{"id":210576,"date":"2025-09-08T16:02:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T16:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/210576\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T16:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T16:02:09","slug":"doctors-call-for-restrictions-on-sports-betting-ads-say-they-set-youth-up-for-problem-gambling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/210576\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctors call for restrictions on sports betting ads, say they set youth up for problem gambling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throws a pass under pressure from Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nolan Smith Jr. in the second half of an NFL football game Friday in Philadelphia.Matt Slocum\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Doctors are calling for restrictions on sports<\/a> betting ads, saying they are setting youth up for a future of problem gambling.<\/p>\n

An editorial published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Monday says the ads are everywhere during sports broadcasts and that the legalization of online gambling has made every smartphone a potential betting platform.<\/p>\n

Editor Dr. Shannon Charlebois says even though betting sites say they\u2019re only for people 19 years of age and older, youth are being inundated with advertising that equates enjoying sports with betting.<\/p>\n

She says child and teen brains are still developing and the constant exposure to gambling messages normalizes harmful behaviour that they can carry into adulthood.<\/p>\n

Opinion: Is it responsible for sports betting firms to target thrill seekers?<\/a><\/p>\n

Charlebois says a bill to regulate sports betting advertising has been introduced in the Senate and if passed, would be a good start to addressing the problem.<\/p>\n

She would like to see gambling advertising restricted during games and removed from social-media platforms used by youth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no limit on how many of these ads can be placed within a sports broadcast or how long they can be,\u201d Charlebois said in an interview, noting that in addition to commercials, the names of sports betting platforms are projected onto football fields and hockey rinks.<\/p>\n

Commentators for betting sites often have their own segments during breaks in the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s very dangerous about this for children is that it\u2019s normalizing a known harmful behaviour during an impressionable stage. And it\u2019s really appealing in particular to youth who are genetically, biologically predisposed to enjoy risk-taking,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen people\u2019s lives fall apart at all ages, from all walks of life, whether it\u2019s an accountant with a career behind him, or a kid who\u2019s just looking to maximize his college fund who then had lost it all within a matter of a few weeks,\u201d said Charlebois, who is a family physician.<\/p>\n

Dr. Shawn Kelly, an adolescent addiction specialist in Ottawa who co-wrote the editorial with Charlebois, said he mostly sees substance use among his patients, but he has started to screen for gambling behaviour because he believes it\u2019s an emerging issue.<\/p>\n

He said gambling addiction still carries a lot of stigma, so people try to hide it and can be hesitant to seek treatment.<\/p>\n

Legally requiring bettors to be adults is not always an effective deterrent, Kelly said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are certain age restrictions and identity verification attempts that go into these [betting sites], but youth have been buying alcohol for a long time, despite the age restrictions around that \u2013 and so where there is a motivated adolescent, a way will be found.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even if ads aren\u2019t targeting youth, they still see them and are affected, said Kelly, who watches sports with his twin children.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese ads are not directed at the nine-year-olds sitting with me but they are picking up on it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throws a pass under pressure from Philadelphia Eagles…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":210577,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[2148,2138,671,104,2132,692,2147,2131,2143,2144,2140,2133,2130,79,407,746,2142,2137,2159,2134,2135,454,210,2139,1165,728,2149,517,108,2154,2155,2157,2152,2156,2150,2153,2136,85,2146,80,2145,2151,1458,158,1164,2141,67,132,68,1154,107,2158],"class_list":{"0":"post-210576","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-canada-news","16":"tag-canada-sports","17":"tag-canada-sports-news","18":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","19":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","20":"tag-canadian-news","21":"tag-economy","22":"tag-education","23":"tag-environment","24":"tag-federal-government","25":"tag-foreign-news","26":"tag-globe-and-mail","27":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","29":"tag-government","30":"tag-health","31":"tag-life-news","32":"tag-lifestyle","33":"tag-local-news","34":"tag-manitoba","35":"tag-mental-health","36":"tag-national-news","37":"tag-new-brunswick","38":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","39":"tag-northwest-territories","40":"tag-nova-scotia","41":"tag-nunavut","42":"tag-ontario","43":"tag-pei","44":"tag-photos","45":"tag-political-news","46":"tag-political-opinion","47":"tag-politics","48":"tag-politics-news","49":"tag-quebec","50":"tag-sports-news","51":"tag-technology","52":"tag-travel","53":"tag-trudeau","54":"tag-united-states","55":"tag-unitedstates","56":"tag-us","57":"tag-us-news","58":"tag-world-news","59":"tag-yukon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210576\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}