Ontario announced Tuesday that the province will ban the use of athletes in advertising for online gambling, while also strengthening standards to restrict the use of celebrities who the government says might appeal to minors.
But the Opposition NDP and a Canadian senator who has called for stricter regulations in the sector say that while the ban is welcome, it doesn’t go far enough to protect those who are most vulnerable to gambling addictions.
Advocates and academics have raised concerns about the inundation of sports betting advertising seen in the province since Ontario opened up to independent online gambling sites last year, and decried the impact those advertisements could have on the health of young people.
