Ontario study finds surge in young men seeking gambling help
An Ontario study has found that the rate of young men contacting the province’s mental health helpline for gambling-related problems has surged by more than 300% since the expansion of igaming, according to the Toronto Star.
The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, analyzed contacts with the mental health and addictions helpline ConnexOntario between January 2012 and September 2025.
Over that period, the service received more than 745,700 contacts, of which about 37,000 were related to gambling.
The study found that among men aged 15 to 24, the average monthly rate of gambling-related outreach per million people rose by 317% from before the launch of the government-run platform PlayOLG in 2015 to after the province opened the market to private online operators in April 2022.
For men aged 25 to 44, the increase was about 108%
Dr. Daniel Myran, a co-author of the study and research chair at North York General Hospital, said the spike may reflect broader increases in harmful gambling behavior, not just greater awareness of the hotline.
“I think that we need to think very carefully about who these ads are reaching and the messages that they’re conveying. And I think we need move to place restrictions on them because they’re right now occurring in venues that are widely seen by youth,” he said.
Researchers add that the study shows the need to treat gambling addiction as a public health issue and improve access to care.
Last week, iGaming Ontario reported that wagers in the province reached CA$9.5 billion (US$6.9 billion)1 CAD = 0.7314 USD
2026-03-02Powered by CMG CurrenShift in January, the highest total since the market opened in 2022.
Charlotte Capewell brings her passion for storytelling and expertise in writing, researching, and the gambling industry to every article she writes. Her specialties include the US gambling industry, regulator legislation, igaming, and more.
Verticals:
Sectors:
Topics:
Dig Deeper
Related stories
The Backstory
Why the numbers matter now
Ontario’s sharp rise in young men seeking gambling help is landing after two pivotal shifts: the launch of the provincially run PlayOLG in 2015 and the opening of a competitive online market in April 2022. The study at issue mapped nearly a decade of helpline contacts and found the steepest climb among males 15 to 24, underscoring how a maturing digital betting ecosystem, constant promotions and round-the-clock access can concentrate risk in demographics most responsive to sports and gaming content. The snapshot arrives as Ontario’s regulators tout scale — monthly wagers hit a record in January — and as policymakers weigh whether current safeguards, including ad standards, age gates and operator duty-of-care rules, are keeping pace with product design and marketing that reward frequent play.
The helpline surge suggests more than awareness is at play. Researchers behind the analysis argue that exposure is colliding with ease of use, creating conditions that can turn recreational betting into compulsive behavior. This is the public health frame driving calls for targeted limits on advertising and faster access to treatment — not just for those already in crisis but for people trending toward harm.
Signals from other markets
Ontario’s trajectory mirrors patterns visible in smaller and larger jurisdictions. In Wyoming, a law enforcement-cited review found that online gamblers in Laramie County play longer, overrun budgets more often and report more relationship strain than those who wager offline. The Datacorp analysis shared by the Cheyenne Police Department spotlighted young adults 18 to 29 as especially vulnerable and noted that illegal online casinos slip past enforcement by reappearing under new IP addresses. Even with a self-exclusion program and a modest tax stream earmarked for harm prevention, the report said most gamblers hesitated to seek help, echoing a familiar barrier in treatment access.
Australia offers a population-scale datapoint. National research from the Australian Gambling Research Centre found participation up to 65% of adults, with one in seven reporting harm over the past year, up from roughly one in nine in 2019. The study linked a higher risk to 18- to 24-year-olds and tied that to targeted advertising that blends with sports culture. With Australians losing an estimated AU$32 billion annually, advocates are pressing lawmakers to adopt sweeping ad restrictions recommended in last year’s Murphy Report. The policy debate there previews questions now surfacing in North America: whether to curtail inducements and in-play hooks and how to define “responsible” marketing in a product category built on repeat engagement.
These comparisons matter for Ontario because they isolate recurring drivers — pervasive mobile access, tailored promos, and socially normalized betting — and they flag the same population segments showing strain. They also show how quickly harm metrics can climb once markets tip from niche to mainstream.
Advertising scrutiny and a research gap
As the ad footprint grows, universities and think tanks are racing to fill evidence gaps. Brock University’s Michael Naraine recently joined the Institute on Sports Wagering and Gaming at San Diego State University, saying Canada lacks focused research on sports betting’s effects despite Ontario ranking among North America’s largest markets. The institute’s hub, ISWAG at San Diego State, connects academics to policymakers on questions ranging from marketing ethics to athlete behavior.
Naraine’s warning lines up with broader signals that interest in treatment is rising alongside participation. A U.S. study cited in his appointment noted that online searches for gambling addiction jumped as legal markets launched in states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio. For Ontario, the implication is clear: without more Canada-specific research on advertising reach, risk cues and intervention timing — especially for youth and Indigenous communities — policymakers will be guessing at which levers reduce harm without undercutting consumer choice or channeling play to offshore sites.
The stakes are sharper for young men. Sports media is a primary vector for ads, and the blur between fandom and wagering can make risk messaging easy to ignore. That helps explain why helpline spikes often concentrate in cohorts that consume the most sports content and spend the most time on mobile devices.
Searching for a workable framework
The governance vacuum is prompting attempts at global coordination. The Better Gambling Forum, set up to work with international bodies, has opened a public consultation on a Responsible Gambling Triple-P Framework developed with the United Nations. The consultation seeks feedback across education, support, research, ethical practices, and risk detection and intervention, with results feeding into regional and international sessions through 2026 tied to G7 and G20 meetings. The move reflects mounting political pressure in multiple countries where watchdogs argue that self-regulation has not delivered adequate protection for vulnerable customers.
For Ontario, a coherent framework could standardize how operators detect risk and intervene and how regulators calibrate penalties for marketing breaches. It could also clarify the evidence threshold for curbing certain ad placements or banning inducements that encourage frequent play. A shared template would help provinces benchmark harm rates and see what’s working elsewhere before tightening or loosening rules.
Illicit channels muddy the picture
Legalization does not erase the gray market. Enforcement headaches persist, from affiliate marketing schemes to offshore sites that solicit local play. Japan’s first criminal case against an online casino affiliate shows how promotion alone can drive massive wagering even without a domestic license. Police alleged two men steered users to a Curacao-based operator while touting “guaranteed wins,” collecting commissions tied to total wagers. The charge sheet described a four-year run and 670 customers, with authorities warning that foreign-licensed sites remain targets if they solicit Japanese users.
Wyoming’s experience underscores the related problem of whack-a-mole enforcement against illegal casino games that reappear after takedowns. For Ontario, these examples pose a policy trade-off: if legal channels tighten ads and limit inducements, some high-intensity bettors may drift to offshore platforms with fewer safeguards. That dynamic argues for not just tougher marketing rules but also visible, fast-acting tools — self-exclusion, spending caps, and proactive outreach — that keep players in the regulated system while reducing risk.
What to watch next
The helpline surge among young men is an early warning, not a verdict. Key markers to track include changes in ad volumes and placements during live sports, uptake of operator-led interventions, and wait times for counseling. Ontario’s data infrastructure will matter: faster reporting on harm indicators can guide calibrated moves on advertising, bonus design and in-play betting features. Global policy experiments, from Australia’s push toward ad bans to multilateral frameworks now in consultation, will shape the menu of options.
The throughline across jurisdictions is consistent: as legal markets scale and product design becomes more personalized, harm can rise fastest among digitally native young men. Ontario’s challenge is to blunt that curve without losing the compliance, visibility and consumer protections that a regulated market can deliver.
