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Gambling-related calls have surged among young men in Ontario, raising concerns that the province’s rapidly expanding online betting market may be putting young people at greater risk of addiction.
A recent study tracking calls to ConnexOntario, Ontario’s free 24-hour mental health and addictions helpline, found monthly calls related to gambling among boys and men aged 15 to 24 increased 161 per cent over the past five years.
The rise coincides with the province’s expansion of online gambling, which opened a competitive private market in 2022 and has since grown to include dozens of betting platforms and billions of dollars in wagers annually.
The study published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Monday examined gambling-related contacts to ConnexOntario between January 2012 and September 2025.
Researchers found that while the average age of callers was 39, the largest increases in help-seeking behaviour were among adolescent boys and young men, who were heavily targeted by sports betting marketing.
Andrew Kim, an associate professor of psychology and director of an addictions research lab, said emerging evidence suggests online betting — particularly sports gambling — is changing the demographics of those affected.
“It seems to have skewed the demographics to be a bit younger than what is typically seen, and specifically young men,” he said. “Colleagues from other jurisdictions have also mentioned that they’ve noticed a shift in who is seeking treatment, that it is trending towards, or they’re seeing more young men who are experiencing gambling problems, in particular related to sports betting.”
Kim said increased advertising is another factor contributing to rising participation.
“There’s solid evidence that increased advertisements do lead to increased gambling,” he said. “From a gambling company perspective, it makes sense. You wouldn’t spend millions of dollars on gambling advertisements if it’s not impacting the bottom line.”
The growing visibility of gambling has also shaped how younger people encounter betting for the first time, according to Kim.
For 18-year-old Nicholas, gambling began casually at home. “I think I was around 14 when I first played poker,” he said. “It was just home games with my parents and family,” Nicholas spoke to OTR on the condition of anonymity because of the societal stigmas of gambling and addiction.
He said the rise of online platforms and promotions has made it easier for young people to get involved.
“There’s a ton of gambling ads that try to get you into it,” he said. “There’s a lot of bonus offers and stuff like that, and it’s kind of persuading.”
Nicholas said he spends most of his gambling money playing poker with friends, estimating he has spent about $500 this year on poker and roughly $100 on sports betting and online blackjack.
Despite its popularity among his peers, he said many young people may not see gambling as a serious issue.
Over the 13-year period of the study, ConnexOntario received 745,716 calls, including 37,087 related to gambling concerns. Researchers found the monthly rate of gambling-related contacts per million Ontarians rose from 13.4 before the launch of PlayOLG in 2015 to 26.2 after the province opened its private online gambling market in 2022.
Researchers also found that adolescent boys and men aged 15 to 44 accounted for more than 60 per cent of gambling-related contacts during the privatized online gambling period, as well as nearly 70 per cent of online gambling contacts and almost 90 per cent of sports betting-related contacts.
The study suggests the rapid expansion of online betting platforms, combined with aggressive marketing and easier access to gambling through mobile apps, may be contributing to increased gambling harms among young people.
Kim said the demographic trends also reflect who gambling companies tend to market to.
“If you look at the gambling advertisement, that’s who they’re targeting,” he said. “And especially with sports betting, the general profile of sports bettors they tend to be younger. They tend to be more men.”
He said many people struggling with gambling fall into a pattern known as “chasing losses,” meaning they continue betting in an attempt to recover money they previously lost.
For some young gamblers, accessing those platforms can be easier than regulations might suggest. Ben, 19, said he first started gambling at 15 by using his father’s information to create online accounts. Ben also spoke to OTR on the condition of anonymity because of the societal stigmas of gambling and addiction.
“Basically, I would watch hockey or baseball, and at some point, it gets repetitive, and there’s not that thrill factor to it. So by gambling, it adds a bit more of a thrill, and I just got more engaged in it,” he said.
He described how easy it was to bypass age restrictions. “At some point, [my dad] told me I can’t use his name anymore, and I’d still continue to make other accounts… If you can get access to a parent’s ID, it’s pretty easy to sign up,” Ben said.
Ben said he eventually recognized the problem and took steps to address it, but he stressed that many teens may not realize the risks until it’s too late.
otter.ai was used to transcribe the interviews in this story
