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The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, Canada, has asked an arena to remove gambling ads after parents and advocacy groups issued a complaint.

The Canlan Sports Arena in Canada has recently attracted attention for selling advertising space to a betting company. Timothy Dewhirst, a researcher at the University of Guelph specialising in the effects of tobacco and cannabis advertising, noticed the ad while attending his son's hockey game. Dewhirst, deeply concerned about a betting company advertising at a children’s event, reported the issue. The advocacy group , alerted by the father, eventually filed a complaint with the AGCO.

The ruled that the ad should not have been placed in a sports facility primarily used by minors. “There is a requirement that iGaming ads shall not appear in media or venues where most of the audience is reasonably expected to be minors — such as local arenas”, stated the AGCO.

According to the registrar's standards for internet gaming, advertisers should not target minors or vulnerable groups, such as problem gamblers, with betting ads.

After being contacted by the AGCO, Canlan Sports Arena removed the ads.

Regulating advertising

AGCO has always taken the protection of minors from gambling seriously. Last year, in August 2023, they made the decision to ban the use of active and retired athletes in iGaming advertising in Ontario. They also decided to restrict the use of celebrities, role models, social media influencers, entertainers, cartoon figures, or symbols that could appeal to minors. According to the AGCO, featuring athletes or celebrities in ads could appeal to minors and potentially lead to underage gambling.

"Children and youth are heavily influenced by the athletes and celebrities they look up to," said Tom Mungham, Registrar and CEO, AGCO. "We're therefore increasing measures to protect Ontario's youth by disallowing the use of these influential figures to promote online betting in Ontario."

Teen gambling in Canada

According to various sources, even though underage gambling is illegal in Canada, children often start betting before they reach the legal age (19 years old in Ontario, and 18 years old in other provinces such as Alberta and Quebec).

According to a , more than 40 percent of high school students (aged 12 to 18) from Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador reported gambling in the past three months.  found that 31 percent of high school students in Ontario reported gambling on one or more activities in the past year.

Public reaction

The advocacy group Ban Ads for Gambling was pleased with the AGCO's decision to support their concerns and expressed hope that other operators would understand that targeting children is not acceptable. However, they were disappointed that the AGCO did not issue a formal warning on the matter nor communicate their decision throughout the province.

PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc. announced the termination of its term sheet with Tiger Resort Leisure & Entertainment Inc. (TRLEI) regarding the investment in the Emerald Bay Resort casino project in Mactan, Cebu. TRLEI, a unit of Japan’s Universal Entertainment Corp, operates the Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippine capital.  

The development comes a week after PH Resorts media claims about the potential collapse of its ongoing negotiations with the Okada Manila casino resort’s promoter.  

In a filing to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PH Resorts’ president Raymundo Escalona stated that the of Okada Manila no longer intends to pursue the Emerald Bay acquisition. Despite this setback, Escalona emphasised that PH Resorts will now explore opportunities with other interested parties who were previously restricted due to the TRLEI deal. He assured stakeholders that the company is actively working towards securing a new transaction, whether through acquisition, joint venture, or other means, to ensure the completion of the Emerald Bay project.  

Universal Entertainment confirmed the termination, citing that certain closing conditions were not or could not be fulfilled. Due to confidentiality obligations, specific details were not disclosed.  

The preliminary agreement between TRLEI and PH Resorts was signed on December 8, with the intention of TRLEI acquiring significant majority ownership of PH Travel subsidiaries Lapulapu Leisure Inc. and Lapulapu Land Corp, which are behind the Emerald Bay project. In April, PH Resorts received a non-refundable payment of PHP300.1 million (€4.75 million) as part of the stock subscription deal. A final agreement was expected to be signed this month.  

According to reports, the termination was due to disagreements over the project's valuation. PH Resorts reportedly wanted the buyer to cover the casino's debts due in July, a condition that Okada Manila did not accept. Following the announcement, shares in PH Resorts dropped by as much as 29 percent, reaching a nine-month intraday low.  

PH Resorts had engaged in discussions with Bloomberry Resorts Corp about potential investment in several of its casino schemes, but those talks also ended without a deal. Despite these challenges, Escalona highlighted that other companies have shown keen interest in the Emerald Bay project. The company is now looking forward to engaging with these potential partners.  

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The Directorate of Gambling of Spain (DGOJ) has recently adopted all resolutions of the SIGMA programme, The SIGMA programme, Spain’s new ‘centralised directive’, was drafted in 2022 and launched in the first quarter of this year.

The primary objective of the SIGMA programme is to establish a ‘cooperative network’ to tackle criminal activity and the exposure of Spanish sports to match-fixing. This is achieved through a series of initiatives, including the launch of a whistle-blower portal for the public, athletes, and staff working in Spanish sports and gambling. This portal allows individuals to report incidents of manipulation and fraud to authorities.

In addition to the whistle-blower portal, the SIGMA programme also aims to launch a collaborative network and database for Spanish authorities. This network will enable authorities to review and record incidents and suspicious activities related to sports manipulations.

On Friday, 28 June, DGOJ Director General, Mikel Arana, announced the approval of the union of gambling operators holding individual licenses for horse racing or sports betting in any of its modalities to SIGMA. This move is intended to help form a central research service of betting markets.

As part of this mandate, all DGOJ-licensed operators are required to ensure that the SIGMA whistle-blower portal is made available to staff, as a duty of licence. Furthermore, SIGMA duties and procedures will be added to Spanish gambling licences. This means that operators must report irregular or suspicious sports bets immediately to authorities working on the SIGMA programme.

Impact of SIGMA on Spanish gambling and fight against match-fixing

The DGOJ has become a guarantor of the SIGMA programme, alongside Spain’s Higher Sports Council, Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), La Liga, the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET), the Association of Professional Footballers (AFE), the National Police, Civil Guard (federal police), and Ertzaintza (Basque autonomous police).

Arana stated: “With this resolution, the Directorate General takes a further step in its commitment to the fight against corruption linked to the manipulation of sports competitions and the often-resulting fraud in betting on such events.”

The month of June concluded with the DGOJ hosting the ‘Plenary Session of the Gaming Policy Council’. This meeting of federal and autonomous stakeholders focused on the design and implementation of new centralised controls and systems sought by the approved “Royal Decree on Responsible Gaming Environments.” New controls sought include a centralised player registry, new record-keeping duties for player accounts under 25, and a cross-operator deposit limit to be applied to DGOJ licences.

The meeting introduced Spanish stakeholders to Andrés Urbiola, a ‘dedicated minister’ assigned by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to oversee Spanish gambling federal reforms. The appointment of a dedicated minister to oversee gambling reforms had been requested by Pablo Bustinduy, Spain’s Minister of Consumer Affairs and Social Rights, in order to move forward with changes.

Bustinduy mentioned the importance of federal gambling reforms which need to be tied in with Spain’s new ‘Action Plan on Combatting Addiction’ that will be launched in 2025. This comprehensive plan aims to address various forms of addiction, including gambling, and is expected to bring about significant changes in Spain’s approach to addiction prevention and treatment.

 Summit powered by Soft2Bet, will take place in Budapest from 2-4 September 2024.

Buenos Aires, Argentina, has decided to stop issuing online casino licenses, as a way to fight underage gambling.

In 2020, Buenos Aires regulated the iGaming market. Since then, 11 gambling operators have applied for and obtained licenses from the gambling regulator, LOTBA.

However, despite the regulatory efforts, the authorities have realised that an increasing number of underage residents of Buenos Aires are using online platforms to place bets. Addiction to gambling among minors is now judged as “alarming” by the city's authorities.

The Chief of Government of Buenos Aires, Jorge Macri, has declared that upon meeting with parents and communities, the problem of underage gambling has been brought up repeatedly. He declared: “We are not here to ignore these problems. We confront them head-on, even when we don’t have all the solutions at hand. Our message is clear: not with children.”

As a precautionary measure, the city decided to pause issuing of new licenses. Instead, the authorities will put all their efforts into investigating if the currently operating licensed companies have followed the rules correctly. The assessment of these operators' compliance will determine whether or not these eleven companies are putting enough effort into banning underage from using their services, and if their age verification processes are as reliable as they should be.

The decision was announced by the president of the Loteria de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires () and the Chief of Government of Buenos Aires, Jorge Macri.

Audits carried out by LOTBA will not only focus on age verification processes but also monitor the implementation of self-exclusion programmes and limits on time, amounts deposited, and losses.

In the fight against underage gambling, one of the most important projects is the improvement of identity validation controls, which authorities have declared as a top priority.

To further help children affected by online gambling addiction, authorities have decided to open a programme for minors and their families in the hospital.

Macri stated: “They are not alone. We will accompany them with a team of professionals prepared to assist them. This is not an easy path, but we are determined to work on it as a team: Government, schools, NGOs, clubs and families.”

Other mentioned measures include school’s ability to block access to gambling sites, workshops for minors and families, and various preventive actions.

LOTBA President, Jesús Acevedo : “We have already blocked 715 social media profiles and advertisements. We ordered the blocking of 12 websites, we requested the deletion of 9 publications in Mercado Libre and we sent 9 document letters to influencers who advertise unregistered betting sites.”

LOTBA has not yet specified when they will resume issuing application for operators. However, they have not suggested either that only the eleven companies with current valid licenses will be permitted to operate in the future.