From now on, using cartoon figures, social media influencers, and celebrities in print, television, social media, or radio advertisements is prohibited. Anything considered appealing to minors could result in the termination of an operating licence.
Other new rules put in place include restrictions on any gambling advertisements featured within a certain distance from schools, though athletes are able to feature in marketing material that promotes responsible gambling.
When announcing the news last August, Tom Mungham, the then-registrar and CEO of the AGCO, said: “Children and youth are heavily influenced by the athletes and celebrities they look up to. We’re therefore increasing measures to protect Ontario’s youth by disallowing the use of these influential figures to promote online betting in Ontario.”
Camille Quenneville, a spokesperson for the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), called it a watershed move in a new-age of regulation: “With the gamification of online gambling, youth are especially at risk of gambling-related harms. These restrictions are a crucial first step in the regulatory action needed to reverse the alarming trends in online gambling among youth in Ontario.”
Bunchberry Limited, Mobile Incorporated Limited and LeoVegas have already fallen foul of the AGCO this year and were forced to pay fines of $70,000 each after being found guilty of making unapproved games available on their websites.
