Nearly 130,000 Ontarians now show signs of problem gambling, a figure that has roughly tripled since 2018, according to Yahoo!
Finance Canada! Finance Canada. This surge in gambling-related distress coincides with the rapid expansion of the province’s regulated online market, where residents wagered $9.71 billion on sites in September 2026 alone.
The increase in problem gambling follows the 2022 launch of Ontario’s private online gambling framework, which promised to prioritize consumer protection.
However, the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, which raised concerns about the framework as early as April 2021, argues that responsible gaming measures were treated as an afterthought. "We told them this would happen," the First Nation stated in Policy Options, noting that the province failed to balance consumer demand with adequate harm prevention.
Data from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario indicates that gambling-related suicides averaged five per year between 2016 and 2021, but that number has roughly tripled since 2022, as reported by CBC and cited by Yahoo! Finance Canada.
A study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that contacts to the provincial mental health and addictions helpline, ConnexOntario, rose from 13.4 per million people to 17.0 per million immediately following the launch of the government-run PlayOLG platform in 2015.
The impact of this market expansion is increasingly reaching minors. Research cited by Policy Options shows that 12 percent of students reported gambling online in the past year, a 50 percent increase from 2023.
Online sports betting among students has risen tenfold since 2019, reaching 10 percent. Although the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario banned the use of athletes and celebrities in gambling advertisements in 2024, critics argue that the sheer volume of marketing remains the primary issue.
Unfulfilled Data Promises
When Ontario launched its online market in 2022, the government committed to sharing anonymized player data with researchers to help design harm-prevention strategies. As of November 2026, this promise remains unfulfilled, according to UL Lawyers. The province has yet to collect or share the data, leading to criticism that it lacks the necessary technology to track player behavior effectively.
Bill S-211 Excludes Casino Games and Card Issuers Charge Cash Advance Fees
While federal legislators weigh Bill S-211 to potentially limit sports betting advertisements, the bill does not address online casino games, which make up 88 percent of betting activity in Ontario, according to Canadian Gaming Business. Many card issuers treat gambling deposits as cash advances, which trigger immediate interest accumulation, upfront fees, and the loss of grace periods, as reported by The Globe and Mail.
Students Report Online Gambling and Bill S-211 Excludes Casino Games
Despite this, recent data indicates that 12 percent of students, who are below the legal age, reported gambling online in the past year.
No, Bill S-211 is specifically designed to address sports betting advertising. It does not apply to online casino games, which currently account for the vast majority of online gambling activity in the province.
Many credit card issuers process gambling deposits as cash advances. This typically results in higher interest rates, immediate interest accrual from the date of the transaction, and additional service fees.
In July, Alberta opened its own regulated online gambling market, prompting researchers like Carrie Shaw of the Alberta Gambling Research Institute to predict that the province may see similar trends in problem gambling.
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