A recent survey shows that around 70% of Canadians believe that certain measures should be implemented to further safeguard the general public against sports betting commercials. How strongly these respondents feel about the current state of sports betting adverts is unclear but it’s obvious that something needs to be done to make sure the message is appropriate through the media.
The survey went even further, with a large proportion of the participants wanting famous figures from the world of sport or otherwise removed from commercials aired for public viewing—something the Ontario government seems to have listened to. Sports adverts during live sports broadcasts have also faced calls for removal.
What’s most interesting is that almost 60% of people in Canada want an outright ban on sports betting, which would be quite a move should it come into force.
TVs, radio, online, billboards… You see gambling commercials in so many forms, and you might not notice them; they might simply blend into the background of everyday life. For some, however, they appeal to people much more, to the point where it’s possibly problematic.
Of course, everybody has free will to play or not, but if we were to have no measures in place for Canadian sports gambling commercials, who knows what message could be presented? When there are appropriate guidelines for other industries across the country, like alcohol, for instance, there’s no reason gambling shouldn’t be treated with the same caution.