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AGAR: Government needs to act on report about rise in men contacting gambling helpline

New study says that gambling-related calls to ConnexOntario increased by 161% among boys and men ages 15-24 in the last five years

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Turn on any sporting event and you will be inundated with advertising for gambling apps. 

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What used to be aggressively outlawed is now legalized, advertised and promoted by sports organizations themselves. 

AGAR: Government needs to act on report about rise in men contacting gambling helpline Back to video

Perhaps most people who bet on a game today on an app are doing so at no greater level than they used to so among friends before a game they watch together, or by participating in a pool during the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup. 

But a study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, tells us that gambling-related calls to ConnexOntario, Ontario’s free mental health and addictions help line, increased by 161% among boys and men ages 15-24 in the last five years. Calls increased 99% in men 25-44 (from 27 per million to 54 over the same time period). 

Bruce Kidd is an Olympian, a former professor at the University of Toronto and chair of the Campaign to Ban Ads for Gambling. He said, “It’s in your face and the evidence worldwide is that advertising increases the volume and intensity of betting.” 

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“The betting apps are designed,” he says, “to engineer addiction, to ensure that people who log in continually chase the bets and end up being addicted.” 

He says a survey by the Canadian Center for Substance Use and Addiction, “Also reported that increased problem gambling by younger populations.” 

Sports gambling promoted by broadcasters

I said to Kidd that when I watch the Jays, it is not just that the ads are running during the game, but that gambling is now a part of the actual broadcast. 

He responded, “It really upsets me that the broadcasters that I respect are now shilling for addiction.” 

Of course, sports gambling and the apps are now legal. The government itself runs a lottery and sports organizations run 50/50 tickets, which are a form of gambling. 

Nothing the apps are doing is illegal. 

Advocate pushes for public health measures

I pointed out that most people can gamble responsibly. They are not betting the rent. 

“I get that,” Kidd said. “But what level of clearly demonstrated harm should trigger more regulation?” 

He says, “I would argue that a 10% level of addiction, which the national survey data is showing for all Canadians, or a 25% level of addiction among young consumers 18 to 28, that’s too high and we’ve got to reduce it by taking public health measures as advocated by the World Health Association, the Canadian Medical Association, CAMH and other health bodies.” 

Public health measures would be funded by the government; the taxpayers. 

Should that be their responsibility or just as government is moving to make manufacturers responsible for the cost of recycling of materials, would it make sense to require betting apps to bear the cost of gambling addiction? 

Government has a role to play role

Taking the fun of a bet away from responsible people due to the minority of gamblers who are addicted and desperate seems wrong, but the damage to society and such a high percentage of young people needs debate and consideration. 

When there is money to be made, the government steps in. 

Outlawing alcohol proved impossible, so the government legalized it again and taxed it to a massive degree. 

Marijuana is now legalized and taxed. 

Gambling in casinos and sports gambling is legal. 

All of the above come with damage. 

It is the government’s responsibility to mitigate the damage. 

With sports gambling, that has not been done. 

Sharp rise in young men contacting Ontario gambling helpline: Study

Drake quits sports gambling after disastrous Super Bowl bet on Patriots

Patriots’ Kayshon Boutte says gambling addiction left him ‘completely broke’

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