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Published on: September 9, 2026 f in X
SEO Title: What Ontario's New Gambling Advertising Code Changed Meta Description: A national gambling advertising code took effect on January 1, 2026. Here’s what it changed in Ontario, and where AGCO rules are still stricter. Suggested Slug: /blog/ontario-gambling-advertising-code/ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── What the new gambling advertising code changed in Ontario DESIGN Split frame: a phone showing a sports broadcast with a betting ad on it, next to a Play Responsibly and 19+ badge. ALT text: A gambling ad on a phone screen beside a 19 plus play responsibly badge On January 1, 2026, a national code for gambling advertising took effect across Canada. It's voluntary, written by the Canadian Gaming Association, administered by Ad Standards, and binding only on the companies that signed it. Which means Ontario now has two rulebooks over the same ads. The AGCO’s Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming already govern advertising here and remain stricter, so the code mainly adds a complaint route open to the public. What is the code? The Code for Responsible Gaming Advertising came into force on the same day as the Ad Standards began taking complaints under it. There are three important elements: It is voluntary, applying to Canadian Gaming Association members and other signatories. An operator that is neither isn’t covered. It reaches affiliates and influencers, who fall under its definition of an advertiser alongside operators. It exempts provincial lottery products, corporate reports and packaging, and it is reviewed every three years. For the market these rules govern, our four-year review has the scale and where the revenue goes follows the money. Who can appear in a gambling ad? No athletes, active or retired, unless the advertising’s exclusive purpose is advocating responsible gambling. No cartoon or fairy tale characters, and no celebrities or role models whose appeal is primarily to minors. Models, actors and influencers must be at least 25, checked against identification. Influencers must publicly disclose the paid relationship with #ad or #sponsored and tag the brand. Where can an ad run? On social and digital media, age-targeting must keep the ad from anyone under 21, two years above Ontario’s legal age of 19. Broadcast ads need an audience expected to be at least 80% legal age, never in or beside children’s programming, and in cinemas only with Restricted or Mature films. No ads within 200 m of a school, and none on college or university campuses apart from adult events in campus venues. No sponsorship of child-oriented events, or of teams and leagues made up mainly of underage players. What can an ad can say? Imperative language urging people to gamble is out, though "Sign Up Now" is allowed. The word "today" is banned outright. Nothing may present gambling as risk-free, as relief from stress or boredom, or as a route to status. Every ad needs a responsible gambling statement or, at minimum, the words "play responsibly." Where Ontario is still stricter The code is looser than Ontario law on the thing readers ask about most. Standard 2.05 of the AGCO’s Registrar’s Standards prohibits any public advertising of inducements, bonuses or credits, including targeted ads. The only routes left open are an operator’s own gaming site and direct marketing to a player who consented there. Two more Ontario rules sit behind it: Standard 1.19 makes an operator answerable for the affiliates it contracts with, and Standard 1.21 bars an affiliate from promoting unregistered sites. Operators here are also not licensed in the ordinary sense; they are registered with the AGCO and operate under agreement with iGaming Ontario. The athlete rule most people think already exists Ontario restricted athletes and celebrities in gambling advertising on February 28, 2024, under Standard 2.03, and the restriction is narrower than its reputation. It catches celebrities, influencers and cartoon figures likely to appeal to minors, and athletes under agreement with an operator or gaming-related supplier. Ad Standards’ three-year review measures the gap: among complaints objecting to gambling advertising in general, concerns about athletes and celebrities rose from 13% in 2023-24 to 64% in 2024-25, and most of those complainants believed the 2024 rules banned athletes outright. The new code closes part of that gap with a flat ban, agreement or not, but only for signatories and still with the responsible gambling exception. Athletes in gambling advertising are not going away. What happens when you complain? The two routes do different things. The AGCO deals with the operator’s conduct against the Registrar’s Standards, with penalties up to $200,000 per contravention. In one order dated March 26, 2025, it issued $110,000 in penalties to BetMGM Canada after marketing companies it engaged offered cash to the public for opening accounts. Ad Standards deals with the content of a specific ad, against both the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards and the new code. One complaint starts the process, and a Standards Council of industry and public representatives decides. An upheld complaint means the ad is amended or withdrawn, and Ad Standards cannot levy a fine. That second route has a short record. Between May 2023 and April 2025, 65 complaints across six campaigns raised a potential issue under the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. Eight, covering two ads, reached the Standards Council, which found both compliant. Fifty-two closed because the complainants did not ask for an adjudication, and one was resolved when an advertiser corrected an ad whose conditions were disclosed only after sign-up. What changes on your screen Gambling complaints to Ad Standards were already falling before the code arrived: 130 in the first year of Ontario’s market, 113 in the second and 67 in the third, to April 2025. The code’s real effect is procedural. In the first year of Ontario’s market, 91% of complaints objected to gambling advertising as a category rather than to a particular ad, and all of them were redirected to a regulator. Ad Standards does not review whether gambling should be advertised, only whether an ad breaks a written rule, and from 2026 there is a gambling-specific rulebook to check it against. What to do with this Two checks you can make when an ad turns up: Every gambling ad in Ontario should carry a responsible gambling statement. If it doesn’t, Ad Standards will accept the complaint. No public ad may communicate inducements, bonuses or credits. If you see one aimed at Ontario, check the site against iGaming Ontario’s list of registered operators before going near it. Alberta’s launch ran on a different rulebook, and our Ontario online gambling guide covers registration. You must be 19 or older to gamble online in Ontario. If gambling has stopped being entertainment, ConnexOntario is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day.

What Ontario’s New Gambling Advertising Code Changed

Ontario now has two rulebooks over the same gambling ads, and the AGCO's are still the stricter of the two.

On January 1, 2026, a national code for gambling advertising took effect across Canada. It’s voluntary, written by the Canadian Gaming Association, administered by Ad Standards, and binding only on the companies that signed it.

Which means Ontario now has two rulebooks over the same ads. The AGCO’s Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming already govern advertising here and remain stricter, so the code mainly adds a complaint route open to the public.

What is the code?

The Code for Responsible Gaming Advertising came into force on the same day Ad Standards began taking complaints under it. There are three important elements:

  • It is voluntary, applying to Canadian Gaming Association members and other signatories. An operator that is neither isn’t covered.
  • It reaches affiliates and influencers, who fall under its definition of an advertiser alongside operators.
  • It exempts provincial lottery products, corporate reports and packaging, and it is reviewed every three years.

For the market these rules govern, our four-year review has the scale and where the revenue goes follows the money.

Who can appear in a gambling ad?

  • No athletes, active or retired, unless the advertising’s exclusive purpose is advocating responsible gambling.
  • No cartoon or fairy tale characters, and no celebrities or role models whose appeal is primarily to minors.
  • Models, actors and influencers must be at least 25, checked against identification.
  • Influencers must publicly disclose the paid relationship with #ad or #sponsored and tag the brand.

Where can an ad run?

  • On social and digital media, age-targeting must keep the ad from anyone under 21, two years above Ontario’s legal age of 19.
  • Broadcast ads need an audience expected to be at least 80% legal age, never in or beside children’s programming, and in cinemas only with Restricted or Mature films.
  • No ads within 200 m of a school, and none on college or university campuses apart from adult events in campus venues.
  • No sponsorship of child-oriented events, or of teams and leagues made up mainly of underage players.

What can an ad say?

  • Imperative language urging people to gamble is out, though “Sign Up Now” is allowed. The word “today” is banned outright.
  • Nothing may present gambling as risk-free, as relief from stress or boredom, or as a route to status.
  • Every ad needs a responsible gambling statement or, at minimum, the words “play responsibly.”

Where Ontario is still stricter

The code is looser than Ontario law on the thing readers ask about most.

Standard 2.05 of the AGCO’s Registrar’s Standards prohibits any public advertising of inducements, bonuses or credits, including targeted ads. The only routes left open are an operator’s own gaming site and direct marketing to a player who consented there.

Two more Ontario rules sit behind it: Standard 1.19 makes an operator answerable for the affiliates it contracts with, and Standard 1.21 bars an affiliate from promoting unregistered sites. Operators here are also not licensed in the ordinary sense; they are registered with the AGCO and operate under agreement with iGaming Ontario.

The athlete rule most people think already exists

Ontario restricted athletes and celebrities in gambling advertising on February 28, 2024, under Standard 2.03, and the restriction is narrower than its reputation. It catches celebrities, influencers and cartoon figures likely to appeal to minors, and athletes under agreement with an operator or gaming-related supplier.

Ad Standards’ three-year review measures the gap: among complaints objecting to gambling advertising in general, concerns about athletes and celebrities rose from 13% in 2023-24 to 64% in 2024-25, and most of those complainants believed the 2024 rules banned athletes outright.

The new code closes part of that gap with a flat ban, agreement or not, but only for signatories and still with the responsible gambling exception. Athletes in gambling advertising are not going away.

What happens when you complain?

The two routes do different things.

  1. The AGCO deals with the operator’s conduct against the Registrar’s Standards, with penalties up to $200,000 per contravention. In one order dated March 26, 2025, it issued $110,000 in penalties to BetMGM Canada after marketing companies it engaged offered cash to the public for opening accounts.
  2. Ad Standards deals with the content of a specific ad, against both the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards and the new code. One complaint starts the process, and a Standards Council of industry and public representatives decides. An upheld complaint means the ad is amended or withdrawn, and Ad Standards cannot levy a fine.

That second route has a short record. Between May 2023 and April 2025, 65 complaints across six campaigns raised a potential issue under the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. Eight, covering two ads, reached the Standards Council, which found both compliant. Fifty-two closed because the complainants did not ask for an adjudication, and one was resolved when an advertiser corrected an ad whose conditions were disclosed only after sign-up.

What changes on your screen

Gambling complaints to Ad Standards were already falling before the code arrived: 130 in the first year of Ontario’s market, 113 in the second and 67 in the third, to April 2025.

The code’s real effect is procedural. In the first year of Ontario’s market, 91% of complaints objected to gambling advertising as a category rather than to a particular ad, and all of them were redirected to a regulator. Ad Standards does not review whether gambling should be advertised, only whether an ad breaks a written rule, and from 2026 there is a gambling-specific rulebook to check it against.

What to do with this

Two checks you can make when an ad turns up:

  • Every gambling ad in Ontario should carry a responsible gambling statement. If it doesn’t, Ad Standards will accept the complaint.
  • No public ad may communicate inducements, bonuses or credits. If you see one aimed at Ontario, check the site against iGaming Ontario’s list of registered operators before going near it.

Alberta’s launch ran on a different rulebook, and our Ontario online gambling guide covers registration.

You must be 19 or older to gamble online in Ontario. If gambling has stopped being entertainment, ConnexOntario is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day at 1-866-531-2600.

19+ Gambling Help & Referral AGCO iGaming Ontario ConnexOntario

Eligible iGames conducted and managed by iGaming Ontario are only available to those physically present in the Province of Ontario. You must be 19 or older to play.

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