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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday (January 6) that he is resigning after almost a decade in power, a decision that likely puts an end to a legislative effort to establish a national framework for regulating sports-betting advertising.
At a news conference in Ottawa, Trudeau, 53, said he was suspending parliament until March 24 to give his Liberal party time to choose a new leader. Parliament was supposed to resume on January 27.
“The fact is, despite best efforts to work through it, parliament has been paralyzed for months,” said Trudeau, who was first elected in 2015. “The country deserves a real choice in the next election, and it has become clear to me that I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election.”
As introduced by Ontario Senator Marty Deacon in June 2023, Bill S-269, known as the National Framework on Advertising for Sports Betting, would require the federal government in Ottawa to set limits on advertising and national standards for preventing problem gambling.
The measure also proposes to extend the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario’s (AGCO) ban on celebrities and athletes appearing in ads for gambling sites across the country.
The Canadian Senate passed S-269 in November, but it was never introduced in the House of Commons, according to Paul Burns, president and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA).
Burns had strongly opposed Deacon’s proposal, arguing it was unnecessary because most of what the bill aims to do is currently in place via specific standards imposed by provincial regulators.
Burns told Vixio GamblingCompliance on Monday that Trudeau’s decision to step down “basically puts a stop to it at this point”, with the “prorogation” of a session concluding all proceedings in parliament.
With some exceptions, any unfinished legislative business is considered “dead” on the Order Paper and must be reintroduced in the next session, according to House of Commons Procedure and Practice.
Burns said the likelihood that S-269 goes anywhere is “slim to none”, but it is not 100 percent dead.
“Does that mean the issue is going away? No. We are very close to an election, likely in the spring,” Burns added.
Canada fully legalized sports betting in 2021 via a federal bill that gave Canadian provinces the ability to develop their own markets for sports wagering. Ontario's sports betting and online gaming opened to commercial operators in 2022, while other provinces operate sports wagering via their provincial lottery corporations.
Prorogation of the federal government will not affect the Ontario Court of Appeal from ruling on the legality of international liquidity in the Ontario gaming market. The case commenced in February with the release of an Order in Council from Premier Doug Ford’s administration.
The order asks the Ontario Court of Appeal to rule on the question: “Would legal online gaming and sports betting remain lawful under the Criminal Code if its users were permitted to participate in games and betting involving individuals outside of Canada?”
