Overview

• The CMAJ editorial by Drs. Shannon Charlebois and Shawn Kelly says sports broadcasts have been saturated with betting promotions since 2021, normalizing gambling for children.
• The authors warn that Ontario’s 2022 legalization of iGaming effectively turned smartphones into round-the-clock betting platforms for youth exposure.
• They cite research linking problem gambling to severe harms, including a UK study showing a nine-fold suicide risk in males and a Norwegian study finding suicide as the leading cause of death among people with gambling problems.
• The doctors urge curbs such as pulling gambling ads during games and removing them from social-media platforms used by minors, despite sites’ 19+ age policies.
• Kelly argues age checks and ID verification do not reliably block motivated adolescents, while Charlebois notes branding and in-broadcast segments further embed betting into game coverage.