Ontario ER visits for gambling disorders doubled after market opened to private operators
University of Toronto study finds emergency room visits for gambling disorders nearly doubled since Ontario legalized online gambling and sports betting in April 2022.
What to know
- Emergency room visits for gambling disorders nearly doubled in Ontario following the legalization of online gambling and single-event sports betting in April 2022, with males aged 10–29 experiencing a 154% increase.
- The study analyzed 952 ER visits over 14 years and found that 70%+ involved concurrent mental health conditions or substance abuse, and nearly one-third resulted in hospitalization—evidence of clinically significant harms.
- Researchers emphasize that ER presentations likely represent only a fraction of total gambling-related harm, as most people with gambling problems never seek care, raising concerns about a broader public health crisis.
- The market has grown rapidly, with Ontarians wagering $82.7 billion CAD in 2024 across 83 sites operated by multinational gambling corporations, many of which explicitly target young males.
The dispute Whether the problem is gambling itself (which should be illegal or state-monopolized) versus aggressive marketing of gambling (which could be addressed by an advertising ban while leaving the market otherwise intact). · positions read across 20 posts and comments
Online gambling is a preventable public health crisis that should never have been legalized; the market expansion to private operators was a mistake.
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“Without a doubt, online gambling is the most preventable public health crisis of our generation. None of this had any business getting legalized.”
geooff_ · Hacker News ↗
If gambling is truly harmful, the government should not operate it either; the current hybrid model is hypocritical and legitimizes the activity.
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“It should either be illegal or not. This idea that the state has a monopoly on getting money from doing a thing that you are saying is bad doesn't make sense.”
pfisch · Hacker News ↗
Gambling should be state-owned only, with no private operators and strict controls on addictive mechanics; state monopoly can redirect losses to cover externalities.
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“All gambling should be state owned. It is a strict societal loss anyway, we can at least soften the overall blow. Losses can be redistributed and cover for the externalities of gambling.”
whatever1 · Hacker News ↗
An advertising ban would address most of the harms without requiring outright prohibition; gambling itself is acceptable but aggressive promotion is not.
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“An advertising ban would solve 80% of the problem. This stuff has always been around for those who want it, and (arguably) in a free society should be.”
ramesh31 · Hacker News ↗
Ryan Forrest Public health doctoral student, U of T Dalla Lana SchoolDaniel Myran Senior author, U of T associate professor and ICES scientistTara Elton-Marshall Associate professor, University of OttawaOntario government Regulator of online gambling market
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
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Researchers warn ER visits may reveal only tip of iceberg of broader gambling harm
Study authors emphasize that emergency room visits represent a small fraction of total gambling-related harm. Senior author Daniel Myran states the findings are evidence of what could be a broader public health crisis, noting that most people with gambling problems never seek care.
“It makes me worry about a public-health crisis. The reaction I had on first seeing these numbers is, this is really bad.”
— Daniel Myran -
Back when legalized gambling was on the ballot for my state, I was enthusiastic supportive, even though I don’t enjoy gambling personally. I conflated these bans with a sort of religious and social nannying, an affront to individual liberties and denying a legal livelihood for something people will do anyways. Legalizing gambling was a step in…
2 more of the top 3 · 18 posts in this stretch
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Our incredible brains are easily high-jacked. Another concerning trend in global/societal mental health that stresses different parts of it (e.g. increased ER visits). If the entirety of humanity is a connected mind let's say, and more and more parts of it are being damaged by companies that capitalize on "flaws" in the human brain -- which means…
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It should either be illegal or not. This idea that the state has a monopoly on getting money from doing a thing that you are saying is bad doesn't make sense.If it is bad and yet the government is allowed to use it to make money then is the government evil? Why does the government get to do it if we can't? It just makes the whole thing seem…
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Study reveals ER visits for gambling disorders nearly doubled since market opened
University of Toronto researchers analyzing emergency department visits from January 2012 to June 2025 found that gambling-related ER visits remained stable until April 2022, then increased sharply. By June 2025, the overall rate was 99% higher than expected, with males aged 10–29 experiencing a 154% increase and males aged 30–44 experiencing a 116% increase. Almost three-quarters of the 757 individuals with 952 ER visits were male. More than 70% of visits involved concurrent mental health conditions or heavy substance use, and almost one-third led to hospital admission.
“The concentration of the increase among younger males is particularly concerning given the rapid growth and promotion of online sports betting, which target this demographic.”
— Ryan Forrest -
3 outlets first by University of Toronto, 7d ago · also Toronto Life, HN Frontpage · read ↗
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first by Yahoo News Canada, 7d ago · also Global News
1 more headline
- ER visits for gambling rise in Ontario since expansion of online betting: study Global News · 7d ago
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Gambling-related ER visits have almost doubled since Ontario opened market to private companies, study finds https://www. theglobeandmail.com/canada/art icle-gambling-related-er-visits-have-almost-doubled-since-ontario-opened/ https:// unwall.app/www.theglobeandmail…
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background
Study finds 300% increase in gambling helpline calls among young men — University of Toronto researchers published a paper in the Canadian Medical Association Journal reporting a substantial increase in gambling-related calls to ConnexOntario, Ontario's mental health and addictions helpline, following the legalization of sports betting and privatized online gambling. Among boys and men aged 15 to 24, increases exceeded 300 per cent.
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background
Ontario gambling market reaches $82.7 billion in annual wagers — Ontarians wagered $82.7 billion CAD on legal online gambling sites in 2024 through 2.6 million player accounts, demonstrating rapid market growth.
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background
Ontario opens online gambling market to private operators — Ontario became the first Canadian province to allow private companies to operate in a regulated online gambling market alongside the existing government-run platform. The market currently includes 83 gaming and betting sites operated by 43 private companies.
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Canada legalizes single-event sports betting — Canada legalized single-event sports betting in August 2021, creating the regulatory foundation for expanded gambling markets.
What people are saying 15 voices from 1 site · best of 20 · verbatim
- Why do people seek emergency room care for gambling disorders—are these visits driven by suicidal ideation, self-harm, or other acute mental health crises triggered by gambling losses?
- What fraction of the estimated total gambling-related harm population does the ER visit data actually represent?
- Sep 16
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good news for cancer and CVDat this rate, in 40 years 100% of ER visits will be due to gambling disorders.really a triumph in public health
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So there is more awareness of the problem, gambling ads are required to publish a helpline number. Most of the gamers have other psychological disorders. Thus it's awareness + more consistent asking for help + regular naming of gambling among other problems.What is the number of non-gamblers that started gambling and ended up in ER and would not…
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It's still shocking to me that there are so many California Lottery advertisements (I'm sure other states have these too). They're spending taxpayer money to make poor people poorer...
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An advertising ban would solve 80% of the problem. This stuff has always been around for those who want it, and (arguably) in a free society should be. But shoving it down people's throats in every channel imaginable has to end.
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State owned, no advertising, and your last year's tax return to prove income.As they are now, even state level gambling is used as a tax on the poor, because they're the people desperate enough to do it.
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Why did it result in an emergency room visit? Did they try to self-harm or something because of losses?
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Since this was recently legalized and nothing that we say on HN or in general will actually lead to changing it back (we were never asked to legalize it in the first place), I’m inclined to lean into this and say: good, fuck ‘em!
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Vegas was such a great solution to gambling for Americans. We had it contained to a specific place, making it easy to access but also easy to avoid.Cryptocurrency, which turned into just another form of gambling, seems to have been the corrupting influence that allowed it to spread into people's homes. I hope we can reverse it somehow.
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Pretty much agree. But even then, the state should not be incentivizing its use (looking you, CA lottery and friends).Gambling is a drug, and should be recognized as such.
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All gambling should be state owned. It is a strict societal loss anyway, we can at least soften the overall blow.Losses can be redistributed and cover for the externalities of gambling. And we will be able to control the knob on how addictive we make them.For profit companies have the target to maximize their profit, so of course they will ramp up…
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> Emergency room visits for gambling disordersAre Canadian ERs different than ERs in the U.S.? Why would one go to an emergency room, seek emergency treatment, for a gambling disorder?
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Out of seemingly nowhere a few years ago, the canadian local landscape changed overnight.I feel like I am walking around las vegas half the time.Virtually every corner store has turned into those english sports betting pubs or whatever they have all over England.It's disgusting.
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A few months ago I read an article that compared vibe coding to gambling[0] and I've found it a useful model.[0]: maybe this one:
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I have never felt anything about gambling. Most boring thing ever. I don't feel anything about investment, and wrote automation to track mine because it's all so boring.I wouldn't tempt fate to try to expose myself more, but it doesn't seem like I contain whatever is required to form these addictions.Has it been studied if some people are just…
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> In 2024, Ontarians wagered $82.7 billion CAD on these sites through 2.6 million player accounts.Truly astounding numbers. Without a doubt, online gambling is the most preventable public health crisis of our generation. None of this had any business getting legalized.