Posted on: January 19, 2026, 02:38h.
Last updated on: January 19, 2026, 02:39h.
- New CGA ad code meant to provide guidance for igaming industry advertisers
- Ad Standards entrusted with administrating the code
- PointsBet Canada’s CEO Scott Vanderwel named CGA Chairman of the Board
The Canadian Gaming Association, in consultation with industry stakeholders and Ad Standards, has released a new Code for Responsible Gaming Advertising, a guide that establishes clear principles so that gaming advertising is responsible and protects consumers, building further confidence in the industry and its practices.
The code applies to all CGA members and other signatories, all advertising of gambling, gaming or betting, all media formats, including digital, social, broadcast, print and out-of-home advertising communicated to Canadians.
Ad Standards is a not-for-profit national self-regulatory organization for the ad industry in Canada, ensuring advertising is fair and accurate in the country, handling consumer complaints, promoting ethical practices, even providing preclearance services for certain ad categories. Ad Standards will be tasked with administering the new CGA code.
Guiding Principles for Operators
According to Amanda Brewer, Senior Vice President of Policy and Communications, CGA, the new code was 18 months in the making.
“Compliance with the CGA Code and applicable standards aims to ensure transparency and integrity for Canadians while maintaining clarity and adherence within the gaming industry,” she says. “By establishing guiding principles for operators, the Code also serves as a benchmark for acceptable and socially responsible advertising practices across the Canadian gaming sector.
This represents an instance of a national industry initiative that warrants careful consideration by those advocating for advertising bans or mistakenly believing that no regulatory framework is in place.”
Government Advertising Bill
Bill S-211, an act that would establish a national framework on sports betting advertising, sponsored by Senator Marty Deacon, is what Brewer is referring to. That bill is awaiting second reading in the House of Commons, and was placed on the order of precedence Nov. 5 (the sequence in which private members’ bills are prioritized). The House Commons returns from the holiday break Jan. 26.
According to Deacon: “(The Act) would compel the government to work with cabinet, provinces and other stakeholders to identify measures to regulate the advertising of game sports betting in Canada, such as by limiting or banning the participation of celebrities and athletes, restricting the use of non-broadcast advertising or by limiting the number, scope or location of such advertisements; identify measures to promote research and intergovernmental information-sharing in relation to the prevention and diagnosis of minors involved in problematic gambling activities and provide support measures for those who are impacted by it; and set out national standards for the prevention and diagnosis of problematic gambling and addiction and provide support measures for those who are impacted by it.”
No Gaming Ad Ban
The legislation will not ban gambling advertising outright, although Deacon added that is something she would like to see. A big issue she highlights is advertising targeting the regulated, private operator Ontario market that are being seen in markets in other jurisdictions across Canada that have chosen not to follow Ontario’s regulatory model, and the impacts those ads have on bettors in those other markets, where they are being encouraged to place bets with operators that legally they cannot bet with.
Deacon has spoken about the seamlessness between seeing an ad on a mobile device then engaging in a gambling activity, unlike with “other vice industries” like alcohol, cannabis and tobacco.
“If they had held back on privatizing because of a more cautious approach, then why should their populations be bombarded with ads from the one province that has decided to open the floodgates?” Deacon has said. “This is at least one thing a national framework would undoubtedly address, and address well.”
CGA Board Changes
Scott Vanderwel, CEO for PointsBet Canada, has been named the CGA’s new Chairman own the Board, along with Salim Adatia, Managing Director, Canada for Gaming Laboratories International, LLC, and Mike Maodus, Partner, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, being named to the board.
Brewer, a long-time industry consultant to the CGA, joined the CGA as SVP of Policy and Communications, with Brandon Aboultaif, former Press Secretary to Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, moving to the CGA as Vice President for Western Canada.
With the Alberta market soon opening, it has been an important goal to expand our presence into the western part of the country,” said Paul Burns, CGA President and CEO. Aboultaif’s responsibilities will include advancing industry research and education initiatives, supporting member engagement across Western Canada, and fostering collaboration on responsible gaming, innovation, and market development initiatives that strengthen Canada’s gaming ecosystem.
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