Expect gambling ads to get more 'creative' amid Ontario's stricter rules

Companies offering online gambling to Ontarianswill soonhave to try new some approaches to advertising, as a provincial regulator moves to bar athletes and other celebrities from promoting their services.

The amended rules from theAlcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) alsoprohibit from ads any entertainers, social-media influencers, role models andcartoon characters who would "likely be expected"to appeal to underage Ontarians.

What will that look like in a province that has been bombardedwith gambling-related advertising which has helped drive tens of billions of dollars in wagers since online betting was broadly legalized in 2022?

Thenew rules "will likely push operators to be more creative," saidSteven Salz, the CEO and co-founder of Rivalry, an esports-focused betting company,in an emailed statement.

The industry, he noted,has "historically relied heavily on celebrity and athlete endorsements."

The restrictions will apply across all platforms, meaning the familiar faces that have helped with the hype such as Wayne Gretzky, Auston Matthews and Connor McDavidwill presumably vanish from these promotionalblasts.

Advertising experts predictthe companies will employ amix of technology and other proven marketing strategies to make sure people still know where to gamble.

Impact on operators

William Woodhams,chief executive of the British bookmaker Fitzdares,has already seen a version of this movie. His companyhad tochange lanes after a similar ban on athletes' participation in U.K. gambling advertisingwas announced there last year.

"We shot a video with Fulham[F.C.]players the day before the ban!" Woodhams told CBC News via email. He saysFitzdaresreplaced them with former players and pundits.

Fitzdares also operates in Ontario and may need to adjust its ads there, based on what the AGCO announced this week.

"Our current advertising uses vintage sports images which we hope will not infringe the rules," hesaid, adding that the company is seeking clarification on some points.

Paul Burns, the president of the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA), also wants more clarity on what is and isn't allowed.

He says industry members awaitguidance on interpreting the regulations such as who qualifies as an "athlete" and who might appeal to kids.

Possible tactics

Marketing expert Tony Chapman sees parallels to how tobacco companies changed their marketing over time.

Tobacco companies once used identifiable and eye-catching mascotslike Joe Camel a cartoon character used to sell Camel products in the '80s and '90sor the Marlboro Man. Chapman points out that even Fred Flintstone helped promote cigarettesin the early 1960s.

But as those marketing methods became frowned upon and the industry faced hurdles to promoting its product, Chapman says tobacco companies "had to get very creative."

He says Ontario's incoming regulations are "long overdue," though also sees potential loopholes that will allow athletes who previously appeared in such ads to simply side-step into those promoting responsible gambling.

For him, that should be a particular no-no.

Chapman also says a technology-driven shift toward "hyper-personalization" in marketing will increasingly allow gambling operators to put together ads that would not have been possible in the past. Using AI and data, he says they'll be able to shape messaging very specifically for an individual whether that person is a first-time or veteran gambler,or a sports fan who thinks they can profit from their knowledge viabetting.

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Natalie Coulter, an associate professor of communication and media studies at Toronto's York University, says as some potentially harmful products have come under scrutiny tobacco, plastics, oil and gas thoseindustries have often turnedto "classic models"emphasizing the role the individual has in preventing harm, while softening the focus on the responsibility of corporate actors, such as pushing individuals to stop smokingor to litter less.

While engaging in these campaigns, "they are distracting from major policy change," Coulter said.

Not right away

Because the incoming Ontarioregulations won't go into effect until late February, they won't be in force during the upcoming NFL season, or across much of the NBAand NHL seasons.

For Bruce Kidd, a former Olympian and professor emeritus of sport and public policyat the University of Toronto, this lag is a problem.

"They really haven't read their own media release about the harm [of the advertisements]," Kidd told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning, referring to the provincial regulator.

But Burns, at the CGA, says operators havecontractual obligations that need time to be dealt with.Sounding a similar note, theAGCOsaid via email that the nearly six-month period "supports a smooth transition" for operators.

The AGCO also said"other jurisdictions outside of North America" tooksimilar steps.

When the U.K. clamped down on athletes appearing in such advertising,companies there alsohad roughly six months to adjust.

The U.K. ban "really changed things that much, but its clear intention was to avoid promoting gaming to younger people, which I presume it will do," said Woodhams, the Fitzdares executive.

More recently, the English Premier League said it would stop putting logos of gambling sponsors on the front ofits jerseys though, again, it's a stepthat won't be implemented right away.

Woodhamsalso says the Premier League's move "hasn't stopped the gaming companies moving their budget" to other spaces, like LED boards.(Fitzdares has done the same, he said.)

Back in Ontario, observers outside the industry approve of the AGCO's changes with some hoping it will go even further.

"I think this is an important step, but I don't think it should be the end," said Coulter, notingthat legal-age consumers may also be at risk from the advertising reach of the gambling industry.

Somesports fans feel the same way.

Cynthia Mendoza, a retired teacher and basketball fan from Vancouver, says she's tired of all the gambling-related content on Raptors broadcasts.

She thinks a lot about her former students and how they might be influenced by it.

And while "relieved" that a change is on the horizon, Mendoza wouldrather see the ads go away, entirely.

From Woodhams's perspective, the marketing activities in Canada"are calming down," with the industry getting the message that some operators "had 'gone too far'" in Ontarioand created a negative narrative for the industry.

"This wasn't welcome," he said.