Ontario Moves to Ban All iGaming Advertising — What It Means for BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings Players

Ontario lawmakers have introduced legislation that could reshape the online gambling landscape in Canada’s most competitive regulated market. Bill 107, known as the Stop Harmful Gambling Advertising Act, was tabled at Queen’s Park on April 20, 2026, by Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament Lee Fairclough. If passed, it would impose a sweeping ban on iGaming advertising across every medium — from television and social media to paid sponsorships — affecting the roughly 50 licensed operators currently active in the province, including BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings.

Ontario’s iGaming Market: A Booming Industry Under Scrutiny

The Ontario regulated market launched on April 4, 2022, making it the first open, competitive online gambling market in Canada. Under the oversight of iGaming Ontario (iGO), the provincial agency that oversees licensed operators, the market has grown rapidly. In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, licensed operators generated CA$3.2 billion in gross gaming revenue — a 32 percent year-over-year increase — on CA$82.7 billion in total wagers. By the end of 2025, the market had surpassed CA$10 billion in cumulative operator revenue since launch, with 1.27 million active player accounts and an estimated CA$807 million in provincial tax receipts for the calendar year alone. It is widely regarded as the most competitive regulated online gambling market in North America by number of licensed operators.

That growth, however, has come alongside a surge in public concern about problem gambling. Calls to ConnexOntario, the province’s mental health and addictions helpline, rose 144 percent after the market opened. Between April 2022 and September 2025, 76 percent of all gambling-related inquiries to the helpline were linked to online gambling specifically. Advocates have pointed to an explosion in advertising as a central driver, with more than 50 private operators broadcasting promotions across televised sports, social platforms, and sponsored content.

What Bill 107 Would Actually Do

Bill 107 proposes amendments to the Gaming Control Act, 1992, that would prohibit licensed operators and their marketing partners from promoting gambling through any medium — television, radio, digital platforms, social media, or paid sponsorships. Fines would reach CA$100,000 for individuals and CA$1 million for corporations on a first offense, with a second conviction triggering mandatory revocation of a supplier’s registration. The bill includes limited exceptions for content originating outside Ontario that is not primarily promotional in nature, as well as editorial or artistic references where no commercial consideration is involved.

Fairclough described the bill as a direct response to what she called a public health crisis. She noted that one in three Canadians aged 18 to 29 participates in online gambling, and that one in four of those individuals experiences significant harm. The bill draws explicit comparisons to existing advertising restrictions on tobacco and cannabis in Canada.

What This Means for Operators — and Players

For Ontario sportsbook operators like BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings — all of which are licensed and active in Ontario — a blanket advertising ban would represent a fundamental shift in how they acquire new customers. These platforms have invested heavily in brand visibility since 2022, leveraging television spots during NHL and NBA broadcasts, social media campaigns, and high-profile celebrity ambassadors. FanDuel had partnered with retired athletes including Charles Barkley and Rob Gronkowski for Ontario campaigns before athlete endorsements were banned by the AGCO in February 2024. BetMGM had featured Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid in prominent Ontario advertising before those rules took effect.

For players already registered on these platforms, a ban would have no direct impact on their ability to bet. Licensed operators would still be permitted to operate and communicate with existing customers through consented direct marketing channels. However, it would severely curtail operators’ ability to reach new audiences, which could affect the competitive bonuses and promotional offers that licensed platforms use to attract sign-ups. Critics of the proposal have warned that a blanket advertising ban could push new users toward unlicensed offshore platforms that remain unconstrained — a concern backed by a 2024 study commissioned by the European Casino Association, which found that unlicensed operators captured more than 70 percent of online gambling revenue in markets with strict advertising restrictions.

The Canadian Gaming Association issued a statement opposing Bill 107, arguing that Ontario already operates under some of the most rigorous marketing regulations in North America. Licensed operators are already barred from advertising promotional bonuses in general media, prohibited from targeting minors or self-excluded players, and required to comply with a new Code for Responsible Gaming Advertising that came into force on January 1, 2026.

A Template for US Regulators?

Whether Ontario’s legislation could influence regulators south of the border remains an open question, but the pressure to restrict gambling advertising in the United States is real and growing. In September 2024, the SAFE Bet Act was introduced in Congress, proposing to ban sports betting broadcast advertising between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., prohibit advertising during live sporting events, and eliminate promotional language including “bonus bets” and “no sweat” wagers in advertisements. The bill had not advanced as of late 2025, but its sponsors remained vocal. In Massachusetts, state Senator John Keenan introduced the Bettor Health Act in November 2025, which would ban sports betting advertisements during televised games. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has been outspoken about advertising and product concerns as well. A February 2025 poll found that 63 percent of Americans support federal legislation to ban sportsbook advertisements during live games.

Ontario’s Bill 107 itself faces a difficult path. The Progressive Conservatives hold 80 seats in the provincial legislature compared to the Liberals’ 14, making passage unlikely in its current form. Still, its introduction — combined with parallel pressure from federal Bill S-211, which passed the Canadian Senate and calls for a national framework on sports betting advertising — signals that advertising restrictions are moving from the fringe to the mainstream of gambling policy debate on both sides of the border.