Canadian Gaming: All Eyes On Two Government Bills
Posted on: December 10, 2025, 08:23h.
Last updated on: December 10, 2025, 10:08h.
- A new national advertising standards bill for sports betting is making its way through the House of Commons
- Bill S-241 would allow the governing body of a First Nation to have the exclusive authority to conduct and manage their own gaming operations
- Parliament set to adjourn for Christmas break this Friday
There are two federal government bills that people in Canada’s gaming industry are following closely as they make their way through the House of Commons and Senate, considering the potential impact each would have on the industry if they became law.
Bill S-211, sponsored by Senator Marty Deacon, is having a second reading in the House of Commons, after having already passed through the Senate.
Parliament adjourns for the Christmas break this Friday, and isn’t set to return until January 26.
The enactment provides for the development of a national framework to regulate sports betting advertising in Canada and set national standards to minimize the risk and harms resulting from the proliferation of sports betting advertising, according to the text of the bill.
New Advertising Standards Framework
Under the direction of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the bill lays out an extensive consultation process with government ministers, representatives of provincial and territorial governments, indigenous communities, industry stakeholders, provincial gaming regulators, and others to develop a national framework.
The new framework would identify measures to regulate sports betting advertising in Canada, with a view to restrict it, identify measures for research and intergovernmental cooperation related to the prevention and diagnosis of minors involved in gambling, and to set out standards for the prevention and diagnosis of harmful gambling and addiction.
Many questions about the legislation remain as it barrels toward becoming law.
Amendments to the Criminal Code
“The bill hasn’t made it through the House, and if it does get priority, it means that whomever it lands on (Heritage Canada? CRTC?) will then have to consult with all the provinces and First Nations,” an industry source told Casino.org. “That will take something like what – several years? And the bill asks for a ‘framework,’ which is unclear.”
Then, there’s Bill S-241, sponsored by Senator Scott Tannas, which is currently at second reading in the Senate. The legislation would amend the Criminal Code and the Indian Act to provide that the governing body of a First Nation would have the exclusive authority to conduct and manage their own gaming operations within its lands. The governing body of the First Nation would let the government of Canada and the government of the province in which the reserve is located know of its intention to exercise that authority.
First Nations Gaming Self-Regulation
Indigenous gaming has been under the control of provincial regulators. If the bill became law, there is still the chance that gaming on reserve lands remains under provincial control, as opposed to self-regulation, however.
“You’ve seen First Nations buying casinos in British Columbia,” said Canadian Gaming Association President and CEO Paul Burns. “What’s important here is, there is an economic opportunity that is clearly being fulfilled. It’s great that the First Nations are buying these casinos. Before, there was a lack of knowledge of what occurs in the First Nation gaming space … the [Ontario igaming model] is now four years old. It’s a mature industry.”
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