Juno News - April 19, 2024


Sports gambling ads need to stop


Episode Stats


Length

14 minutes

Words per minute

157.51938

Word count

2,297

Sentence count

136


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Gambling ads in Canada are out of control. You cannot watch a sports event on television, any game, or even walk down a downtown street without seeing one, if not several, ads encouraging you to place money and wager on a sporting event.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
00:00:00.000 This is how we play sports.
00:00:02.540 PointsBet.ca, coming soon to Ontario.
00:00:06.560 Whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at Bet365.
00:00:11.460 Think you know sports? Play on PointsBet.
00:00:14.660 Is it cold in here?
00:00:21.700 Gambling ads in Canada are completely out of control.
00:00:26.000 Now, I can't speak for people who live outside of Ontario,
00:00:28.320 but I'm just assuming that the situation is very similar.
00:00:32.300 You cannot watch a sports event on television, any game whatsoever,
00:00:37.140 or even walk down a downtown street without seeing one, if not several,
00:00:42.200 ads encouraging you to place money and wager on a sporting event.
00:00:46.720 Now, this is not just an inundation of sports betting ads.
00:00:50.140 It's an all-out assault.
00:00:51.460 Sports gambling is in the news right now after a relatively unknown Toronto Raptors player,
00:00:56.200 John Taye Porter, was just suspended from the NBA for life for being involved in a major betting scandal.
00:01:02.760 Essentially, he was betting against himself,
00:01:05.660 and millions of dollars were won on his intentionally awful performances.
00:01:11.040 Also, the world's most famous baseball player,
00:01:13.580 Shohei Ohtani, is also caught up in a major betting scandal.
00:01:17.180 His interpreter allegedly stole millions of dollars from Ohtani
00:01:20.860 to bet on international sporting events and to service his own gambling debts.
00:01:26.200 Now, whether you like it or not,
00:01:27.320 it is impossible to deny that watching sports is a major part of Canadian life and Canadian culture.
00:01:33.120 Canadians love sports.
00:01:35.120 But the relatively recent legalization of single-game sports betting by the federal government in 2021
00:01:40.460 and the Ontario government's decision to allow mostly foreign-owned sports bookies to operate in Ontario
00:01:47.340 has completely changed and ruined the sports viewing experience for Canadians.
00:01:52.820 Hockey Night in Canada, before the firing of Don Cherry,
00:01:55.780 was a Canadian cultural institution and a cultural export of our country.
00:02:00.300 Watching Hockey Night in Canada was a way for Canadians to connect to one another.
00:02:04.700 It was a way for newcomers to feel part of the Canadian family.
00:02:07.660 Now, it has been completely ruined by an onslaught of sports gambling ads.
00:02:13.680 In my opinion, the promotion of vice and addiction by way of sports gambling
00:02:17.840 that mostly targets younger Canadians,
00:02:20.920 all so that federal and provincial governments can get a slice of the lucrative gambling pie,
00:02:25.300 is an insult to our country.
00:02:27.260 And quite frankly, it needs to stop.
00:02:29.340 Before we get into it though, drop a like in the video,
00:02:31.460 help us out by subscribing to the True North YouTube channel,
00:02:33.640 stick around for the ratio of the week,
00:02:35.460 and the comment question for the episode is this.
00:02:38.860 Is it time to ban sports gambling ads in Canada?
00:02:42.920 Let me know your answer in the comments below, and let's get into it.
00:02:45.600 These ads should be quite familiar to Canadian sports fans,
00:02:49.060 because you've all seen them well over a hundred times.
00:02:52.280 It's the thrill of the game, right?
00:02:53.700 It's the excitement of winning.
00:02:54.960 It's about being part of the action.
00:02:56.900 Gamble, gamble, gamble.
00:02:58.360 That is sports viewing in Canada today.
00:03:01.240 Every ad break, you will see one of those ads,
00:03:04.560 and many times over if you watch a full game.
00:03:07.420 Now if you think you can simply mute the television during the ad break,
00:03:10.580 or turn the TV off during an ad break to avoid seeing these ads,
00:03:13.980 well it's not going to work.
00:03:15.200 Because it's not just ad breaks where these gambling companies have managed to
00:03:19.700 fit themselves into a broadcast.
00:03:22.080 It's everywhere.
00:03:23.280 Broadcasters like Sportsnet and TSN have branded in-game segments that encourage gambling.
00:03:29.740 Now if the hundreds of gambling ads during the ad breaks of a game weren't enough,
00:03:34.780 and the in-game gambling branded segments by the broadcasters wasn't enough,
00:03:40.040 well you now have digital advertising boards in a hockey game,
00:03:43.520 which of course will display gambling ads.
00:03:46.640 On the ice and on the boards.
00:03:48.660 The problem of course goes much deeper than that.
00:03:51.420 If you don't like sports, well too bad.
00:03:54.340 Because if you walk down, for example,
00:03:56.580 Yonge and Dundas Square in Toronto,
00:03:58.140 or I guess what are we calling it now, Sankofa Square,
00:04:00.660 you will see gambling ads on the giant billboards.
00:04:04.360 You will see gambling ads on billboards as you're driving into the city.
00:04:07.820 And on your way out of the city.
00:04:09.320 You will see gambling ads on social media.
00:04:11.480 You will see gambling ads on YouTube.
00:04:13.760 You might even see a gambling ad on this video.
00:04:16.100 Hey, uh, you got any picks tonight?
00:04:18.480 I'm really liking the odds on points bet.
00:04:20.480 Oh yeah?
00:04:21.240 What do you got?
00:04:22.100 Taking the Raptors to cover the spread.
00:04:24.140 Really?
00:04:25.460 Okay, well if you're right about that bet, I'll...
00:04:27.900 pose for an art.
00:04:29.160 You look wonderful.
00:04:37.880 Thanks.
00:04:40.320 Think you know sports?
00:04:42.120 Play on points bet.
00:04:43.840 Is it cold in here?
00:04:45.060 Again, it doesn't just stop there.
00:04:47.160 These gambling companies,
00:04:49.080 Bet365,
00:04:50.780 PointsBet,
00:04:51.620 The Score app,
00:04:52.960 BetMGM,
00:04:54.180 FanDuel,
00:04:55.300 these companies are now signing deals with sports content creators,
00:05:01.300 podcasters,
00:05:02.420 large companies,
00:05:03.200 even small companies.
00:05:04.720 Barstool Sports is now just essentially a gambling company that happens to run several podcasts,
00:05:09.660 which of course all encourage you to gamble more money.
00:05:12.360 Whether it be on college football, basketball, golf, hockey, that seems to be their MO.
00:05:19.820 And it's not just the big players in the podcasting industry either.
00:05:22.760 Check out your local Toronto Blue Jays or Toronto Maple Leafs content creator.
00:05:27.800 Small channels with a dedicated and loyal following, but are not, you know, earth-shattering in terms of the metrics.
00:05:34.560 Even these podcasts are now sponsored by gambling companies.
00:05:38.640 An Ipsos poll conducted at the beginning of 2023 found that 63% of Canadians agreed that there needs to be some limitation on the placement and frequency of gambling ads in the country.
00:05:52.360 And in fact, this poll is quite interesting because it found that the 18 to 24-year-old cohort who responded to this Ipsos poll all agreed that the quality of gambling ads themselves are awful.
00:06:03.320 Things in Ontario have changed only slightly when it comes to single-game online gambling.
00:06:08.140 Starting in February, the Ontario government changed their advertising rules around sports gambling,
00:06:13.320 which banned celebrities from engaging in these sports gambling ads because it would appeal to minors.
00:06:19.520 Of course, one of the most egregious examples of this was when Canadian legend and icon Wayne Gretzky teamed up with Conor McDavid to shill for MGM, an American-owned sports gambling company.
00:06:30.480 Wayne Gretzky debased his own legendary legacy by shilling for MGM on every single sporting event encouraging you to gamble.
00:06:37.300 Where did this all begin?
00:06:38.760 Well, the federal government legalized single-game sports betting in 2021, conveniently when everyone was in lockdown and stuck at home.
00:06:46.600 I'm sure it has nothing to do with that, though.
00:06:48.080 That legislation allowed provinces to then regulate their own industries.
00:06:52.820 Ontario, under conservative Doug Ford, went full steam ahead with online sports gambling, licensing several online casinos and sports books to operate in the province.
00:07:03.540 This is why you start to see all those foreign-owned bookies advertising in Ontario.
00:07:08.620 Now, let's break down the latest numbers here.
00:07:10.640 The first full year of legal online single-game sports betting in Ontario generated over $1.48 billion in revenue.
00:07:18.820 Of that, the federal government got $238 million in revenue, the provincial government got $469 million in revenue,
00:07:26.820 and municipalities got to split up $50 million.
00:07:30.420 Ontario iGaming, the regulator for this industry, estimates that in the sixth year of this new industry,
00:07:36.680 the federal government will see an increase of $647 million,
00:07:40.880 the province will see an increase of $1.39 billion in revenue,
00:07:45.900 and municipalities will see an increase of $115 million.
00:07:49.060 Before 2021, single-game sports betting was prohibited.
00:07:53.880 You were only allowed to bet on what's called parlays,
00:07:56.500 essentially multiple games at once with the provincial government-regulated lottery system.
00:08:02.400 Provincial governments, of course, were earning hundreds of millions of dollars off the lottery.
00:08:06.480 In 1984, the federal government wanted a piece of the pie,
00:08:09.720 so the federal government legalized sports wagering.
00:08:12.260 However, the federal government pulled the plug on this experiment only six months later,
00:08:16.760 and the reason as to why they did that speaks to the changing times that we are now living in.
00:08:22.340 Of course, one of the reasons was that the provincial governments were taking the federal government to court
00:08:27.100 over these new lotteries, essentially.
00:08:29.840 The other reason was that sports teams didn't want to be involved in this at all.
00:08:35.800 They felt, and I quote,
00:08:37.880 it tarnished their image.
00:08:40.360 You see, it seems as though back then sports teams actually cared about this stuff.
00:08:43.720 I think it's safe to say now, sports teams couldn't care less about any of that.
00:08:48.640 And nor could the leagues that govern these sports,
00:08:51.420 and of course, nor could the broadcasters who make millions of dollars off of these ads.
00:08:57.020 Canada's largest mental health and addictions hospital, CAMH,
00:09:01.260 has called for the Ontario government to completely ban sports gambling ads.
00:09:05.780 They want to see a public health approach applied to sports gambling ads
00:09:09.660 to protect young Canadians from getting sucked into a gambling addiction.
00:09:15.120 With 32% of high school students in Ontario reporting gambling at least once in the past year,
00:09:21.180 several of CAMH's recommendations focus on stronger protections for young people
00:09:25.640 when it comes to advertising and promotion.
00:09:28.080 Mega Vatsia, head of CAMH's Problem Gambling and Technology Use Treatment Service,
00:09:33.660 says many minors are now seeking help for issues related to sports gambling.
00:09:38.400 We are seeing a lot of young folks, in their 20s and 30s in particular,
00:09:42.040 who are engaging in sports betting.
00:09:43.540 But we're also seeing people seeking out support who are even younger than that.
00:09:47.200 Youth who are getting access despite it not being legal.
00:09:50.460 The situation faced by Ontario youth due to gambling addiction
00:09:54.280 is not exclusive to Ontario.
00:09:56.840 It's happening in the United States as well,
00:09:58.880 where the exact same phenomenon is taking place.
00:10:01.480 A proliferation of online gambling ads infiltrating sporting events.
00:10:07.200 This is from NBC News.
00:10:09.100 Florida legalized sports betting in November,
00:10:11.780 and it has since seen calls to its Council on Compulsive Gambling double.
00:10:15.800 Pennsylvania's Council on Compulsive Gambling
00:10:17.760 saw call volume more than double from 2020 to 2023.
00:10:21.760 Calls to Ohio's Problem Gambling Network, meanwhile,
00:10:24.700 increased 55% in 2023, the first year of legalized sports betting there.
00:10:29.620 The argument for legalizing single game sports betting
00:10:32.460 is the same argument that we heard from the federal government
00:10:35.000 as to why they needed to legalize cannabis.
00:10:37.460 People were already illegally gambling in Canada,
00:10:39.920 so why not regulate the market so the federal government
00:10:42.320 and the provincial government can make revenue off of it?
00:10:45.080 But they said, of course, that by doing so,
00:10:46.900 they would be able to regulate the industry
00:10:49.140 and protect people from the harms of these industries.
00:10:52.140 Well, how has that really worked out with cannabis?
00:10:54.180 Let's see, any major city in this country or town in this country
00:10:58.180 will have several pot shops.
00:11:00.660 You can't advertise legal cannabis,
00:11:02.820 but what better advertisement is there
00:11:04.400 than to normalize the sight of a cannabis dispensary
00:11:07.420 in every single town and every single city?
00:11:10.020 What better way to normalize the vice of gambling
00:11:12.860 than to put advertisements on every single sporting event,
00:11:17.740 inside the venue, on the broadcast,
00:11:19.880 and, of course, in the ad breaks?
00:11:21.200 If governments in this country can strictly legislate
00:11:24.700 and control advertisements for certain vices,
00:11:27.840 why not do it for gambling?
00:11:30.540 Young people are obviously being affected by these advertisements.
00:11:33.980 It has real-world impact,
00:11:35.440 and it can severely damage a young person's life.
00:11:38.720 Restricting celebrities and sports stars
00:11:40.500 from engaging in gambling ads
00:11:41.960 doesn't go far enough, in my opinion.
00:11:43.980 And if online gambling is so profitable,
00:11:47.320 and there is such a large demand
00:11:48.960 for online single-game betting,
00:11:51.720 why even advertise for it in the first place?
00:11:53.840 People will find it, and people will get into it.
00:11:56.760 To wrap it up, let me also ask this question
00:11:58.980 to the Ontario government in particular.
00:12:01.320 What exactly is conservative
00:12:02.980 about what you've done here with online sports gambling?
00:12:07.080 Allowing private companies to promote gambling,
00:12:09.620 vice, and addiction like this
00:12:10.800 is not very conservative of you.
00:12:12.220 It might be libertarian,
00:12:14.100 it might be free market,
00:12:15.880 but let's not pretend that for one moment,
00:12:18.180 this is conservative.
00:12:19.820 All right, time for a ratio of the week segment.
00:12:22.620 We haven't done one for a while,
00:12:23.980 and this one was quite easy to hand out.
00:12:27.000 The winner is Liberal MP Lisa Hefner
00:12:30.300 for this very strange video.
00:12:34.980 What's in Budget 2024?
00:12:37.940 More infrastructure and less red tape
00:12:40.200 so we can build more homes
00:12:41.520 and build more affordable homes.
00:12:43.840 A national school food program,
00:12:46.500 serious investments in youth mental health,
00:12:48.920 and contraceptives covered
00:12:50.420 by a national pharmacare plan.
00:12:53.000 We are driving productivity
00:12:54.720 and creating good jobs
00:12:56.060 by supercharging our innovation in AI.
00:12:59.700 Bottom line, fairness for every generation.
00:13:03.140 Who approved this video to go out?
00:13:05.240 This is absurd.
00:13:06.480 What's with the crazy eyes?
00:13:07.660 What's with the weird kind of staring and walking?
00:13:11.240 God, it's very strange
00:13:12.840 and like the least relatable thing
00:13:15.260 you could possibly produce.
00:13:16.720 This is the wackiest thing I've ever seen, actually.
00:13:19.620 Like, look at this.
00:13:20.640 Look at this right here.
00:13:22.000 What's going on here?
00:13:23.680 Like, take it easy a little bit
00:13:25.140 on the eyes there, lady.
00:13:26.820 1.7,000 replies to only 75 likes.
00:13:31.860 How many times did you practice that?
00:13:34.300 Yeah, that's a good point, I wonder.
00:13:36.140 I was scrolling and seeing this with the sound off
00:13:38.360 and it's actually a little scary.
00:13:39.820 And here we go.
00:13:40.700 Was this filmed for 22 minutes?
00:13:42.800 Certainly looks that way, doesn't it?
00:13:44.400 All right, everyone, that's gonna do it for us
00:13:45.780 this week on the show.
00:13:46.760 Thank you so much for tuning in.
00:13:48.160 My name is Harrison Faulkner
00:13:49.280 and this is Ratio.
00:13:50.720 We'll see you next time.
00:14:04.260 We'll see you next time.
00:14:04.960 Thank you.