Thread

ER visits for gambling disorders doubled after expanded online gambling market

164 points · 157 comments · geox

geooff_ · 1789582155 · focus · HN ↗
> In 2024, Ontarians wagered $82.7 billion CAD on these sites through 2.6 million player accounts.
Truly astounding numbers. Without a doubt, online gambling is the most preventable public health crisis of our generation. None of this had any business getting legalized.
1. dpkirchner · 1789583477 · focus · HN ↗
  That figure seemed way off to me (gut response) so I did a tiny bit of digging: Ontario claims income (primary household income) for 2024 was $791B. ~10% isn't as shocking as I expected.
  1. 542458 · 1789584100 · focus · HN ↗
    Really? That's an incredible number to me. 10% of all household spending goes to gambling?! 31,000 dollars per player *per year*? The mind boggles.
    pennomi · 1789584327 · focus · HN ↗
    By transaction volume yes. Presumably it’s not all spending though, if you regularly win back some of that money. The same dollar is probably wagered multiple times before it is lost.
    542458 · 1789584632 · focus · HN ↗
    Ontario lotteries pay out about 58 cents per dollar in, so that's still $13,000 annually out-of-pocket for a total spend of $31,000. That's crazy money.
    dmurray · 1789588215 · focus · HN ↗
    Sportsbooks typically pay back more like 90%, brick and mortar casinos 90%-99% depending on the game. I don't know what Ontario mandates for regulated online casinos, but I'd guess they're at the high end of that and focus on volume, return custom and dark patterns rather than extreme house edge.
    If it's 98%, the average household loses 0.2% of their income gambling.
    tonyarkles · 1789593214 · focus · HN ↗
    <a href="https://igamingontario.ca/en/news/igaming-ontario-posts-steady-growth-market-matures-year-3" rel="nofollow">https://igamingontario.ca/en/news/igaming-ontario-posts-stea...
    $3.2B revenue, 2.6M player accounts, ~$1230/yr ~= $100/month
    [deleted] · 1789584993 · focus · HN ↗
    [deleted]
  2. fn-mote · 1789584115 · focus · HN ↗
    Wagering 10% of your household income is not shocking?? What would it take to shock you? That is an astounding amount.
    Most people are living paycheck to paycheck. I've watched gambling destroy more than one family member's lives.
    To put this number in context: estimate 1/3 of income for rent, so this is 1/3 of their rent?! Translating that to my own rent is an amount that would immediately lead me to quit forever.
    dpkirchner · 1789584281 · focus · HN ↗
    The key word is *as*. It's a lot, it's shocking, it's not *as* shocking as my I thought on first read.
    AlexandrB · 1789585276 · focus · HN ↗
    It's both better and worse than it seems. I'm guessing something like 50% of folks gamble $0. Then another 45% gamble some amount of their income, averaging 10%. Finally 5% will gamble everything they have and send their family careening into poverty.
  3. [deleted] · 1789590427 · focus · HN ↗
    [deleted]

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