Sharp rise in young men contacting Ontario gambling helpline.

[acroman08]

What do you guys think about this? The article talks about researchers finding out that the rate of young men contacting Ontario's mental helpline for gambling related issues has increased by more than 300% from 2012 to 2025. The article also said that they noticed an increase when the government launched PlayOLG in 2015 and when they expanded the private online gambling in April 2022. I think this is a clear indication that, as online gambling becomes more mainstream and easier to access, more people will experience gambling problems.

Here's a snippet from the article. If you want to read the full information, you can click the link I shared.

The rate of young men contacting Ontario's mental health helpline for gambling-related problems has increased by more than 300 per cent after the province allowed private online gambling, a new study suggests.

The researchers behind the study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Monday say the findings represent a need for stronger harm-reduction measures and more access to treatment.

The study analyzed the number of contacts to ConnexOntario, the province's free 24-hour mental health and addictions helpline, for gambling-related concerns from January 2012 to September 2025.

It noted an increase after January 2015, when the government launched the gambling platform PlayOLG, as well as after the province expanded private online gambling in April 2022.

Over the 13-year period researchers looked at, ConnexOntario was contacted more than 745,700 times, the study said, and about 37,000 of those contacts were gambling-related.

The study found that among boys and men aged 15 to 24, the mean monthly rate of gambling-related outreach per million people rose by 317 per cent from the time before Ontario's launch of PlayOLG to the period after the privatization of online gambling.

The rate increased about 108 per cent over the same time frame for men aged 25 to 44, the study further found. Prior to the policy changes, the rates were stable, it said.

[Dave1]

I'm not surprised with the numbers though, I mean we have seen a massive growth of online casinos, whether fiat or crypto base platform. And we can say that the pandemic might have brought more gamblers not just in Canada but in the world. As people are just staying inside their houses with nothing to do but to go online.

And most likely this is why government wanted to ban online and not authorizing any land base casinos because of this. But it's hard to stop, it's business after all and those countries that have traditional base are collecting taxes in the billions. While online is in the gray area as there are a lot of restricted nations or ban countries by casinos. However, the same with land base casinos, gamblers learn how to circumvent this restrictions like using VPN so there are risk involved that they are willing to take.

[Charles-Tim]

More people are gambling, definitely more people will have gambling addiction. It is not possible that more people will be gambling and less number people will not have problem gambling.

In anything we want to start doing, making research about it is very important. We should also not gamble for money, gamble for fun. The most important thing is to use just 1% of your weekly income on gambling.

[Hatchy]

I'm not surprised with the numbers though, I mean we have seen a massive growth of online casinos, whether fiat or crypto base platform. And we can say that the pandemic might have brought more gamblers not just in Canada but in the world. As people are just staying inside their houses with nothing to do but to go online.

Definitely nothing to be surprised of because the rate at which new casinos obtains licence today make it's easy to tell that the gambling space is very populated. Right now I don't think it's would be easy to put an end to it, but they can try to reduce the numbers of casino registrations within a country. My issue with gamblers is that they find it so comfortable playing too much. Such attitudes leads to addiction and they may not even know they have been addicted. They would see it as the normal way of their doing things, until it's too late.at this point even a professional help might take a lot more efforts to cub their addictions..

[len01]

All of this is happening because technology keeps getting more advanced and continues to develop. On one side, gambling advertisements are increasing everywhere. Social media platforms that previously didn’t promote gambling are now starting to advertise gambling sites. At the same time, the younger generation today tends to be more tech savvy and highly curious, which makes it very easy for them to access online gambling sites. Maybe in the next few years, as technology becomes even more advanced, the number of young people getting addicted will also increase.

[Beparanf]

It’s inevitable since we are on the generation that we spend most of our time using our phone doing online things while gambling becomes accessible and popular now online which young men will surely explore due to the trend.

What’s amazing on this case is this young men admit they have gambling problem and seek help via help desk dedicated by their government instead of committing suicide just like many sad story we heard related to gambling problems.

This help desk should be strengthened and makes vital in all country that has huge number of online casino users.

[AmoreJaz]

All of this is happening because technology keeps getting more advanced and continues to develop. On one side, gambling advertisements are increasing everywhere. Social media platforms that previously didn’t promote gambling are now starting to advertise gambling sites. At the same time, the younger generation today tends to be more tech savvy and highly curious, which makes it very easy for them to access online gambling sites. Maybe in the next few years, as technology becomes even more advanced, the number of young people getting addicted will also increase.

For me, this kind of development is good because it means, this young people are acknowledging their battles over gambling activity. So instead of just embarking their gambling problems alone, they are now trying to address this problem by contacting these helplines to assist their struggles in gambling. It means, they know they have problem and they need help to resolve this matter.
This kind of free assistance may lower down the rate of suicide owed to gambling. Because most of these gamblers just need someone that they can talk to with what they are suffering owed to gambling. And a good talk and piece of advice may alter their life for the better. Who knows a short conversation with them will be their turning point in life to realize what's best for them.

[danherbias07]

Damn, that's high. 300 percent increase.

I think they should start worrying about their people because this ain't something about entertainment anymore. It's a gambling problem and probably a gambling addiction. In fact, I think other countries should also be worried about it because there's a high amount of gambling platforms that have been coming out, and most are newly created, like it's so easy to have that type of business.

Even if it's regulated, they must have a filter on everything. KYC might not be enough since even the underage are doing it. 15-24. At that age, a gambler can be very aggressive, and I bet the calls are coming from parents, relatives, or friends of those who have gambling problems.

[Slow death]

Perhaps I'm not seeing or understanding correctly, but this research stated that they received over 745,700 contacts, but of those 745,700 contacts, only about 37,000 were related to gambling. However, they also say that from 2012 to 2025 there was a 300% increase in cases of gambling-related problems.

Assuming that currently there are 37,000 cases of people with gambling problems, then in 2012 the number of people with gambling problems was less than 13,000. And of those less than 13,000 cases, it's unknown how many are proven addictions. Therefore, this type of research often scares people when they only look at the numbers and don't go to clinics to find out how many people have been diagnosed with gambling addiction.

To have concrete data on the number of people who are addicted. In my opinion, it's not a frightening number when compared to alcohol, drugs, deaths from car and work accidents, murders, and corruption; therefore, gambling is a smaller number.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

What do you guys think about this? The article talks about researchers finding out that the rate of young men contacting Ontario's mental helpline for gambling related issues has increased by more than 300% from 2012 to 2025. The article also said that they noticed an increase when the government launched PlayOLG in 2015 and when they expanded the private online gambling in April 2022. I think this is a clear indication that, as online gambling becomes more mainstream and easier to access, more people will experience gambling problems.

Definitely, this is not a new thing, with online casinos becoming mainstream and also becoming a major means through which anyone can access a casino and participate in gambling, no doubt many people especially the younger generation are now getting involved in gambling, and unfortunately, these are the ones who are most vulnerable to all kinds of gambling related issues due to their high taste for risk in their tender age..
Hope we all know that young people usually are more stronger in risk taking than the middle aged and old ones?..

So if the government of Ontario is reporting that they are getting more contacts from young people in relation to gambling problems, then I am not surprised at all because this is very much the reality in almost every country at the moment, it's just that so many countries have careless governments who don't care at all to monitor things like this.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

I'm not surprised by the 300% increase, I'm even guessing that it's more that the said percentage because counting from 2012 till now, the world population has increased and also the advent of online crypto casino has even made things very much easier for young people to become addicted to gambling except for the ones that still have self discipline. Many young people have the get rich quick mentality and they consider gambling as one source to achieving that sudden wealth.

[coin-investor]

The article also said that they noticed an increase when the government launched PlayOLG in 2015 and when they expanded the private online gambling in April 2022. I think this is a clear indication that, as online gambling becomes more mainstream and easier to access, more people will experience gambling problems.

Not only in Ontario but also in countries where gambling is legal, and the government allows legal and illegal online casinos to proliferate.

Three years ago, we were hounded by these issues when our government supported online cockfighting. Since cockfighting is an old traditional game, many offline gamblers participated; it's easy to fund an account, payment processors are linked to these platforms, and you can fund your account even for $0.50.

So many families were ruined, and crime escalated, and the telephone helpline could not keep up, things normalize when the government banned these platforms.
The bottom line is that if gambling is legal and there are no restrictions and regulations, it could ruin the moral fibre of society.  

[YOSHIE]

Sharp rise in young men contacting Ontario gambling helpline.

Yes, I have seen the news that young teenagers are much increasing their involvement in online gambling, yes we understand that all this happens not without reason.

In other sources I also looked Experts warn surge in online sports betting is drawing teens into gambling, sports betting is the biggest and attracts young people.

For this reason, increasingly sophisticated technology and the systems used by online gambling sites will increase the number of young people betting, this is a big threat to the young generation in the future as a whole. Therefore, if this situation cannot be resolved, of course in the future we will see young teenagers increasing their involvement in gambling more sharply.

[Accardo]

The good news here is that the positive or responsible gaming outreach is getting lots of traction in that region. Sooner young people would find out about the usefulness of boarding for therapy sessions in the clinic to help curb down on the urge to continuous uncontrolled gambling habit. Those calls are great but a face to face talk is more rapid at making changes.

[Stepstowealth]

What do you guys think about this? The article talks about researchers finding out that the rate of young men contacting Ontario's mental helpline for gambling related issues has increased by more than 300% from 2012 to 2025.

It is a good thing and it is also a bad thing, the bad thing being that it indicates that there are now many young men who are into gambling, that is a higher number of young men face gambling related issues, while it is a good thing because these young men are seeking out help for their situation and not depending on themselves to be able to handle it. There are many young people who have been have gambling related problems, they have no one to seek help from and as such they are being affected a lot by it, some people may have even been triggered to take their own life as they are depressed from excessive gambling.

[uneng]

More people are gambling, definitely more people will have gambling addiction. It is not possible that more people will be gambling and less number people will not have problem gambling.

In anything we want to start doing, making research about it is very important. We should also not gamble for money, gamble for fun. The most important thing is to use just 1% of your weekly income on gambling.

Probably you are right. 300% looks a sharp increasement, but in order to find a more realistic result compared to the total number of gamblers, I think the study should include data of how much the percentage of gamblers increased in Ontario for that same period of time.

People are changing their habits these days, and those who never had any contact with gambling before have been adopting it through betting platforms nowadays, especially the ones focused on sports matches.

[swogerino]

Well it is a good sign that people are becoming aware that gambling if done for longer periods of time can be much more against you than it can be pro you. Well I personally hit the self-exclusion every time I get mad and I will hit it again today not because I have lost again but simply because I don't like losing again and to make this possible it means that I should not gamble at all. Let's hope these young men in Ontario find the help needed to succeed in their problems and behaviors they may have.

[Hispo]

What do you guys think about this?

It does not surprise me at all there are more young men contacting mental health direct lines, since it is clear gambling and betting have been becoming more mainstream and widely available for people in the developed workd (in the case, Canada).

At least, people from Canada has access to mental healthcare, there are so many developing countries in Asia and Africa where gambling has increased in popularity, but there are no ways to get an appointment with an specialist in gambling addiction or having a call with someone able to calm one down.

Here in my country it is never easy to find free healthcare services of good quality, so I can relate on those people struggling with their addictions, even though I am not addicted myself.

[Sandra_hakeem]

What do you guys think about this? The article talks about researchers finding out that the rate of young men contacting Ontario's mental helpline for gambling related issues has increased by more than 300% from 2012 to 2025. The article also said that they noticed an increase when the government launched PlayOLG in 2015 and when they expanded the private online gambling in April 2022. I think this is a clear indication that, as online gambling becomes more mainstream and easier to access, more people will experience gambling problems.

It's only about to get worse with the introduction of crypto casinos. We talk about the positive effects of gambling, and people tend to ignore the negativity and you're fast it has spreaded like virus across the world. Let's not forget that "numbers don't lie, humans do". Infact, the rate of teenage gamblers today is enough to make the requirements for each regulatory body more stringent, not to mention adults.

Well it is a good sign that people are becoming aware that gambling if done for longer periods of time can be much more against you than it can be pro you.

Quite a good sign, but have the numbers reduced since the spikes??  They don't even care. Non-gamblers are still falling for these baits on the media.

[lionheart78]

What do you guys think about this? The article talks about researchers finding out that the rate of young men contacting Ontario's mental helpline for gambling related issues has increased by more than 300% from 2012 to 2025. The article also said that they noticed an increase when the government launched PlayOLG in 2015 and when they expanded the private online gambling in April 2022. I think this is a clear indication that, as online gambling becomes more mainstream and easier to access, more people will experience gambling problems.

I think this is to be expected, so,  yeah, I agree with you.  There is a growth of population that engages in gambling due to the easier access, and at the same time, the information about the help line service is propagating making more people knows about the service since it was launched.

As a result, with more people engaging in gambling, there is a higher chance of more people experiencing gambling problems, and more people contacting the service.  And as more people using the service the more people can refer the service to their friend that has the same issue thus, the growth of people reaching out to the service is inevitable.