A House of Commons committee has approved an amended Bill S-211, moving Canada’s proposed national framework for sports-betting advertising to third reading in the full chamber. The National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Act cleared the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on Nov. 3 on division, a procedure in which no formal recorded vote is taken.
The committee lengthened the deadline for tabling the framework and its implementation strategy from one year to two years after the legislation comes into force. It also extended the period for making the report public after it is tabled from 10 days to 15 days.
As we reported in October, the measure is designed to create a national framework rather than impose an immediate blanket ban on sports-betting advertising.
The bill directs the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to assess whether its advertising regulations and policies adequately reduce harms from sports-betting advertising. The regulator would have to provide that review to the minister within a year of royal assent.
The framework could recommend limits on the use, volume, scope or placement of advertisements, and could limit or prohibit athletes and celebrities from promoting sports betting. It would also cover research, information-sharing and national standards concerning prevention, diagnosis and support for people affected by harmful gambling, including minors.
Committee members rejected a proposed amendment by Andrew Lawton that would have required the framework to ban advertisements for in-game betting. Liberal members proposed the amendments that passed, while Conservative amendments were rejected, according to InGame. The committee also changed the consultation provision so the minister may, rather than must, consult stakeholders, and replaced a list of six named ministers with a broader power to consult whomever the minister chooses.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Marty Deacon in May 2025 and passed the Senate that October. It followed the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, which came into force in August 2021 and permitted provinces, and provincially licensed entities, to conduct and manage betting on single sporting events.
The Canadian Gaming Association has opposed S-211, questioning federal oversight in an industry regulated by provinces. Ontario and Alberta operate open regulated online-gambling markets and already restrict athletes and celebrities in sportsbook advertising except for responsible-gambling promotions.
The House of Commons had 23 scheduled sitting days before its planned Dec. 11 adjournment, although the timing of third-reading consideration remained unclear.
