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Canada has made one step towards curbing the prevalence of sports betting adverts in the country. A Senate committee has cleared a bill that would put federal restrictions on the commercials, which it managed to do in 45 seconds and without debate.
The bill is trying to counteract the very real rise of gambling problems that are becoming more persistent as it becomes ever easier to access. Bill S-211 would force the government to “identify measures to regulate sports betting advertising in Canada with a view to restricting the use of such advertising.”
“Foolish” to not push back on gambling ads says bill author
Gambling in Canada is handled similarly to America. Regulations are handled by the state, and wider matters, like those in Bill S-211, are handled by the federal government on a national scale. This would be the second attempt to quash gambling advertising in the country, as a similar bill passed last November, but never made it through before lapsing on January 6.

The Senate adopts ISG Senator Marty Deacon’s Bill S-269 on sports betting. Congratulations, @SenMartyDeacon! Now, off to the House of Commons.https://t.co/elFODkqpCk pic.twitter.com/jPQSbDsori
— Independent Senators Group (ISG) (@ISGSenate) November 8, 2024

Speaking on the matter, the bill sponsor and Senator Marty Deacon said:
“It is foolish to gamble with the health and well-being of Canadians when we already know what the outcome will be.
“It makes absolutely no sense to wait for these problems to arise and then react to them, at which point tens of thousands of Canadians’ lives will have been devastated through problem gambling.
“I had a hope that by making single-game betting legal, we’d see some work to address its harms as well. That has not happened. I did not anticipate the level of promotion that we’re seeing, potentially creating a generation of problem gamblers.”
Medical journal backs Canada gambling ad plans
In September, an editorial from the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) actually called for pushback on ads during sports broadcasts. The CMAJ article, which mostly focuses on the effects of gambling adverts on the youth, is written by Dr. Shannon Charlebois and Dr. Shawn Kelly. From the article:
“Canadian Bill S-211, which passed its second reading in the Senate on June 12, 2025 provides for the development of a national framework to regulate sports betting advertising and set national standards for the prevention of risk for people negatively affected.
“The bill is only a start but must be expedited and passed now to protect Canada’s youth from the harms of exposure to aggressive sports betting advertising.”
Featured image: Social Soup Social Media via Pexels
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Kalshi and Polymarket have seen a sharp rise in interest in a particular contract surrounding the US government’s shutdown.
As the Republicans don’t have the votes to push through their healthcare agenda, which would see prices soar for everyday Americans, the government can’t agree and has decided to shut it down until someone makes the first move.
With interest around the political situation at an all-time high, it’s no wonder that prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have come out swinging with wagers based on the shutdown.

Kalshi has over $4 million in volume on government shutdown

Both prediction markets currently have a wager on how long the shutdown will last, as the Trump administration has hinted that it’s unlikely for furloughed workers to receive back pay.

BREAKING: The US government shutdown is now forecasted to last nearly 24 days
This would make it the second longest in history pic.twitter.com/3lrVYYTwJd
— Kalshi (@Kalshi) October 8, 2025

On Kalshi, the current volume at the time of writing is at $4,133,683 million, with wagers sitting at:

61% for more than 20 days
49% for more than 25 days
39% for more than 30 days

As of right now, it’s at eight days, with the longest US shutdown being during Trump’s first presidency, at 35 days. This was over the lack of funding for the border wall that Mexico was originally said to be paying for. Before this, it was in 1996, which lasted 21 days under Bill Clinton, when balancing the budget caused a schism.
Polymarket’s $5 million speculation thinks shutdown is going to last longer

Over on Polymarket, the question is “When will the Government shutdown end?”, rather than how long it’s expected to last. Its total volume is sitting at $5,363,145. Currently active are:

October 6-9 (today), with $908,146 volume behind it at less than 1%
October 10-14, with $356,486 volume behind it at 15%
October 15 or later, with $2,041,562 volume, at 85%

BREAKING: The U.S. Government is still shut down.
83% chance it doesn’t end anytime soon.https://t.co/TCIdcHRfg3
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) October 8, 2025

Polymarket is also running a similar wager to Kalshi, in regards to how many days the government will remain shut down. As of right now, 10 to 29 days lead, with 71%. This particular wager has a volume of $1,237,281.

We reported today that the Pennsylvania gambling watchdog has concerns about Kalshi’s sports wagering.
Featured image: Kalshi / Polymarket

The post Government shutdown speculation now top wagers on Kalshi and Polymarket appeared first on ReadWrite.