Online gambling tied to spike in Ontario addiction hotline calls

There was a time when gambling was strictly limited to casinos and physical lottery tickets.

That is until 2015 when the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) launched its online betting platform.

“We found that the launch of the government online gambling — legal government gambling in 2015 — that leads to a small increase in contacts to Ontario’s mental health and addiction hotline for gambling,” says Daniel Myran, Research Chair with North York General Hospital.

Then, in 2022, the law changed and licensed, private operators could offer gambling online.

“When we launch into this private market, with single event sports gambling and a lot more promotion and advertising, we see that there’s further acceleration in the visits — specifically in the young men between the ages of 15 and 44,” says Myran.

A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association journal finds that the number of calls made to the province’s mental health help line for gambling-related issues — before the launch of Play OLG and after the privatization — almost tripled overall.

“When I look at these changes I get worried and I think that they’re important — both for the increase that we see but more if it represents broader changes in the gambling patterns,” says Myran.

“So if for every person that contacts the helpline it’s the tip of the iceberg and there’s a hundred people who didn’t — you get really worried.”

READ MORE: New study finds sharp rise in young men contacting Ontario gambling helpline

In fact — since the province began tracking the number — the total amount wagered online since 2022 has grown by a factor of nine to $9 million a month — and the number of active player accounts have more than quadrupled.

“The timing definitely is important because it sparks the conversation of what public health considerations can we embed into the system to help us support the youth more effectively,” says Nerin Kaur, Executive Director of ConnexOntario.

One such conversation has to do with the province’s advertising regulations.

“They jumped in with blinders on and they legalized without any guardrails, without any safety net,” says Bruce Kidd, former Olympian and Chair of Ban Ads for Gambling.

Kidd is one of many Canadians calling for a ban on gambling ads.

“We think the compromise is that sports-betting continues to be legal — but advertising is restricted,” says Kidd.

Ban Ads for Gambling successfully removed the appearance of celebrities or athletes in gambling promotion in 2024.

They are also the backers of Bill S-211 — that passed the senate last October and is before the House of Commons — if it passes, it will work to establish a national framework for rules and regulations for sports betting advertisements.

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