Ontario already bars athletes and celebrities from gambling ads; a 2026 private member's bill would go further and ban gambling advertising outright. Here's where the rules stand, and what the quieter market means for players.
No more athletes or celebrities
Since 24 February 2024, AGCO rules have barred Ontario's licensed operators from using athletes — active or retired — in iGaming marketing, except to promote responsible gambling. The same standards restrict celebrities, social-media influencers, entertainers and cartoon characters with appeal to people under the legal age. The Gretzky- and McDavid-style endorsement ads that defined year one are gone.
Why regulators moved
After the open market's first year, the AGCO singled out athlete- and celebrity-led advertising as a risk to minors and at-risk players. It's the same player-protection logic behind the restrictions on advertising bonuses as public inducements.
Bill 107: a proposed total ban
On 21 April 2026, MPP Lee Fairclough introduced Bill 107, the "Stop Harmful Gambling Advertising Act," which would make it illegal for Ontario's licensed operators to promote their products via television, social media and paid sponsorships. As a private member's bill it is considered unlikely to pass as drafted, but it signals the direction, and a related federal bill (S-211) on sports-betting advertising has also been advancing.
The trend is one-way: fewer celebrity faces, fewer public bonus offers, less hype. For players, that's a feature, not a loss.
What it means for players
Expect a quieter, less hype-driven market — which is exactly how it should be judged. Pick a casino on the durable things: a valid licence, reliable payouts and Interac banking, not on who you saw in an ad. That's the basis of how we rank.