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MPs moving to restrict gambling ads in Canada

246 points • by Teever • yesterday at 2:26 PM • 129 comments • view on HN

Comments

geooff_ • yesterday at 3:08 PM

Good riddance. Why did we ever allow this to happen? It's an entirely self-inflicted public health crisis.

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fudged71 • yesterday at 5:42 PM

Its pretty remarkable what happened as soon as the regulation was loosened. In Alberta it feels as though these companies bought every single ad spot available. I can’t walk, drive, browse in any direction without seeing a gambling ad somewhere. Its not uncommon for me to see them in two or three places simultaneously. A real boring dystopia.

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chollida1 • yesterday at 6:48 PM

The big loser in this might be the NHL and the NHLPA(Players association). The NHL salary cap has gone up alot in the past few years and TV is a big driver of that.

It seems like 50% of commercials are for gambling. If this goes away then the networks TV revenue will almost certainly go down and that has the potential to make the NHL TV rights less valuable to the networks.

The NHL wouldn't be alone here but of hte big 4 north American sports it the most exposed here.

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neom • yesterday at 6:07 PM

The fact that I can get stuck behind someone at the pharmacy checkout who is buying lotto tickets boggles my mind every time. Personally I think we need to go way further than this, but it's a start.

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bawolff • yesterday at 6:01 PM

About time.

I'm fine with gambling existing, but we dont need to manipulate people into doing addictive self-destructive vices they wouldn't already do.

Also the ads are super annoying.

anukin • yesterday at 3:31 PM

Hopefully they ban the neo betting prediction markets as well

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dzonga • yesterday at 7:33 PM

they need to be banned in the U.S as well.

every ad these days on TV specially during sports is either gambling, pharma - glp1s, some random medicine with obscene side effects or political ads. & fast-food or fast food delivery sprinkled in.

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bushido • yesterday at 5:53 PM

It will be interesting to see where this lands.

The Canadian provincial governments usually have a monopoly in running gambling services, and there is a strong case to be made that this is as much about ensuring that they keep making revenue from gambling as it is to reduce the ill effects of other gambling ads.

ex: https://www.canadiangamingbusiness.com/2026/10/22/new-brunsw...

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bryanlarsen • yesterday at 3:48 PM

"curb" not "ban". Boo.

1potato • yesterday at 8:26 PM

I watch Blue Jays games sometimes. The gambling ads are even more pervasive than in US teams’ games. It really damages the viewing experience.

soohamr • yesterday at 9:57 PM

The addiction with by far, with the highest likelihood subject committing suicide is gambling addiction.

randlet • yesterday at 6:16 PM

"Ontario & Alberta Oppose The Federal Bill"

Quelle surprise.

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ThrowawayTestr • yesterday at 3:02 PM

We banned smoking ads, gambling should be no different.

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red-iron-pine • yesterday at 7:49 PM

about damn time, they're out of control

modzu • yesterday at 5:52 PM

i saw a commercial of a presumably 18 year old ignoring their family at dinner and gambling under the table on their phone and the line went something like "they dont need to know how much fun youre having!". this was during a baseball game im watching with kids. its totally fukt

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diego_moita • yesterday at 6:34 PM

Libertarians will cry "freedom of speech".

I say this is about an addiction and an health crisis problem. We should restrict these adds on the same grounds we restrict ads for other addictions such as tobacco.

We should prevent parasites from preying people.

lenerdenator • yesterday at 6:30 PM

Now we need to do that down here in the States.

Hell, making it a requirement that you be at a casino is probably another thing that should be looked into.