The risky explosion of Canadian sports betting ads, via ‘The Fifth Estate’
Bob McKeown is a journalist and host of "The Fifth Estate". He was at a news conference in 2006 when Wayne Gretzky was preparing to travel to Italy for the Winter Olympics. Gretzy was involved in a gambling controversy. On Thursday, "Fifth Estate" will broadcast a story about the explosion of sports betting ads in Canada. It will air at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) and be streamed on CBC Gem.
The interest in Canadian sports betting industry started during the first game of the Stanley Cup playoffs last year. The tone and content of TV commercials were different.
The Fifth Estate travelled to the United Kingdom. Experts say the legal system in the UK is similar to that in Canada. The UK's legal situation has been going downhill for a decade and a half.
The Canadian Gaming Association is targeting young males with gambling. The most vulnerable are young men in their late teens and early 20s. It's like an alcoholic having a bar in the pocket. It caters to people with a weakness for gambling and it's a sea change from when you had to go to a casino or a racetrack to bet.
There is a growing trend of hockey players pitching gambling. It's been against the law for alcohol and cigarettes. It is ridiculous that they can try to pitch gambling products, but they cannot do beers or a mickey of gin.
"The Fifth Estate" reached out to Wayne Gretzky for comment about his association with sports betting companies. Gretzy didn't respond. He's not going to criticize him for wanting to take an eight-figure amount. He knows how it looks.
Auston Matthews is a brand ambassador for Bet99. He didn't respond to questions about his association with Bet 99. He was polite but didn’t want to talk about it.
He was polite and didn't debate the moral ethics of what he's doing.
Gambling awareness advocate Will Prochaska talks about the dangers of legalized gambling. There are 55,000 children in the UK who are addicted to gambling, which is a serious problem.
There is an explosion of Canadian sports betting ads. Great Britain recently passed a law effectively banning gambling ads before 9 pm. In Great British law, people like Wayne Gretzky and Matthews cannot advertise gambling services. They are influencers.
Sportsnet and TSN are going to get a lot of advertising revenue.
There is no law that explicitly states match-fixing is illegal in Canada. There are other ways to prosecute someone for match fixing under the Criminal Code.
The Fifth Estate has written a piece about Canadian sports betting ads.
The Fifth Estate has shown a series of ads about gambling.
