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

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

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.