The ads were first flagged earlier this year by a Guelph father attending his 13-year-old son’s hockey tournament. An official complaint was lodged by the advocacy group Ban Ads for Gambling with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario
Gambling ads plastered over an Ontario arena have been removed after a review by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
Advocates lobbying for stricter gambling advertising regulations believe the decision should set a precedent, establishing all Ontario sport facilities predominantly used by children as off bounds to gambling companies.
The advertisements for theScore Bet were removed this month from the Canlan Sports complex in Oakville after an official complaint was sent to the commission by the advocacy group Ban Ads for Gambling, founded by a group of faculty members from the University of Toronto Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Activity (KPE), former Toronto mayor John Sewell and others. The group argued that due to the predominant use of the facility by children, the advertisements — which appeared on locker room doors, along the boards, underneath scoreboards, and even as a backdrop for benches — were specifically targeting minors.