When Ontario opened its online gambling market, emergency-room visits for gambling disorders roughly doubled – and almost the entire rise fell on young men. That’s the finding of a new University of Toronto study in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Comparing the years before and after the change, researchers found visits ran 154% above expected among men aged 10 to 29, and 116% higher among those aged 30 to 44. Among women, there was no change. These weren’t minor cases – most also involved another mental-health condition or heavy substance use, and nearly a third led to a hospital admission.
The A&E figures are telling because, unlike a helpline, casualty isn’t advertised on betting sites as a place to get help – so the rise can’t be explained by people simply being pointed there more often. And since most people with gambling problems never seek treatment, these severe cases are likely just the tip of a much larger iceberg.
The timing matters: Alberta opened its market to private operators in July 2026, with other regions under pressure to follow. The researchers’ message to any government considering the same move is to weigh the risks carefully and, if going ahead, add safeguards like tighter limits on marketing.