Article contentAdd to that the whole criminal element of theft from employers, fraud charges and the “cleaning” of illicit drug money through banks of VLTs and casinos. There are other serious issues with VLT addiction and domestic violence, attendant health care expenditures and job-related costs.Article contentThose engaged in compulsive online sports betting – or those close to them – will recognize many of these gambling scourges. Of course, there are important differences in the two forms of gambling, and it remains to be seen what the long-term effects of online betting will be.Article contentRight now, the online betting format provides increased convenience through 24-7 websites and smartphone apps (and digital payment methods), sketchy mechanisms for oversight, “self-exclusion” and verification, and unrelenting gambling advertising and promotions. You can also point to the frequency of dopamine-driving wins and near-wins online, the lure of parlay and micro betting, and the fast-paced in-play betting options.Article contentArticle contentAfter the legalization of private online gaming, the Canadian Medical Association Journal noted that the rate of young gamblers who contacted Ontario’s mental health helpline for gambling problems increased by more than 300 per cent since 2022. More to the point, there has been some reporting that the chief coroner of Ontario has seen a sharp rise in gambling-related suicides after the sports betting online system was first implemented.Article contentWhile the risk for provincial governments from gambling suicides and addiction will vary at different points in time, it is not the kind of risk that would threaten to topple a sitting government in the next election. Nor does online sports betting, like VLTs, seem to be an issue that opposition provincial parties wish to utilize or exploit as a wedge issue for electoral purposes. The fact of the matter is that VLTs and online gambling are not a top-of-mind issue for the vast majority of the voting public – which is precisely what provincial governments are banking on.Article contentArticle contentWhen all is said and done, online sports betting is no different than VLT gambling. And here’s the dirty little secret that both VLTs and sports betting online share – namely, that the best customers for governments, and the ones that they rely on most, are addictive problem gamblers that they actually create.Article contentUnfortunately, provincial politicians are just as addicted to the revenues, pretend to care about problem gambling and the deadly social fallout, and convince themselves that destroying lives still serves a public purpose. But as I’ve said to them many times: how would you explain your obsession with revenue-generation to the parents who just lost a loved one via suicide because of a gambling addiction?Article contentIt’s hard to forget the blank stare and the infuriating silence.Article contentArticle contentPeter McKenna is professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown. Article content
COMMENTARY: Online sports betting as addictive as VLTs
