For many Canadian families, gambling harms no longer begin in casinos. The conditions that allow gambling addiction to thrive are now embedded in phone apps, online platforms, between periods, and during the games Canadians love most.

Since Canada legalized single-event sports betting in 2021, gambling promotions have become embedded in sports broadcasts, podcasts, and the digital spaces Canadians occupy every day. Betting advertisements now extend well beyond sports programming, surfacing across digital platforms whether Canadians seek them out or not. Betting companies increasingly market themselves as part of the sports experience itself, blurring the line between being a fan and placing a wager.

Gambling disorders can affect nearly every aspect of a person’s life, contributing to anxiety, depression, financial crisis, substance use, relationship breakdown, and even increased suicide risk. These harms are often hidden until they become severe, affecting not only individuals but also partners, children, caregivers, and families.

While gambling harms affect people of all genders and ages, sports betting advertising is disproportionately reaching and resonating with young men, making them an important focus for prevention efforts.

• Men in Canada are three times more likely than women to bet on sports, according to Statistics Canada (2022). Mental Health Research Canada has also found that men and younger Canadians are the groups most likely to report gambling behaviours associated with elevated risk of problem gambling.
• Perhaps most concerning are the findings from two 2026 studies. Research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that gambling-related outreach rates among boys and young men aged 15 to 24 increased by 317 per cent following Ontario’s expansion of online gambling.
• A new study by University of Toronto researchers adds to this concern. By mid-2025, rates of emergency department visits for gambling disorders in Ontario were nearly double what would have been expected without the expansion of online gambling, with the largest increase among males aged 10 to 29.

The messaging matters. Sports betting advertisements sell the image of confidence, status, competition, and wealth, often using prominent figures within the sports and media industry to deliver the message. Gambling is increasingly framed as exciting, social, competitive, and closely tied to sports culture and masculine identity. Athletes, celebrities, influencers, and sports personalities reinforce that image.

Young men are already facing rising rates of loneliness, mental distress, social isolation, and barriers to seeking help. We should be asking serious questions about the impact of aggressively marketing gambling in environments where those same young people are already vulnerable.

Many Canadians gamble recreationally without developing addiction, and regular participation in sports can be a powerful contributor to physical and mental well-being. But unrestricted marketing tied to sports for gambling purposes has consequences.  Public health policy has long recognized that advertising influences behaviour, especially among younger audiences, and we all have a role to play in helping build a healthier future for our youth.

Public health is shaped not only by hospitals and clinics, but by the environments we create, the behaviours we normalize, and the messages we repeat every day.

The question is no longer whether sports betting advertising influences behaviour. The question is why we continue to pretend it does not.