Ontario and the Responsible Gambling Council have increased focus on men 19 to 24 who are viewed as being more vulnerable to gambling harm.
The Ontario Government and Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) have increased focus on men aged 19 to 24, who are viewed as being more vulnerable to the risks associated with gambling.
The current strategy involves incorporating a new public service announcement (PSA) as well as an update regarding the use of the Responsible Internet Gambling Fund (RIGF).
According to the RGC, the PSA was launched last week and will be implemented on various Canadian channels, as well as on Meta platforms, Netflix and Spotify.
RGC CEO Sarah McCarthy said: “As online betting continues to evolve rapidly, we are seeing an increased risk of early exposure and normalised gambling behaviours, particularly among young men.
“This new campaign speaks directly to young adults, giving them the practical tools and guidance they need to make safer, informed choices. Thanks to funding from the RIGF, we can reach them where they are and make a real difference.”
Money used in the campaign is drawn from the annual funding of C$3m allocated to the RIGF from Ontario’s iGaming revenue.
The fund was created to assist in the prevention of harm before it occurs and to prove the province’s claim of being committed to safer gambling online.
This means that spending will take place on activities where risk reduction will be achieved before becoming firmly established.
The RGC stated that the new campaign is intended to provide young people with relevant information and methods for safe gambling.
PSAs deliver revenue, as well as important message
The council also released a new impact report detailing results from earlier prevention work backed by the fund.
It said tens of millions of people had been reached through The Randoms PSA broadcasts and a partnership with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), as well as through paid digital advertising.
The PSAs have attracted about $100m in broadcaster investment since Ontario introduced its legal online gambling market. This figure was presented as evidence of large-scale support for safer gambling messaging.
According to the report, MLSE home and away game broadcasts generated 601 million impressions, with 316 million from home games and 285 million from away games.
Sports leagues and arena partners also produced C$4.15m in media value through safer gambling campaigns and arena activations.
Separate ethnocultural outreach efforts, including work with Caribbean Vibrations, reached 49 million people through television, media and related activations.
The Ontario Government declared that the creation of this fund represents its belief that the expansion of gambling must be accompanied by concrete measures to protect gamblers.
Aside from the public service announcement, the RGC confirmed that it will engage in online outreach initiatives to minimise stigma and provide access to tools.
Ontario’s online gambling market raises the bar
Since its April 2022 launch, Ontario’s legal iGaming market has seen explosive growth. In its first fiscal year, the province generated C$1.41bn in gaming revenue from C$35.5bn in wagers. By the second year, revenue surged 70% to C$2.4bn.
This momentum continued into the 2024–2025 fiscal period, which reached C$2.9bn in revenue as the number of active player accounts grew to 2.6 million.
By early 2026, cumulative revenue since the market’s opening surpassed C$10bn. The 2025 calendar year alone set a record with C$4.04bn in annual revenue, marking a 34% year-over-year increase.
This success is largely driven by a massive shift of players from unregulated offshore sites to the province’s legal platforms, which now capture over 83% of all online gambling activity in Ontario.