Online gambling disorders have become a noticeable problem in emergency departments across Ontario, with visits by males doubling since the legalization and expansion of single-event sports betting, a new study has found.
Canada legalized single-event sports betting in August 2021, and in April 2022, Ontario became the first province to allow private companies to operate in a regulated online gambling market alongside the existing government-run platform.
In 2024, Ontarians wagered $82.7 billion on gaming and betting sites through 2.6 million player accounts.
Researchers with the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) wanted to assess the effects of these changes, so they analyzed emergency department (ED) visits for gambling disorders among Ontarians aged 10 to 105 years before and after the expansion, according to a new study from the institute….