In a move aimed at prohibiting advertisements for illegal online gambling sites in Canada, the controlling party of Canada's provincial legislature, the Liberal Party, has introduced legislative measures to another larger omnibus bill seeking to improve consumer protection and public safety protocols. Not to be confused with a ban on online casinos and internet gambling in general, this ban is directly aimed at what the Canadian government considers to be illegal online gambling sites advertising in Ontario.

The Ministry of Government Services, Paul De Zara, said the ban would only permit to those online casino sites accepting real money wagers. Therefore, sites like PartyPoker.net, which is a play-for-fun derivative site of its real-money sister site, PartyPoker.com, would be permitted to advertise its online gaming activities in Ontario. Another site which would be able to skirt by the ban would be famed online casino Golden Palace, whose site, GoldenPalace.net, offers free online casino games, and is likewise dedicated to play-for-fun gambling.

In fact, there are several online gaming operations who have turned their .net sites into free gambling hosts. This phenomenon began in 2003, shortly after the U.S. DOJ threatened to crack down on advertisers for online gambling websites. Large internet advertisers like Google and Yahoo complied and gaming operators turned to Canada, where the idea to offer .net sister sites came into being. Many critics of Canada's gaming laws say that something should be done to keep operators from sneaking in the back door, so to speak, for it is only a matter of time that players catch on to the existence of .com sites (whether through email newsletters or by other .net players).

Critics of the advertising ban in Canada say that it is being fueled by heavyweight lobbyists, like the Ontario horseracing industry. De Zara himself even stated that many complaints from horse racing tracks fueled the impetus to introduce the online casino advertising ban. According to Ontario horse track operator, Woodbine Entertainment, betting revenue from their racing tracks is down over $100 million in the last three years - which they attribute entirely to the online gambling industry.

One angle that Woodbine has successfully managed to get by is their argument that if online casinos are allowed to take real money bets from Canadians, then why shouldn't Woodbine build its own casino and poker room. This, coupled with concern from the Ministry of Government Services that more young people, ages eighteen to twenty-four, are spending money at the online casinos and poker rooms has the prospects of an advertising ban looking imminent.