![\"Grant](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/aed82197-50f6-48bf-ad29-2789703a0645.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/img.covers.com\/covers\/icons\/global-icons\/covers-c-new.svg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Updated:
\nApr 7, 2026 , 03:51 PM ET<\/p>\n
\u2022 4 min read<\/p>\n
Brian Masse doesn’t regret pushing legislation to adopt sports betting but believes more provincial regulation is needed to remedy a “sad” introduction.<\/p>\n
Photo By – Reuters Connect. A view of the Skyline in downtown Toronto from Ward Island. (Photo by Shawn Goldberg \/ SOPA Images\/Sipa USA)<\/p>\n
Former New Democratic Party member of Parliament Brian Masse, a key voice behind the legalization of sports betting in Ontario, called the current market \u201csad\u201d and \u201cdeplorable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Key Takeaways<\/p>\n
Masse suggested regulation remain under the control of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
\nLegalization was justified by modern demands, including the attractiveness of American casinos.
\nThe government is considering a bill to limit the visibility of gambling advertisements.<\/p>\n
Masse spent more than 10 years backing various efforts to get legalization over the line, and it finally happened with support across party lines in 2021. The market eventually launched in April 2022.<\/p>\n
Four years later, Masse has grown disenchanted with how the Ontario sports betting<\/a> enterprise has developed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s deplorable the way that some of the provinces have actually implemented it,\u201d Masse told CBC News<\/a>. \u201cThey’ve allowed the private sector to basically own and operate (the market).<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t have regrets, but it’s sad to see some of the repercussions,\u201d Masse said. \u201cWe can still avoid them, too. The story isn’t done.\u201d<\/p>\n Masse\u2019s support for legalization was strengthened by the United States\u2019 decision to repeal PASPA in 2018, allowing states to legalize sports betting on an individual basis. That created new tax revenues for local jurisdictions and also ate into the Canadian gaming market.<\/p>\n Michigan was an early adopter of sports betting legalization, and its casinos became attractive destinations for Canadian bettors in southern Ontario.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It really was about jobs at our casino, it was jobs at our entertainment industry, it was jobs in tourism,\u201d Masse said. \u201cYou could see the modernization taking place. And so we didn’t want organized crime to benefit. We wanted it to be accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account Masse\u2019s displeasure with the regulation of Ontario\u2019s gaming industry largely revolves around the lack of oversight of unregulated operators.\u00a0<\/p>\n He suggested enforcement be retained by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, a Crown agency controlled by the Ontario government. Instead, the federal bill that led to legalization introduced a \u201cweakness\u201d by changing the Criminal Code, leaving each province to deal with its black-market operators.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut what they’ve done is, they’ve launched full throttle,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have allowed all of this unregulated activity.\u201d<\/p>\n Ontario has already licensed 47 iGaming operators and more than 30 sportsbooks. Those platforms have produced billions in revenue, breeding an arms race in audience acquisition and retention.<\/p>\n Advertising changes being considered<\/p>\n The pervasiveness of gambling advertisements has become an issue for government officials. Ontario Sen. Marty Deacon\u00a0sponsored S-211<\/a>, a bill that would develop a national framework for the regulation of sports betting ads and set risk-prevention standards.<\/p>\n S-211 has already received Senate approval and is waiting on a second reading in the House of Commons.<\/p>\n A full-blown ban on gambling advertisements is not being considered. The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) has argued member companies already operate in one of the most regulated industries in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cGetting rid of advertising isn’t going to solve problem gambling,\u201d said CGA president and CEO Paul Burns. \u201cIf it had done that, it would’ve done that a long time ago. In reality, it’s very naive to think that that’s the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Add](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/google-preferred-source-badge.png\"){kind=icon}
<\/a>Issues with Ontario\u2019s launch<\/p>\n