Bulletin No. 18, May 20, 2025
This Bulletin is published by the Campaign to Ban Ads for Gambling, a group of individuals interested in securing legislation to ban advertisements for gambling, just as has been done for tobacco and cannabis. Our website is BanAdsForGambling.ca
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In this Bulletin:
In this issue:
1. A new government, a new push for gambling ad controls
2. FIFA’s gambling ads in Toronto
3. Canada should sign and ratify the Macolin Convention
4. Subscribe to the Bulletin
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1. A new government, a new push for gambling ad controls
As reported in the last Bulletin, the prorogation of Parliament in January meant that the Senate’s Bill S-269, The National Framework on Advertising for Sports Betting Act, is defunct.
But we hope it can be revived. Senator Marty Deacon, one of the original sponsors of the Bill, hopes to re-introduce it into the Senate and request that it be approved in speedy fashion since it was adopted unanimously by the Senate in December. If this occurs we will be pressing you to ask your new Member of Parliament to help get it introduced to the House of Commons.
As well, the recently appointed Secretary of State for Sports is Adam van Kouverden, winner of four Olympic medals and someone who has supported our push for banning ads for gambling as the government has done for tobacco and cannabis ads.
All of which are signs for optimism.
2. FIFA 2026 World Cup Games and gambling advertising
The FIFA games in June 2026 will flood Toronto with ads for gambling. We wrote to Mayor Olivia Chow’s office about this issue in March and part of the reply is:
“We are, however, aware that FIFA is close to a deal for an international sponsorship in the gambling/gaming space. Should this sponsorship be finalized, it is likely that Toronto, along with other host cities, will be obligated to execute that sponsorship agreement on behalf of FIFA. This obligation arises from the legal agreements that City Council authorized City officials to enter into prior to Mayor Chow’s election.”
Both the Toronto Board of Health and the Toronto District School Board have declared their opposition to gambling advertisements, and have agreed the same rules which apply to tobacco and cannabis should apply to gambling: advertising should be prohibited.
With that in mind we asked Toronto City Council to intervene, specifically requesting that Council: a) Prohibit advertisements for gambling in all aspects of the 2026 FIFA games in Canada, including in venues, on sweaters, on broadcasts; and prohibit all broadcasters in any way involved with the 2026 FIFA games from promoting sports betting; b) Develop and show a significant number of anti-gambling ads; and c) Request the provincial government to prohibit the sports betting companies within their jurisdictions from accepting bets upon all aspects of the 2026 FIFA games in Canada.
City Council refused to even debate the issue. It showed no interest in supporting ads against gambling. It is taking a hands-off attitude.
The FIFA games are a disaster for Toronto. The cost to the city for the six games is estimated at $380 million, with some suggesting that will rise to well over $500 million. The city will also spend $123 million to create 17,000 temporary new seats at BMO Field. And Council has allocated $11 million to purchase tickets for the Games in the expectation they will sell them – scalp them - for much more than that to recoup some of their expenses.
Those who will suffer the most are young men who will be enticed by the advertisements to gamble. The city seems committed to attacking the mental health of young people rather than following the advice of its own Board of Health.
3. Canada should sign and ratify the Macolin Convention
The Macolin Convention, formally known as the Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions, is an international treaty designed to combat match-fixing, illegal sports betting, money laundering and the other criminal activities associated with sports betting. Formally initiated in 2014, the treaty went into effect on September 1, 2019. It has now been signed by 44 European countries, plus Australia and Morocco, and ratified by 14 of those countries. Ratification means that a country agrees to be bound by the requirements of a given treaty.
The main concern of the Macolin Convention is the threat to the integrity of sport constituted by match-fixing. It encourages governments to criminalize match-fixing, discourage conflicts of interest, and actively coordinate the surveillance and policing of illegal betting.
In addition, the Convention provides legal authority to reduce other harms of sports betting. Section 9b directs states to ‘limit the supply of sports betting’, i.e. reduce the sports, events and circumstances on which bets can be placed. In particular, it directs states to ban bets on sports where players under the age of 18 are involved. Under Section 6, governments are encouraged to undertake education and research about the harms of sports betting. Implementing these and other provisions of the Convention would reduce harms in Canada.
The full treaty can be downloaded at: CETS 215 - Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions.
Given the scourge of sports betting across the globe, Canada and the world need an aggressive, internationally coordinated approach to limiting the harms. Joining the Macolin community would be an important step towards such coordination for Canada.
4. Subscribe to the Bulletin
There is no charge for the Bulletin, and we will not share subscriber names. We need as much support as we can get, so please send this Bulletin to your friends and colleagues.
Subscribe at info@banadsforgambling.ca We are also delighted to receive your financial support. Donations to support our work can be made through our website: BanAdsforGambling.ca
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