Ontario’s legalization of single-event sports betting has turned into a public health problem requiring government action, according to a report conducted by Cardus. Cardus found the average net monthly spending per sports betting account in Ontario is growing fast and has hit $283 — more than 3% of the average monthly household income. Experts state gambling more than 1% of income is associated with a higher risk of harm to finances, relationships, and physical and psychological health.“Single-event sports betting has become so big in Ontario, it can turn anyone’s smartphone into a two-hour slot machine while watching a hockey or football game,” said Cardus President, Canada Brian Dijkema in a press release. “The provincial government needs to regain control of this form of gambling before the situation gets worse.”Cardus cited one study finding sports viewers in Ontario are exposed to 2.8 gambling references every minute during live sports broadcasts. Compared to traditional sports bettors, it said those during sports events tend to be younger men and more likely to consume alcohol while betting.Some of the actions it urged the Ontario government to take to strengthen protections for sports bettors include banning ads for sports betting, banning in-game bets, making responsible-gambling messages more effective, providing a central platform for players to limit their gambling, and requiring gambling corporations to financially contribute to addiction prevention and treatment at an amount proportionate to their spending on marketing.Cardus indicated in another report there is no credible public estimate for how large Canada’s sports betting black market was before the legalization of single-event betting in 2021. In response, it said governments have little idea what effect legalization has led to with illegal betting.Sports betting legalization advocates have said under-the-table betting was worth $10 billion. However, Cardus found the $10-billion figure was based on a 25-year-old guesstimate from the United States that was extrapolated to Canada.It said Ontario has seen little benefit from the legalization of single-game betting. IGaming Ontario netted $74 million in revenue from $7 billion in wagers in 2022-2023, but private companies collected $294 million.Dijkema concluded by saying single-event sports betting “has been great for private companies, but not for the public purse and may not have actually helped reduce under-the-table sports betting anyway.”“Rather, there are signs Ontario has created new problems with sports betting that it needs to fix now,” said Dijkema. Casinos.com said on August 2 the Alberta government could make the province the second in Canada to bring in a licensed, regulated commercial online casino industry to what it says will better protect players and increase revenue. READ MORE: Alberta government looking at launching commercial online casino marketAt the moment, Casinos.com said Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally wants to provide online gamblers with more choice by launching a commercial online casino market. It said Nally confirmed his office has been meeting with regulators and operators from across Canada and the world since June to try to expand the market by the end of 2025. “We have engaged with a lot of online operators, and we have heard from them loud and clear that they would not come to Alberta as long as Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis is the regulator,” said Nally.
