewell, and Karl Subban.
Meet the group →It doesn’t start
with a bet.
It starts with an ad.
Behind every addiction statistic is a real person, a real family. Help us change those numbers. Sign the letter and share our message to ban gambling ads today.