Lack of Ad Clarity Leaving Canadian iGaming Players Confused, Says CLC Exec
Posted on: May 25, 2026, 01:08h.
Last updated on: May 26, 2026, 04:59h.
- Lack of clarity concerning igaming advertising has created confusion in the marketplace
- Cormier was named Executive Director of the Canadian Lottery Coalition in April
- Cormier said CLC supports Bill S-211: National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Act
Newly appointed Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC) Executive Director Molly Cormier has identified her primary challenge: cutting through market confusion to help consumers distinguish legal iGaming platforms from illicit ones.
Summit Canada Interview
In an interview with Casino.org which took place during last week’s SBC Summit Canada, Cormier suggested that iGaming advertising was the cornerstone of this confusion, and that action needed to be taken.
“I think it’s frustrating, especially when it comes to advertising, the confusion for Canadians when they are consuming advertising, especially from a foreign operator licensed in another province, targeting people in a province where they aren’t licensed,” she said. “Canadians are confused about what is legal and what is not. We owe Canadians legal clarity. That’s a real priority of mine.”
Industry Shifts
The Canadian iGaming market shifted rapidly after single-event sports betting was legalized in August 2021. However, a massive influx of unregulated websites targeting Canadians with misleading ads soon followed. To combat this growing policy challenge, provincial lottery corporations joined forces later that year to establish the CLC.
The CLC is a pan-Canadian alliance of provincial lottery corporations – Atlantic Lottery, Loto-Québec, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, and British Columbia Lottery Corporation.
Cormier is a former journalist and public relations practitioner who spent a decade with Atlantic Lottery, working in public relations, marketing, and policy engagement within Canada’s regulated gaming sector.
Advertising Top Of The Bill
During a summit panel exploring which provinces might follow Ontario and Alberta into a regulated, private market, Rubicon Strategy President Patrick Harris highlighted the high stakes for operators.
“What is going to be the key question for the industry moving forward is how they’re acting in Ontario and Alberta,” Harris said. “How they’re using that social license is going to dictate whether it’s going to be able to be run through the rest of Canada.”
On advertising, I’ll just say there is way too much. It is dramatic. I think the industry is losing its social license with the public at an alarming rate, and I think if the industry doesn’t do something about it themselves, government’s going to do it.
“I highly recommend … the industry needs to come up with some tangible solutions to deal with the advertising issue.”
Inconsistent Enforcement
Rising public fatigue over iGaming advertising is shining a spotlight on ad saturation during sports broadcasts, youth exposure, and public health impacts.
Tensions are particularly high in monopoly-model provinces, where national broadcasts expose local viewers to ads for Ontario or U.S. operators. Highlighting the problem, a CBC report recently revealed that Manitoba residents are not only seeing Ontario-regulated ads but are actively using those platforms to place bets.
On top of that, Canadians will see ads for U.S-based operators like DraftKings and BetMGM during U.S. television sports broadcasts that advertise bonuses on sign-up. Bonusing for igaming is not legal in Ontario.
Enforcement is inconsistent and advertising lines are blurry, Cormier said, as consumers don’t understand what operators are regulated locally. And as a spokesperson at the summit said, what changes the minds of politicians is public opinion and money.
National Bills Sets Framework for Sports Betting Ads
Bill S-211: National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Act is currently making its way through federal Parliament, now before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.
Once passed, it would see a national framework on sports betting ads created by the federal Heritage Minister, all geared at restricting those ads. However, it does not seek to ban sports betting advertising.
On the other side, organizations like the Canadian Gaming Association argue that the issue around advertising falls under provincial jurisdiction, and that the provinces already are regulating igaming advertising heavily, especially around the usage of celebrities.
According to people in the industry, regarding advertising that runs on national broadcasts, Canadians have long accessed offshore betting sites anyway, legal operators are safer than unregulated offshore books, and advertising helps to channel bettors to the regulated environments.
Ontario’s Bill 107, introduced in the provincial legislature by a Liberal MPP Lee Fairclough, calling for the ban of all igaming advertising, was voted down earlier this month by the majority Conservative Party.
Provincial Bill Looked at Banning Ads
While Cormier noted the CLC supports Bill S-211 as a step toward establishing clearer national guardrails for online gambling ads, she emphasized that the coalition opposes a total advertising ban.
A national CLC television advertising campaign to educate Canadians on what is legal and what isn’t is something she will also consider, she said.
I’d love to do a national advertising campaign,” she added. “I am open to any conversation. What we’re noticing are some operators are advertising with parallel domains in different provinces that will then push people back to their international affiliates. There’s been marketing creative that’s specifically targeted to the citizens of that province where operators are not licensed to operate. That’s very frustrating. That confusion exists everywhere – with media personalities, senators. It just shows the level of complexity with the topic.
“We just want legal clarity, a level playing field, no matter what model the provinces are choosing (for their market). The coalition doesn’t exist to block whatever (igaming) model the province chooses.”
Getting Responsible Gambling Messaging in Front of Young Men
The industry needs to get in front in terms of messaging as young people, mostly males, are coming across gambling products more, and get more proactive with responsible gambling messaging, she added.
“When I go and I have coalition-related conversations with stakeholders who maybe are on the periphery of our industry or maybe completely outside of it, they’ll often say, I’m not a gambler, I don’t necessarily understand the industry, but they’re consistently bringing up personal stories about young people in their lives, especially males, and how they’re engaging with gambling products.”
Cormier pointed to an Angus Reid igaming industry study, released last week. One-in-five parents with a child aged 10 to 17 said their child has already asked them about sports betting (half of these said they were asked by a son, 24% by a daughter, 17% by both).
“As an industry, we don’t want to put our heads in the sand, and say, everything’s fine, nothing to see here. The coalition has decided that a key part of our mandate is consumer protection,” Cormier explained.
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