What to know
- Liberal MPP Lee Fairclough has tabled Bill 107, proposing a ban on online gambling advertising, with penalties of up to $1 million and potential licence revocation
- The push follows a surge in gambling-related calls to ConnexOntario, which increased by 254 per cent since Ontario launched its regulated iGaming market in 2022.
- Young men appear disproportionately affected, with calls rising by 337.8 per cent among ages 15–24 and 144 per cent among adolescents.
- Fairclough argues advertising is fueling a “public health crisis” and plans to campaign for support ahead of a mid-May legislative debate and vote.
Liberal MPP Lee Fairclough is urging the Ontario government to ban advertising and promotion of online gambling across the province, citing mental health and financial concerns.
Fairclough has tabled the Bill 107 Stop Harmful Gambling Advertising Act 2026 on Monday. The bill aims to prohibit online gambling sites providers from promoting their platforms, and establish penalties for those that do so, including charging them up to one million dollars and taking away their license to operate in the province.
“We couldn’t trust companies to police themselves around cigarettes or around cannabis. So, we have laws in place that banned advertising on those things, those highly addictive things. And this online gambling is moving in the exact same direction as those other important public health issues,” she told Now Toronto on Tuesday.
According to the MPP, she was inspired to launch the proposal after recent reports revealed the consequences of online gambling to people in the province, particularly young men, since the province first regulated private online gambling platforms.
Ontario first opened its regulated online gambling market iGaming in 2022, which allows private online gambling companies to operate in the province through its platform.
Since then, the number of calls to ConnexOntario, a platform that offers free support for those facing issues with substance use, mental illnesses and gambling, has skyrocketed.
A study published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal last month revealed that the number of calls to ConnexOntario related to gambling increased by 144 per cent in teenage boys and 337.8 per cent in men aged 15–24, since the launch of the province’s platform.
Another study by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction published last November found that 23.5 per cent of those aged 18–29 who reported gambling online in 2024 had also experienced gambling-related harm, including financial and psychological implications.
According to Fairclough, advertising of online gambling platforms could be “supercharging” addiction issues, something she says has been felt by herself and her constituents.
“It’s creating this public health crisis in front of us. I’m the mom of teenage boys, I see this in their environment, and so many people talk to me about it. There just seems to be this targeting, especially of young people and young men. So, eliminating advertising for gambling is really the first step in that,” she explained.
Bill 107 was tabled in front of the legislature on Monday, and Fairclough will debate the bill and put it to vote in mid May. Until then, the MPP says she is planning to do outreach campaigns promoting the initiative across the province. In addition, she says she will soon be launching a petition where residents will be able to show their support for the bill.
“I will be tabling that in the legislature as well, and I think it’s just a really important time to make sure that the public knows we care about this issue. They want to see this law passed to make sure that they’re adding their voice to the conversation.”
Fairclough is also calling on other MPPs from different parties to show their support for the new legislation.
