The Canadian Senate may have given the green light to a bill that would establish a national framework for regulating sports betting advertising, but the path in the House of Commons is presenting more challenges.
Bill S-269, the National Framework on Advertising for Sports Betting Act, went through hours of committee hearings and debate and several readings in the full chamber before advancing out of the Senate earlier this month.
The bill, introduced by Sen. Marty Deacon, would require the Minister of Canadian Heritage to develop a national advertising framework. That would include identifying measures to regulate betting ads, such as restricting their number, scope and location, identifying measures to promote research and information-sharing related to the effects of advertising on minors and setting out national standards for the prevention and diagnosis of harmful gambling and related support measures.
Currently, Canadian provinces regulate gambling within their borders. Outside Ontario, the government-run provincial lottery corporation’s offerings are the only regulated offering in that province.
Canadian House in legislative standoff as election looms
After the Senate approved Bill S-269, the next step is for the measure to be discussed in the House of Commons. Any change to the bill by the House would need to be approved by the Senate as well before it can become law.
As things stand, the timeline for the bill even getting its first reading in the House is very murky.
The big obstacle is that the chamber is locked in an impasse right now, with the governing Liberals and the opposing Conservatives at loggerheads over access to unredacted documents. In late September, House Speaker Greg Fergus allowed Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives to introduce a motion related to the withheld documents, which relate to a now-closed green technology funding agency. Fergus subsequently concluded that the matter constituted a “prima facie” breach of privilege that undermines Parliament’s operations and must be the House’s top priority until it is resolved.
The Conservatives seem willing to wait out the proceedings in a bid to get the Liberals to provide the unredacted documents. It’s worth noting that while the Liberals are in power, they do not have a majority in the House.
The House adjourns for Christmas break on Dec. 17.
Beyond that, there’s even more uncertainty given that there will be a federal election in Canada by October 2025 at the latest. The incumbent Liberals could feasibly call an election sooner. The Conservatives are polling with a significant lead, signposting that a wholesale change of leadership and political alignment may be coming north of the border, too.
