ADVERTISING AND MARKETING
Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky is among the celebrity athletes endorsing gambling in Ontario
Athlete, Celebrity & Influencer Marketing in Ontario THE PROPOSED BAN ON ATHLETE AND CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS IN GAMBLING ADVERTISING AND MARKETING TAKES THE PROVINCE DOWN A FAMILIAR AND REGRETABLE PATH SAYS KEVIN WEBER
S ince Ontario opened its new competitive model for the operation of online gambling (“iGaming”) in June 2022, Ontarians have witnessed a surge in advertising for numerous licensed private iGaming operators. Frequent television ads, particularly during major sporting events, have been perhaps the most noticeable change. Many of the major operators, in particular sports betting operators, use celebrity and athlete influencers in their advertisements. Wayne Gretzky, Connor McDavid, Charles Barkley, Auston Matthews and Kevin Garnett are some of the prominent current and former professional athletes most commonly seen on television in Ontario. Anecdotally, I can report that some Ontarians have come to see these seemingly omnipresent ads as an irritant. When people learn that I practice law in the iGaming field, they often bring up the frequency with which they see iGaming ads. Based on that experience, I imagine the people who work at the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (“AGCO”) (the Ontario iGaming regulator) hear similar comments.
That general feeling of irritation may have had a hand in the proposed amendments to the advertising and marketing provisions of the AGCO Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming (the “Standards”). These amendments would require registered operators and suppliers to cease any advertising and marketing activities that use active or retired athletes in gaming marketing and advertising. They would also broaden an existing prohibition against ads that “contain cartoon figures, symbols, role models, and/or celebrity/entertainer endorsers whose primary appeal is to minors” by extending that ban to ads that contain “cartoon figures, symbols, role models, social media influencers, celebrities, or entertainers who would reasonably be expected to appeal to minors.” In combination, these amendments would eliminate all iGaming advertising and marketing that features athletes from the Ontario market, and severely curtail the ability of Ontario operators and suppliers to use celebrities and influencers in ads. The vulnerability of underage persons is the stated rationale for these amendments. It is implied that advertising and marketing
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IMGL MAGAZINE | JULY 2023
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