The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario introduced amended sports-betting advertising regulations that took effect at the end of February. Publicity about the new standards highlighted that athlete endorsers were no longer allowable owing to their youth appeal and potential to encourage underage wagering.
Still, while watching broadcasts of the baseball playoffs (sadly, not involving the Toronto Blue Jays), it’s been striking how unsatisfactory the ad standards remain, and how insufficiently they are being enforced.
Exemptions continue to allow athlete endorsers in sports-betting ads if they’re encouraging “responsible” gambling practices. Georges St-Pierre, the renowned martial-arts fighter, appears in BET99 ads indicating that they’re “here for you” to help you gamble responsibly.
