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By Liam Verster

Gambling-Related Harm Concerns

North Okanagan Senators join call to stop sports betting ads in Canada

Jan 28, 2026 | 11:07 AM

North Okanagan Senators are joining a call to end sports betting advertising in the country.

Bev Busson and Margo Greenwood have joined a group of over 40 senators from across the nation in saying the ads are persistent and heighten the risk of gambling-related harm.

“We are writing to request that your government use the legislative and regulatory tools at its disposal—including but not limited to its powers to give direction to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)—to impose a ban on all advertising for sports gambling apps and websites, similar to the existing ban on cigarette advertising,” the senators said in the letter shared with Vernon Matters.

The senators go on to say these advertisements offering a “premium gaming experience” essentially turns people’s phones into a pocket-sized casino, putting them at risk of harm.

“In a recent report on the impact of gambling, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health cited two risk factors for ‘gambling-related harm,'” the letter stated.

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“In general, as gambling opportunities increase, gambling-related harms tend to increase; further the more an individual gambles, the more likely they are to experience harm.

“Forms of gambling vary greatly in terms of riskiness. Some combine features (e.g. rapid speed of play; losses disguised as wins) known to be problematic, making them especially likely to cause harm.”

Busson and Greenwood also said the advertising is more than an annoyance, but that the “sheer scale of the money at stake endangers the very integrity of the sports involved.”

The senators pointed at former Toronto Raptor Jontay Porter as an example of that, as he was was issued a lifetime ban from playing by the NBA and sentenced to prison as a co-conspirator in a sports-betting, wire-fraud conspiracy case.

Canadian legislation allows sports betting in Canada, and the group of senators said regulations should be in place to ensure the safety of those participating and impose a ban similar to the one involving cigarette advertising.