[Ontario] Gambling disorder Spikes.

[Ziskinberg]

This is nothing new. Almost all governments are doing the same thing. They just pretend that they care about the public but in reality, they are simply collecting funds for the next elections. The number of people gambling before and after the regulation will probably remain the same or might even increase, as mentioned by the OP. So the only one making a profit here is the government.

Government and casino operators, I don't think only one side would benefit here. If government policies look good only on paper but are poorly implemented, people will naturally suspect that some operators are being protected, and that can also hurt competition if regulators favor certain casinos.

We already know that gambling addiction can be reduced because other countries have managed it through better regulation and proper implementation. So if the same policies keep failing here, the problem may not be the rules themselves but how they are being enforced. That is why people start questioning whether there are other interests behind it.

[DanWalker]

‎In my opinion, the knowledge in this information is that, no matter how best a country tries to help solve gambling harms problems, the people should also protect themselves, the people should learn how to help themselves prevent gambling harm because prevention is better than cure. The help that the government in your country is offering should not be an excuse for you to go hard on gambling.

To me most valuable part of this entire discussion is that point you made at the end.

We should never assume that just because government is formulating rule, it necessarily implies our best interest are being served.
Whether it is Ontario or another First World nation or any developing country lacking specialized treatment facilities, at the end responsibility of looking after yourself lies with you.
Young people in particular are easily falling into this trap, lured by live sport betting on app and instant bonuse on their mobile screen.
Government will only focus on billions of dollar in revenue reflected in its annual balance sheet.
However when any family is destroyed then no regulated market will step in to take responsibility for that devastation.

So, yeah self protection is better than government promises.

[casey15]

I still get to chuckle when I realise that people still believe most government are after the well being if citizens. Not to get me wrong, there are governments that are concerned about their citizens. From this all I can see is that the Ontario government was not necessarily concerned about addictions or disorders, they just wanted their own share in the industry and no other way than to put regulations. The results are already showing and believe me it will get worse even next year. The country has the infrastructure to manage the disorders, that is another money mine, what happens to eradicating the disorder all together. Anything the government is benefiting money from will only move made worse so they can acquire more money

[Outhue]

It's a good advice telling people to protect themselves from gambling addiction but mind you let's not forget that some countries don't care about the economy advantage of gambling, they know that they can benefit alot from casino revenue but they said no because they care about the people more, why isn't the Ontario government like that? Aren't they humans to? What a human can do the rest can also do the same, it shows that Ontario government cares more about the revenues generated through gambling than people who are already addicted to gambling and also others who are likely going to become addicted later.

[Julien_Olynpic]

Gambling addiction is linked to the specifics of a pathological worldview, and even a responsible government will never be able to fully protect this category of gamblers and patients. The paradox is that gambling is both poison and medicine for addicts. More precisely, the best cure for them is financial crises and the emotional experience of loss. To understand the importance of financial risk management, one must lose a significant amount of money. This is how illusions disappear. Unfortunately, there is no other treatment.

[ZeroVinsonN]

Does your country have it's own regulated gambling market? I doubt it seriously so being jealous of Ontario's government making sure to care for their citizen with gambling disorders is pointless, though I would like to know if those facilities cater for the whole of Canada or just for Ontario citizens.

One truth I've always known is that you can't help someone if they don't want to be helped, you can do whatever you want really and it wouldn't change anything, it's like when they seatbelt was invented and accident caused deaths were expected to reduce but the actually increased because drivers got careless because they thought they were protected, you can regulate gambling all you want but the moment you give your citizens the impression that you are in support of their gambling they will abuse it and that's exactly what's happening in Ontario.

[Ashawowo(OS)]

‎‎In this case, it's looking like Ontario failed  to protect players against gambling harms, they had more economic advantages, while the number of people with gambling disorders significantly spiked after the expansion of their online market. The spike can not be compared to what it was when they had not launched their market.  

If there's one thing I hate, it's blaming the government for your own shortcomings, people are their own problems since they don't want to help themselves. Government projects were meant to assist in curbing victimization from off-shore casinos by launching a regulatory framework for casinos, naturally such privatization would make people more comfortable and those who hide to gamble would come out clean since it's now fully approved by the government and that is the reason for the increase. Every control measure initiated by the government has it's interests hidden in it, there's no two ways about it.

Responsible gambling is more of the duty of the players themselves than the government, the government can create assistive programs but it wouldn't change the excursiveness and recklessness of gamblers. The gambling industry is expanding, precise marketing and ads are all over the internet, prediction markets have been introduced and technology is improving, so naturally we expect more people to be inclined to gamble since it is more accessible in recent times.

[Nathrixxx]

It will be so interesting to say that the government is taking full responsibility for affected gamblers and ensuring they regulate the casino to avoid underage gambling; they can definitely put in place some measures that will be drastically effective when it comes to resolving issues with gamblers' experience in the use of a casino. This is not mandatory for them to do, but when they are more conscious of things that are at stake, they will put in more effort to ensure that the gambling sector is well coordinated as the wanted it to appear to society.

[Sim_card]

It's only the gamblers that can help prevent themselves from gambling harm which is the consequences. Anyone that think the government can help in this aspect is getting it wrong because the government cannot stop gamblers from gambling. It's our own responsibility as a gambler to gamble responsible and avoid being carried away by our emotions. The best thing that the government can do is what Canadian government have already done, which is to take care of these addicted gamblers.

[lovesmayfamilis]

Naturally, the government will not worry about every gambling addict. Especially if their incomes are growing from year to year. No drug addict, gambler, alcohol addict, or anything else can be completely cured if they do not understand the need and importance of treatment. Everything will happen again, maybe not immediately, but the relapse will occur as soon as there is a trigger. That's why the age for gambling is always mentioned, as it is the age when a person is already of age and knows how to take responsibility for their actions on their own. Even if gambling is completely banned, there will still be other casinos on the Internet for enthusiasts, and especially for gambling and addicted players, where they will be welcome, and all prohibitions will turn into a parody of the law.

[Betwrong]

‎~
‎In my opinion, the knowledge in this information is that, no matter how best a country tries to help solve gambling harms problems, the people should also protect themselves, the people should learn how to help themselves prevent gambling harm because prevention is better than cure. The help that the government in your country is offering should not be an excuse for you to go hard on gambling. ~

Absolutely agree with this. Gambling is entertainment, and like any other form of entertainment, it should cause no harm. When you pay £16 to watch a film in IMAX or to sit in luxury recliner seats so you can really enjoy the experience, you don’t also buy a huge bucket of chicken wings to devour during the movie, which could make you obese, right? Same with gambling. Don’t spend more than £16 on a gambling session, or your risk of being harmed by it increases.

[qwertyup23]

I noticed something. Regulations which are created by the government to monitor casinos and can also be for players protection. But we should also know that regulations can't remove addiction and it might to an extent control addiction. Addiction is something internal to every individual. It's like saying government should find a way to make people control themselves. You're adult not a kid. Even eliminating gambling is not even the way. What the government can do is to tighten the regulations very well.

Regulation is always a form of control either in its disposition or utilization. When the government enacts its own laws to regulate a certain sector, they have a purpose in mind which could either be for the protection of its citizens or for revenue raising.

I do agree that regulation by itself cannot remove and cure addiction as a whole. But it sure can cause a huge dent especially when you consider its accessibility to the general public. What the government should prohibit is its easy-access to the youth that can cause a snowball effect on its upbringing.

‎~
‎In my opinion, the knowledge in this information is that, no matter how best a country tries to help solve gambling harms problems, the people should also protect themselves, the people should learn how to help themselves prevent gambling harm because prevention is better than cure. The help that the government in your country is offering should not be an excuse for you to go hard on gambling. ~

Absolutely agree with this. Gambling is entertainment, and like any other form of entertainment, it should cause no harm. When you pay £16 to watch a film in IMAX or to sit in luxury recliner seats so you can really enjoy the experience, you don’t also buy a huge bucket of chicken wings to devour during the movie, which could make you obese, right? Same with gambling. Don’t spend more than £16 on a gambling session, or your risk of being harmed by it increases.

Sure, gambling is indeed for entertainment but its addictive nature stems from its very core- the chance of gaining money.

When you mix entertainment and an opportunity to earn money at the cost of spending money, this creates a false sense of hope that can trigger various effects in the mind of a person. That is exactly the reason on why gambling is so addictive that it corrupts entirely one's upbringing especially the youth.

[Fortify]

‎In my opinion, the knowledge in this information is that, no matter how best a country tries to help solve gambling harms problems, the people should also protect themselves, the people should learn how to help themselves prevent gambling harm because prevention is better than cure. The help that the government in your country is offering should not be an excuse for you to go hard on gambling.
‎

When you say "launched the market" maybe you could explain that a bit better, what you really mean I assume is that they legalized gambling which was not possible before. Taking the lead from many US states which have recently done so after federal law changes. They are competing for tourist and leisure spending essentially, it never really made sense to prohibit it in the first place. In the first few years you are bound to see incremental increases because it takes a while to saturate the market. Different gambling companies are also using different strategies and testing the limits of the laws around it, including where they can advertise. That doesn't mean that gambling prevention or addiction support is failing, they're just working alongside the growth.

[AmaGold70]

I think if the interest of the Ontario government was to protect gamblers from gambling harm, the rate of gambling, and the revenue generated from gambling would have reduced instead of going higher. It might be true that they want to properly regulate the gambling market, possibly making sure every gambling company is properly licensed, and regulated, but they don't really compromise their profit making. If you ask me, their is different between regulating the gambling market, and ensuring the protection of the gamblers. When the interest of a country is to protect gamblers from harm, the rate of gambling will reduce, revenue generated from gambling will equally reduce, and possibly the activities of gamblers will be highly monitored.

[freedomgo]

Sure, gambling is indeed for entertainment but its addictive nature stems from its very core- the chance of gaining money.

When you mix entertainment and an opportunity to earn money at the cost of spending money, this creates a false sense of hope that can trigger various effects in the mind of a person. That is exactly the reason on why gambling is so addictive that it corrupts entirely one's upbringing especially the youth.

It will not create a problem if a gambler is responsible. Even me, I don't gamble just for entertainment alone because I feel like I'm only wasting money when I do that. When I gamble, my goal is still to make money, and I feel more confident and enjoy what I'm doing that way.

But I never forget that the chance of losing is still bigger than winning, so it's easier for me to accept my losses. In the end, it's really the mindset that matters, and we cannot expect the government to save us all the time.

[5W-KILO]

‎~
‎In my opinion, the knowledge in this information is that, no matter how best a country tries to help solve gambling harms problems, the people should also protect themselves, the people should learn how to help themselves prevent gambling harm because prevention is better than cure. The help that the government in your country is offering should not be an excuse for you to go hard on gambling. ~

Absolutely agree with this. Gambling is entertainment, and like any other form of entertainment, it should cause no harm. When you pay £16 to watch a film in IMAX or to sit in luxury recliner seats so you can really enjoy the experience, you don’t also buy a huge bucket of chicken wings to devour during the movie, which could make you obese, right? Same with gambling. Don’t spend more than £16 on a gambling session, or your risk of being harmed by it increases.

This is the true definition for this who wants to have some fun and not run after money, but only very few numbers of people plays casino games or engage in sportbets this way, almost 98% of gamblers are doing it to make money.

There are some people who want to hit big money through gambling so that they can live a rich man's life, it's why you will see people selling their properties to fulfill their gambling activities.

For those who want to learn, I'd say gambling as your place of looking for big money isn't healthy for anyone, gambling space is only healthy when you want entertainment.

[bitLeap]

I noticed something. Regulations which are created by the government to monitor casinos and can also be for players protection. But we should also know that regulations can't remove addiction and it might to an extent control addiction. Addiction is something internal to every individual. It's like saying government should find a way to make people control themselves. You're adult not a kid. Even eliminating gambling is not even the way. What the government can do is to tighten the regulations very well.

I have seen the policies of countries that want to regulate gambling more controlled but this needs to be considered with the risks. Although the original goal was to provide space for adult gamblers, the problem stemmed from unstable economic conditions. On the other hand, the government is busy regulating gambling but neglecting welfare, increased income, and employment, which in turn creates chaos.
If you want to regulate gambling then it must be in line with its financial well-being solutions as well.

[Derekfunds]

I noticed something. Regulations which are created by the government to monitor casinos and can also be for players protection. But we should also know that regulations can't remove addiction and it might to an extent control addiction. Addiction is something internal to every individual. It's like saying government should find a way to make people control themselves. You're adult not a kid. Even eliminating gambling is not even the way. What the government can do is to tighten the regulations very well.

You are right to some point though, regulation can not be remove and that was not the reason they formed a body to regulate but rather the reason was to reduce addiction. Addiction in gambling is not about age which means that addiction is way beyond just being an adult because even adults are the most addicted people as we speak so it is a matter of discipline and being able to control and handle one's emotions and no matter how they tighten the regulation the world will still have  addicted people.

[danherbias07]

I don't know how the government will react to this and what steps they will take to help those who became gambling addicts because of it.

Anyway, I think our country may have the same numbers now or close to it. The online gambling hype is not just a national problem anymore but also an international one. I think many governments now are tackling this problem and trying to solve it by using means that seem not to help at all.
I saw news about another country trying to ban advertisements. It's not a cure, but maybe a good prevention. Still, it will not address the issue directly. I think getting strict with the gambling companies can be a good measure to lower those cases. Most of the victims are young people because they are aggressive. If they can somehow change that by having an agreement with the gambling platforms about the deposit amounts and limits, then maybe it's a start.

[Maslate]

In the end, it's really the mindset that matters, and we cannot expect the government to save us all the time.

I agree with that, but I think this case has already reached an alarming level. According to the report:

The study found that by the end of the study period, the number of gambling-related ER visits was 154 per cent higher than expected among males aged 10 to 29, and 116 per cent higher among males aged 30 to 44.

https://globalnews.ca/news/12061358/er-visits-gambling-ontario/

Those numbers are already concerning, so I think they really need to act on it. If another round of the same regulations will not be effective, maybe they need stronger or even temporary restrictions while they figure out what is actually causing the problem and what measures can work. Personal responsibility is still important, but once the problem is already reaching this level and people are ending up in emergency rooms, I don't think the government can just leave everything to the gamblers themselves.