Athletes and celebrities participating in endorsements for sportsbooks operating in Ontario will no longer be legally allowed to do so if the province’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission gets its way.
Ontario doesn’t measure total wagers and gaming revenue for sports betting specifically. According to reporting by CBC, sports wagering numbers are factored in along with mobile casino games and peer-to-peer poker.
Sports betting became legal in Ontario in 2022, and in the first year, combined with the casino and poker operators, there was $35.6 billion CAD (around $26.35 billion USD) in total wagers and $1.4 billion CAD (about $1.03 billion USD) in total gaming revenue.
Betting ads in Ontario, like in the US, are plentiful and feature some of Canada’s biggest sports stars like Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Those players, along with legend Wayne Gretzky, have appeared in spots for BetMGM which is an official sportsbook partner of the NHL.
The proposed rule changes would no longer allow athletes and any celebrity or figure of influence on minors to be featured in ads.
“The AGCO has identified advertising and marketing approaches that strongly appeal to persons who are under the legal gaming age through the use of celebrities and/or athletes,” the commission said in a statement last week.
