Memo to Canadian broadcasters: It’s time to join the conversation when it comes to advertising by regulated gambling companies and the lottery and gaming corporations in the true north strong and free.
As Covers guy Geoff Zochodne tweeted last week, the House of Commons Heritage committee is operating - to quote the late, great Danny Gallivan - at rapier-like speed to put into place Bill S-211 and “create a national framework on sports betting advertising” (similar efforts are happening at the same time in New Jersey). In its Sept. 22 meeting, the standing committee will “commence clause-by-clause consideration of Bill S-211 on Thursday, Oct. 22. What that means is there will be no opportunities for outside parties to appear in front of the committee and make their case for or against the bill.
What it also means is the bill is going to happen. What’s TBD is how long it takes for the bill to take effect, if/how the overwhelmingly successful online gaming piece of the business is affected by S-211, and its impact on stakeholders.
Ah yes, the stakeholders. That would include provincial governments, regulated operators, ancillary businesses (e.g. advertising/marketing agencies, sports leagues and teams. . . and media organizations).
“It’s an industry-wide topic that includes partners such as broadcasters,” Scott Woodgate, BetMGM’s vice president, Canada, told Gaming News Canada during an interview Monday at the Global Gaming Expo.
“If we’re all at the table, good things will happen.”
As we’ve already reported, the Canadian Gaming Association has had discussions with the media folks at both Rogers and Bell, which have raked in hundreds of millions of dollars from the gaming industry since the launch of Ontario’s regulated market in April 2022. While there’s been a decrease in advertising volume since those early days in Ontario, it remains impossible to watch a sporting event on Sportsnet and TSN without being exposed to a significant number of gambling spots. On the day this newsletter lands in the inbox our loyal subscribers, Prime Video’s Wednesday Night Hockey debuts with DraftKings on board as the “exclusive Sportsbook and Online Casino Integration sponsor of NHL on Prime.” The first season of NHL hockey in Alberta’s newish regulated market includes both the Oilers and Flames playing on the inaugural evening of Saturday Night Hockey on Sportsnet, which bid adieu to Hockey Night in Canada at the end of last season.
In this corner, we’ve been critical at times of the lack of responsible gambling messaging from too many operators that spend money on television advertising. BetMGM recently completed shooting a “Mullet Over” 2.0 RG commercial with Connor McDavid and Terry Ryan that is scheduled to be unveiled later this fall. Wayne Gretzky did a chat of the fireside variety (minus the kindling and flames) with BetMGM boss Adam Greenblatt yesterday morning to open Day 2 of G2E. The conversation, however, focused on The Great One’s life in hockey, with a bouquet tossed to his late mother Phyllis and all hockey moms for their influence on the lives of their sons and daughters.
FanDuel unveiled its “Play With A Plan” campaign at the beginning of 2026, bet365 devotes a noticeable percentage of its TV ad spend on RG, and Betway has featured Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in RG-focused advertising since bringing the Blue Jays first baseman on board as a brand ambassador.
We’ve written before that we’d like to see TSN hockey commentator/Mystic Mike “betting analyst” Mike Johnson featured in network-produced RG messaging. The same for TSN Overdrive personality Jeff O’Neill, and any combination of Kate Beirness, Davis Sanchez and/or Luke Willson from TSN’s on-air football team. At Sportsnet, the same with its roster of NHL talent (e.g. Friedman, Kevin Bieksa, Kyle Bukauskas, Colby Armstong) and/or Hazel Mae and Kevin Barker, Blue Jays reporter and analyst respectively, and partners in life (or the father-and-son voices of the Jays, Dan and Ben Shulman). Or. . . Evanka Osmak and Ken Reid, partners on the Sportsnet Central desk.
Media companies have . . .er . . . skin in the game, especially since we expect they will push back - and there will almost certainly be involvement from the CRTC at a time when media companies and outlets keep cutting back or closing their doors - if Bill S-211 ultimately leads to a slower flow of advertising dollars from regulated operators in our home and native land.
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ACGO working with province to be tougher on illegal gaming operators
When Ontario nears its fifth anniversary as a regulated gaming market next April, the CEO of the province’s alcohol and gaming commission hopes to be in a different place when it comes to taking concrete action against illegal operators.
Dr. Karin Schnarr appeared on a panel Monday morning alongside AGLC chief regulatory officer Dave Berry and regulatory gaming officials from Michigan, Iowa and the United Arab Emirates on “regulatory priorities and enforcement trends” in betting and gaming. During the panel, Schnarr discussed the commission’s work in the first four-plus years of regulated gambling in the province and the AGCO’s focus overseeing the market.
“Historically we are the regulator, and if you have a licence and you’re not following the rules, we will come and have a conversation with you, increasing the volume depending on how often we have those talks,” Schnarr explained to a packed room. “But we really didn’t have a mandate to go after folks that were outside of our licensees. So, the government and our board have been quite adamant that, ‘No, you’re the AGCO’.
“We have a role to make sure that people are investing a lot of money in our very open iGaming market and that needs to be protected. I wish I had the powers of some of my colleagues.”
Afterwards, speaking with a couple of reporters, Schnarr gave another example of the AGCO having limited powers when it comes to advertising by unregulated operators.
“We will literally call a radio station or write to them and say, ‘they’re illegal and we can prove they’re illegal.’ We have radio stations say, ‘Yeah, we know that, but it’s hard for media right now. So sorry, but we’re going to continue to take [the money.]’ We’ve had some success where (media) will say, ‘Oh, okay, we will stop doing it, but it’s because you’re being nice.’ I don’t have the enforcement powers to do anything.”
Scharr hopes that will change as the AGCO works with the provincial government to provide regulatory or legislative tools such as issuing cease-and-desist letters and handing out monetary penalties. That stems from a mandate letter sent a year ago this week from Ontario attorney general Doug Downey to then-AGCO chair Dave Forestell.
From Downey’s letter:
I ask that the CEO and Registrar and the board continue to develop additional resources to combat illegal gaming operators. This includes undertaking a review of current AGCO authorities to identify opportunities to more effectively disrupt these illegal markets, such as enabling the regulator to issue cease and desist orders and impose monetary penalties on unregulated actors.
During Monday’s panel, Kurt Steinkamp, the chief of staff for the Michigan Gaming Control Board, said it has distributed more than 200 cease-and-desist letters. Schnarr mentioned that the AGCO speaks regularly with state regulators across the U.S. and is keen to apply the “lessons learned” once the commission gets the green light from the province.
During a panel yesterday afternoon (more on that below) Service Alberta minister Dale Nally said the province will go after “illicit operators” after the Oct. 13 deadline for sportsbooks and casinos to have agreements in place with the AiGC. When asked about what action the province will take, Nally would only say, “We have levers at our disposal that we didn’t use in the past, and we are motivated (to take action).”
Alberta won’t sit on the Bill S-211 sidelines, and more
Minister Dale Nally was joined by Alberta iGaming Corporation chief legal beagle Steve Inglis and FanDuel senior VP Cory Fox for a catch-up of sorts yesterday afternoon. A summary of what we heard:
On the aforementioned Bill S-211, Nally didn’t mince any words about the federal government weighing in/throwing its weight around in an industry that has the feds’ blessing in being overseen by the provinces.
“We don’t support (it),” said Nally. “The bill is another example of federal overreach on a provincial jurisdiction. Alberta will always stand up and protect provincial jurisdiction.”
The Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction minister added that the province is already preparing to take action against the bill. “We aren’t sitting on our hands because we’re alarmed by what that could mean.”
With the addition of Betway, Golden Tiger Casino and PowerPlay over the past week there are now 34 regulated gambling sites up and running in the province. Gaming News Canada confirmed Monday that Stake has also had its application approved by AGLC and is awaiting a licence to thrill from AiGC. The well-known betting brand could be among the operators to get in under the Oct. 13 deadline for the end of unregulated gaming in Alberta.
On the ubiquitous issue of advertising, Fox referred to marketing the brand as a priority when launching in a new market, and FanDuel is following the same script as it did in Ontario back in the spring of 2022 by leaning in on responsible gambling messaging.
“It’s easy to criticize the volume that comes in a new market,” Fox said. “That is the opportunity for an operator to introduce itself and an important way to communicate to consumers.
From the AiGC’s Inglis: “Yeah, we’ve been following it quite closely. I think there was a host of consumer complaints that came in, and it was amplified by the media when the market launched. With the sports season picking up now, it’s not new for Albertans but they’re going to start seeing (ads) in difference places. We’ll have to keep a close eye on it and I know the AGLC has sent some correspondence to try and ensure everything’s going in a reasonable direction.”
On Alberta eventually allowing cryptocurrency to be used in the market, both Inglis and Nally said the province is open to - in the words of Inglis - “exploring innovative payment methods. . . providing they meet compliance standards”. We’re certainly looking into it.”
Added Nally: “We have to separate cryptocurrencies because there are different (types), and one that’s coming to the forefront is Bitcoin. So, we’re looking at how we can support this. We believe it’s a freedom currency . . . it really comes to the core of everything that we believe in in Alberta. We’re monitoring it and are always embracing innovative ways to do things.
The panel also discussed responsible gambling (surprise, surprise). Worth noting is how proactive AiGC has been in the early weeks of the market using social media to promote responsible play.
Other takeaways from the first 48 hours of G2E
What else came out of our various conversations and from listening to panel discussions during the conference’s first two days.
The folks covering this industry landed in Vegas expected prediction markets to be a topic of conversation this week. However, to borrow some hockey parlance, the gaming industry Monday and Tuesday morning steered the prediction markets into a corner of the Venetian Expo and worked them over with hockey sticks, fists, elbows and several knees to the nether regions. Geoff Zochodne and Ryan Butler did the double-byline thing for Covers on the gaming industry’s elbows-up approach.
There’s an excellent piece by Jill Dorson of InGame on the collaboration taking place around integrity monitoring coming from a panel that included NFL global sports betting director Keith Perschetz.
On the first panel du jour yesterday, journalist Contessa Brewer asked senior executives Tom Reeg (Caesars), Bill Hornbuckle (MGM Resorts) and Craig Billings (Wynn Resorts) about Canadians coming - or not - to Vegas.
“It’s coming back slowly,” answered Reeg. “Over time I’d say yes, visitation from Canada will normalize.”
Ontario online casinos set revenue record, top $10 billion lifetime
Another month, another record for gross gambling revenue from online casinos in Ontario.
August figures released last week by iGaming Ontario (iGO) show online casinos had total revenue of $336.3 million to surpass the previous record of $330.4 million set just one month prior. Lifetime, online casinos also surpassed the $10 billion mark in August.
A sports betting revenue decline of 20 per cent from July to August (from $77.8 million to $54.4 million) caused total revenue to miss the $400 million mark for the first time in five months.
For August, the total was $396.3 million, down three per cent from July’s total of $413.6 million, which was the second-best month since the open market launched in April of 2022.
But the continued growth of online casino revenue is especially interesting. In July, online casino revenue made up 80 per cent of total revenue. That grew to 85 per cent in August, likely impacted by softer online sports betting numbers in the heat of the summer. That bears out in the handle numbers which were down 15 per cent from July ($992 million) to August ($843 million). It was the lowest sports betting handle since August of 2025 ($765 million).
Some other notable figures:
Year-to-Date (through August 2026)
Total online gambling revenue of $3.16 billion up 26 per cent from $2.51 billion through first eight months of 2025
Total online casino revenue of $2.53 billion up 30 per cent from $1.95 billion through first eight months of 2025
Total online sports betting revenue of $587.7 million 15.5 per cent from $509 million through first eight months of 2025
Year-to-Date compared to first eight months of 2023 (the first full year the market was open)
Total revenue is up 124 per cent compared to January through August of 2023 ($1.41 billion)
Online casino revenue is up 148 per cent compared to January through August of 2023 ($1.02 billion)
Online sports betting is up 68 per cent compared to January through August of 2023 ($350 million)
Lifetime totals:
Total online gambling revenue: $13.36 billion
Online casino revenue: $10.14 billion
Online sports betting revenue: $2.95 billion
Online poker revenue: $270.6 million
Tax revenue from online gambling: $2.67 billion
People on the Move
Alyssa Beaver is promoted to Chief Revenue Officer at Pavilion Payments. Karen Haines also receives a promotion to President, Commercial Operations.
Leon Thomas, who was hip-deep in the Canadian gaming industry while serving in leadership roles at Hard Rock International and Entain, joins White Hat Gaming as Chief Commercial Officer.
Boyd Gaming promotes Matt Bunyan to Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
Kate Pulford has a new role at Aristocrat Gaming as Senior Vice President, Commercial Strategy APAC. Richard Blues is named Director of Operations.
Motti Colman is named Senior VP, Revenue at Optimove.
Brite Payments name Mickael Marceau as Senior VP – Gaming & Financial Services.
Gavin Isaacs joins the Board of Directors at Gaming Laboratories International as an Advisor.
MGM Resorts International appoints Zachary Levine as Executive Vice President, Japan Gaming.
Mark Dufty, formerly of IGT, is the new Head of Game Analysis at Advanced Compliance Technology.
Tim Miller, the former Executive Director at the UK Gambling Commission, launches GamReg Consulting.
Ex-Gaming Innovation Group guy James Hancock is the new Vice President of Marketing (B2B) at Soft2Bet. Harry Heynes is named Director, Business Development.
SPORTFIVE appoints Jason Scorrano as Vice President, U.S. Gaming & Creators.
David Nantais is the new General Manager at the Gateway Clinton (Ontario) Casino.
Robert Lo Giudice exits BetMGM to become the Director, Regulatory Compliance (Gaming) at Trustly.
Paulo Garcia Cordova joins BetStarters as Global Head of Sales.
Chris Fleming joins GameSquare Holdings brand Click as Head of Commercial Strategy & Growth.
Lewis Westerman has a new role as Global Head of Resourcing, Product & Technology.
Arun Lal exits Paysafe to join nSure.ai as Head of Fintech Sales.
Heather Maurer steps down as Executive Director of the National Council on Problem Gambling.
EveryMatrix promotes Dominic Grose to Managing Director – Casino.
Interblock Gaming appoints Ryan Yee as Senior Director, Consumer Insight and Market Strategy.
Hristfor Hristov exits Bragg Gaming and his role as Commercial Director, Aggregation & Strategic Partnerships.
Breard Snellings leaves DraftKings and his position as Director, Regulatory Operations.
Kevin Allen departs BetMGM and his role as Senior Associate, Gaming Experience.
Kieron Beman joins NEXT.io as CRM Operations Executive.
Alexandra Mufson is appointed Senior Manager of Acquisition Strategy at FanDuel.
Christiana Pearson has a new gig at ComeOn Group as a Marketing Analyst.
A call for more conversation on gambling and youth
From an op-ed just released by the Canadian Gaming Association:
Canadians have had access to online gambling for 25 years, and Ontario and Alberta have since introduced stronger market protections. The goal is shared: better protection for players. But the digital environment has changed quickly over the past five years, and yet we still do not fully talk about how young people are finding their way into gambling.
Every operator registered to take bets in Ontario is legally barred from opening an account for anyone under 19; in Alberta, the minimum age is 18. Before a player can deposit, the operator must verify identity under FINTRAC-compliant standards—either by matching the user against a credit bureau file or by checking government ID through facial-recognition and liveness verification. The system is not perfect, but it reliably confirms whether an adult opened the account and provides an example of how the regulated industry takes responsibility by not letting underage people gamble.
To read the entire article, click here.
Classified (Jobs) Information
On the Home Front
The Western Canada Lottery Corporation is in need of a Vice President, Player Growth & Experience.
Hard Rock Digital has a remote opportunity in Canada or the U.S. for a Senior Director – Casino Content Strategy.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is seeking a Director of Enterprise Data & Analytics.
AGLC requires a Director, Audit Services and an iGaming Compliance Analyst.
OLG has need of a Senior Product Manager (Retail Sports).
The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) is on the lookout for a Manager of Brand & Creative Services.
Atlantic Lottery is searching for a Product Manager, Destination.
Nordiq Canada is looking for a Manager, Communications and External Relations.
South of the Border
In Lansing, Michigan, Aristocrat Interactive is hiring a Director of Operations.
Fanatics has a hybrid/remote opening in New York for a Compliance Analyst.
Paysafe is looking for an AML Financial Crimes Investigations Analyst.
Hard Rock Digital is seeking a Trader – Sportsbook.
Yahoo has a trio of opportunities in the areas of streaming and growth/subscriptions.
AMP Sports is in the market for a Senior Creative Producer, Original Content.
Bloomberg is on a hiring mission for a Business of Sports, Team Lead in New York.
CNBC is searching for a Director, Podcasts & Digital Shows.
The Vegas Golden Knights have an opportunity for an Associate – Expertiential Events & Partnership Engagement.
CAA Hockey has need of a Brand Partnerships Director.
The Guardians of Cleveland are seeking a Data Scientist.
Across the Ponds
Midnite is seeking a Head of Audit and Risk.
In London, DAZN is hiring a Senior Product Manager.
Betty is looking for a CRM Manager – Growth Team for its business in Canada.
Wanted by the International Tennis Integrity Agency: an Investigator.
Reading and Reflecting
Derek Ramm, whose appearance on the latest Gaming News Canada Show drew a shoutout from Karin Schnarr during a G2E panel discussion Monday morning, posted a few thoughts yesterdfay via the LinkedIn on the Financial Action Task Force Mutual Evaluation of Canada.
A little more than two months since launching regulated gaming, the Alberta government announced $2.4 million in funding to Brick House Recovery Centre for gambling treatment and recovery services.
Breaking news Monday, courtesy of Canadian Gaming Business scribe Tom Nightingale, that Century Casinos is selling off the racing and gaming businesses at two Alberta racetracks. Canadian Thoroughbred reported the buyer is an investment group whose owner has longstanding ties to the horse racing industry.
Nightingale was also the first to report last week that Stake’s application has been accepted by AGLC. Next up: an operating license from the Alberta iGaming Corporation.
BETER, a provider of streams, data and odds for sports and esports, has obtained a supplier licence from AGLC.
In the latest Eilers-Fantini Canada Online Game Performance Report, there’s new information around Alberta.
Declan Hill, writing on the Substack, says mafia-operated sports betting remains alive and well in Canada.
The Responsible Gambling Council and the Canadian Addiction Counsellors Certification Federation are getting together on a pilot scholarship initiative in Ontario. And ICYMI, the RGC also has a new postsecondary education-related partnership with iGaming Ontario.
The PlaySafe Initiative posted via the LinkedIn its thoughts on predictions markets and sports in our home and native land.
Ontario licensee Tonybet is sponsoring the Brampton Blitz for the Canada Super60 cricket tournament, which began yesterday at Vancouver’s BC Place and runs through Sunday.
The university formerly known as Ryerson will host a Generation Bet: Student and Sports Betting panel discussion October 9 that is schedule to include Senator Marty Deacon, Dr. Jennifer Reynolds from the Responsible Gambling Council, Dr. Matthew Young from Greo and Dr. Andrew Kim from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Good reading from Geoff Zochodne on the giving nature of sportsbooks and prediction markets in the early weeks of the Amarican football season.
While walking the Las Vegas Strip with a couple of fellow Canadians on Monday evening, we wondered why the strip was bereft of a swim-up sportsbook. Well, that’s about to change.
An interesting post from Wall Street Journal reporter Heather Long on the Polymarket-Drake relationship.
As Anamaria Bacci reported for NEXT.io, legal sports betting in Brazil is no mas. Alina Moskalova worked her graphics magic to create this snapshot of what’s happening.
Also, Regulus Partners was among the many weighing in on a new twist of a Brazilian wax. And, NEXT.io chronicler Rory Calland reported yesterday on the ban’s impact on the share price of gambling operators.
The number of gambling licences for Finland’s incoming regulated market has ballooned to 75, reports Deyan Dimitrov for Gambling News.
Some scoopage by Dustin Gouker, who had a sneak peek at a study commissioned by the American Gaming Association.
Gouker, in The Closing Line newsletter, also had something to say about the sports betting-as-entertainment conversation.
The latest article, this time by ProPublica’s Jake Pearson, on his own betting experiences.
Sportico’s Dan Bernstein wrote about the current trials and tribulations at Flutter.
Betano, according to Global Gaming Insider, plans to take legal action against the Brazilian government.
DraftKings boss Jason Robins addressed the company’s falling stock price and sundry other topics at last week’s Front Office Sports Asset Class event.
The NBA, WNBA, their respective players association and officials association have joined the crowd asking for more action to be taken against the abusive idiots on social media.
In case you were fuzzy about how tribal gaming leaders feel about prediction markets in the U.S. of A. . . .
The Major League Baseball Players Association says it’s open to not allowing players to be involved as ambassadors with sports betting operators.
In The Closing Line Newsletter, Dustin Gouker reported on an American Gaming Association-commissioned study into gambling and financial literacy.
Gambling Harm editorial boss Brian Pempus wrote that it’s possible for online gambling advertising to be effectively regulated.
Jeff Edelstein did some columnizing on a New York Times piece on DraftKings’ use of artificial intelligence.
Speaking of Edelstein, he found a unique path to write about the prediction market boom.
Jonathan Prynn spoke with some Brits for a piece in The Telegraph about the continuing popularity of betting shops.
Hillary McAfee, writing for CDC Gaming, did a rather deep dive into the angst over the Novig ad featuring Sydney Sweeney.
Former GeoComply senior executive Lindsay Slader did the Q and A thing with Brant James of Gambling Insider on his new gig.
The president of the board of directors for the National Council on Problem Gambling last week addressed the non-profit group’s relationship with Kalshi.
Former sports betting industry exec Sara Slane, now working for Kalshi, took umbrage last week at PM operators not paying state taxes.
Play’n GO’s communications chief Andrew Pink spoke about the company’s participation in discussions around brain health at United Nations General Assembly week.
Betr founder Jake Paul isn’t a happy camper with receiving a cease-and-desist letter regarding an ad campaign featuring the stars of the former HBO series Entourage.
A tap of the CCM JetSpeed to the good folks at CDC Gaming and Global Gaming Women for honouring the latest 10 Women Rising in Gaming at a pre-G2E function Sunday evening.
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