Local senator backs push for ban on sports betting ads
Rob Black joins 41 senators calling on government to stop 'deluge of advertising' that preys on 'vulnerable people'
OTTAWA – Fergus Senator Rob Black has put his name behind a call from the Red Chamber to Prime Minister Mark Carney for a ban on sports betting advertising.
A November letter calls on the federal government to give the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission power to ban advertising for gambling apps and websites, similar to a ban on cigarette advertising.
Black said he's supportive of his colleagues' push on the issue and signed on to show his support. He called the amount of advertising for sports betting "ridiculous."
The letter, originally signed by Charlottetown Senator Percy Downe and Waterloo Senator Marty Deacon, has garnered dozens of signatures since being released last year.
The letter states the relaxation of sports betting legislation in 2021 has allowed for "a deluge of advertising for sports betting" platforms preying on "vulnerable people."
It adds, "A decision by Parliament helped create this problem, which means further action might minimize the damage that is already being done."
The letter cites a 2024 CBC report suggesting that up to one-fifth of televised sporting events contain ads for gambling sites.
"It is reaching the point where the ads are competing with the actual event, rather than supporting it," the letter states.
The letter adds the scale of money at stake endangers the integrity of the sports, citing a betting scandal that rocked the NBA last year after 34 people were charged in gambling schemes, including former Toronto Raptor basketball player Jontay Porter.
The senators say they are opposed to sports betting platforms profiting from the exploitation of "human weakness."
Black joins 41 other senators who signed on to the letter.
