Sports Betting Advertising Impact on Young Adults Highlighted in CMAJ Editorial

Studies suggest online gambling has reached epidemic levels worldwide, and a bill pending in the Canadian Senate could establish a national framework for regulating sports betting advertisements.

Health experts in Canada are calling for new laws to protect the country’s youth from gambling addiction, amid rising concerns over aggressive marketing tactics employed by several platforms, which are highlighted in a growing number of sports betting lawsuits being pursed in the U.S.

The editorial was written by Shannon Charlebois and Shawn Kelly, medical editors for the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), and published on September 8, warning that since Canada legalized sports gambling in 2022, advertising for these sites is already having a negative effect on adolescents.

Legalized online sports gambling has rapidly grown in recent years in both the U.S. and Canada, providing 24-hour access to sports betting through the use of mobile apps with few restrictions and minimal age verification. Critics say sites like DraftKings and FanDuel have specifically targeted young users, and created algorithms to exploit and encourage gambling addiction.

Over the past year, the companies have faced a series of gambling addiction lawsuits brought in the U.S., each raising similar claims that the sites are designed to encourage compulsive gambling through manipulative app designs and aggressive marketing tactics.

It is those marketing tactics that have the CMAJ editors concerned, suggesting that the advertisements are ubiquitous, with sports betting ads on players’ jerseys, digitally projected onto playing areas and in the sponsors or commentator segments.

The authors indicate that this has led to gambling addiction spreading throughout the country’s youth. According to the editorial, gambling addiction is an increasing problem among teens and young adults there, and in other nations like the United Kingdom, which not only leads to addiction but is increasing suicide rates as well.

The editors noted that suicide was a leading cause of death among Norwegians diagnosed with gambling addiction between 2008 and 2021. In addition, a 2021 U.K. study found that problem gambling increased the risk of suicide for those aged 16 to 24 by a factor of nine for men and nearly five-fold for women.

Last year, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario banned only gambling ads that featured celebrities and athletes. However, the online sports betting industry quickly found a way around the rule, by having athletes and celebrities promote “responsible gaming” in new ads.

According to the editors, the ads were useless in promoting responsible gambling, while they were effective as advertisements promoting the websites.

“The legalization of online gambling (iGaming) in Ontario in 2022 turned any smartphone into a betting platform, compounding existing epidemics of technology and social media use addiction. Although youth are theoretically banned from iGaming, advertising influences young people to start gambling and to gamble more, and it likely makes recovery from problem gambling more difficult.”

– Protecting Canada’s youth from the risks of exposure to gambling advertising, CMAJ September 8, 2025

The editorial calls for Canadian lawmakers to eliminate all advertising for sports betting sites in broadcasts likely to be seen by minors at the federal level. There is currently a bill in the Canadian Senate, S-211, that calls for a national framework for regulating sports betting ads. The authors called for that bill, which they say is only a start, to be expedited and passed to protect Canada’s youth.

U.S. Sports Betting Lawsuits

The CMAJ report comes as the online gambling industry in the U.S. faces an increasing number of sports betting lawsuits alleging that companies like DraftKings and FanDuel have prioritized profits over consumer protection, using real-time data to identify and retain users who have shown signs of compulsive behavior.

Lawyers in the U.S. are now reviewing sports betting addiction lawsuits for individuals between the ages of 18 and 25, who developed gambling addictions and lost $10,000 or more after using sports betting apps like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars. 

These claims focus on college age users who were encouraged to place high-frequency bets, even after showing signs of addiction. Some continued to receive personalized incentives, and marketing offers after requesting account closures or appearing on self-exclusion lists, raising serious concerns about how platforms exploit vulnerable behavior.

If you or someone you love suffered financial harm from compulsive gambling on these apps, contact a sports betting lawyer to see if you are eligible to recover losses and hold companies accountable for their addictive design and predatory targeting practices.