Ontario Gambling Disorder Emergency Visits Nearly Double After Online Market Opening
University of Toronto study finds Ontario gambling-related ER visits nearly doubled after 2022 private operator expansion, with 154% and 116% rises for males 10-29 and 30-44. Over 70% involved co-occurring mental health or substance issues. Alberta’s 2026 liberalization makes the findings directly relevant to other provinces.
SCCG Take — Regulators must now deploy stricter advertising curbs and treatment pathways before further expansion. Operators face heightened compliance pressure to limit severe harm among young male players.
Emergency department visits related to gambling disorders in Ontario have nearly doubled since the province opened its online gambling market to private operators. A study by University of Toronto researchers examined hospital data over a 14-year period through 2025 for residents aged 10 to 105. It compared outcomes before and after the 2022 expansion.
Single-event sports betting became legal in Canada in August 2021. Ontario began licensing private companies in April 2022. The province now counts 83 regulated platforms operated by 43 companies. In 2024, 2.6 million player accounts placed bets totaling CAD82.7 billion ($59.1 billion).
Researchers identified 757 individuals with gambling disorders who made 952 emergency visits during the study window. Nearly three-quarters of patients were male.
Young Males Drive the Steepest Increases
The largest rise occurred among males aged 10 to 29, where visits ended up 154% higher than projected without the market expansion. For men aged 30 to 44, visits were 116% above expected levels. Females showed no similar pattern.
More than 70% of the gambling-related emergency visits also involved another mental health condition or heavy substance use. Almost one in three visits led to hospitalization. The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, builds on earlier ConnexOntario contact data that likewise rose after expansion. Emergency records offer a cleaner signal of harm because they are not driven by help-line advertising.
As reported by GamblingNews, the authors caution that stigma limits treatment-seeking and that most people with gambling problems never reach healthcare systems. The emergency increase therefore likely captures only a fraction of total harm. Ontario‘s record now sits before other provinces weighing similar liberalization. Alberta became the second jurisdiction to open its market to private operators in July 2026.
Lessons for Expanding Jurisdictions
The data supply concrete evidence for regulators weighing online gambling growth. Targeted steps such as tighter advertising rules, limits on higher-risk products, and better screening for problems could reduce severe outcomes. Operators and policymakers alike will need to track health indicators closely as further provinces adopt this model; early intervention on the young-male cohort appears particularly pressing.
Reporting: GamblingNews
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
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