When the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario announced last summer that it would institute new advertising standards for online gambling to protect minors, headlines featured celebrities and athletes that irritated television viewers. He promised that the flood of advertising at sportsbooks and casinos would soon dry up.
But the fine print written into the new regulations, which were clarified by the AGCO earlier this month ahead of their coming into force on Wednesday, is that Jamie Foxx will be joining BetMGM for a shilling, Auston Matthews as Bet99’s brand ambassador, and former Sportsnet NHLer Kevin Bieksa stands on the Sports Interactions logo as betting lines flash across the screen during the weekly broadcast of hockey night in canada.
Even Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid, who spent the past year talking over each other in BetMGM ads, may not disappear completely.
Meanwhile, some in the industry believe the change may not have been necessary.
The new advertising standards were announced last April, a year after gaming was regulated in Ontario, after the AGCO said it was concerned about marketing that could lure people under 19, the legal gaming age. It all started with the announcement. The committee was considering banning the game. Use of athletes, celebrities, cartoon figures, or influencers that appeal to minors.
After months of consultation with industry stakeholders, mental health experts and others, the commission issued a blog post on its website in August last year titled “AGCO Restricts Athletes from Ontario Gaming Ads to Protect Minors.” The company announced a change to the content of “Prohibiting the appearance of “.
In fact, the new standard was not so much black and white.
While the new restrictions will prevent current and retired athletes from appearing in most traditional advertisements, AGCO will also encourage sportsbooks and casino operators to encourage users to play within limits, so-called “responsible gambling” An exception was made for advertising spots. For example, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation is airing a TV spot featuring Curtis Joseph in support of the company’s responsible gambling tool, PlaySmart, in which the narrator says that former Toronto Maple Leaf goalkeeper He praised the way the keeper “always prepared and played.”
BetMGM may choose to reposition Gretzky and McDavid as ambassadors for responsible gambling practices. (A company spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.) Bet99 could also use Matthews or another ambassador, Georges St-Pierre, in a similar effort. (A company spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.)
And the AGCO indicated Tuesday that sportsbooks may continue to use current or former athletes in certain other types of promotional activities that have nothing to do with responsible gambling.
Last April, just before AGCO announced it was considering changes to its advertising standards, FanDuel and Bell Media’s TSN announced that the sportsbook would become the presenting sponsor of the network’s afternoon drive-time radio and TV shows. Signed a contract. Overdrive. The show will be co-hosted by Jeff O’Neal, who played 11 seasons in the NHL.
A spokesperson for TSN, which is owned by Bell Media, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. FanDuel declined to comment through a spokesperson.
Sportsnet also has commercial agreements with sportsbooks for editorial coverage. In one of these arrangements, Sports Interaction currently sponsors the following segments: hockey central saturdaya 30-minute preview show that airs before hockey night in canadaBieksa, a former professional who played 13 seasons in the NHL, provides a preview of the night’s scheduled games while surrounded by sportsbook logos, with live betting odds offered by the sportsbook displayed on the screen. Masu.
Sportsnet spokesman Jason Jackson said in an email that the network “continues to follow the rules and standards set by iGaming Ontario and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.”
In fact, AGCO told the Globe and Mail in an email that such an arrangement remains acceptable. “The updated standards are not intended to capture athletes who are used on broadcasts or podcasts for editorial content or commentary or sports betting commentary. Except in that case.” [sportsbook] Operator,” said an email from AGCO Senior Communications Advisor Raymond Kernert.
“This standard does not prohibit broadcasters from sponsoring segments of broadcast programming.”
The new regulation prohibits casinos and sportsbooks from using “cartoon figures, symbols, role models, social media influencers, celebrities, or entertainers in advertising that are believed to appeal to minors.”
However, its language and its focus on the potential for individuals to appeal to young people leaves ample wiggle room, and even those who advocate stronger advertising regulations have found that protecting minors is a challenge. We acknowledge that it is likely to be useful in
“Anything could be appealing to some kids,” said Nigel Turner, an independent scientist at the Mental Health Policy Research Institute at the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. “But someone like Jamie Foxx, I don’t know what his following is among young people, but he’s a comedian whose following is primarily among adults.”
As changes are implemented, some segments of the industry are no longer convinced that they are even solving real problems.
“We don’t think there were any issues that needed to be addressed,” said Paul Burns, president and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, an industry group representing licensed operators. Burns suggests that the public who objected to the ads were responding primarily to the amount of TV spots, but an earlier burst of activity saw dozens of carriers trying to grab market share at once. Since then, he says, the amount of TV spots has declined.
“We have seen, hockey night in canada “We’ll probably see a decline of up to 30 percent,” he said, noting that the number of online gambling ads decreased from fall 2022 to fall 2023.
That data could not be immediately confirmed.
