'Should be offside': Sports betting blitz spikes concerns over problem gambling
Aaron Paul, who played a crystal meth maker in the series Breaking Bad, urges TV viewers to try their luck on their favourite sporting match. Problem gambling experts say the industry is aggravating an already fraught gambling addiction problem. Ray Reshke, executive director of Alberta’s Problem Gambling Resources Network, battled a VLT addiction 25 years ago.
Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis is running TV ads warning of shady bets. AGLC operates the province's only legal online sports betting platform at PlayAlbertA.ca. In 2020, AGL estimated $378 million in gaming revenue annually was being sucked up by offshore online portals. The AGLG reports that its online gaming side accounted for $37 million of $773.6 million gambling revenue in the last month.
Gamblers' Anonymous reports an increase in people seeking help for their gambling addictions. The new members tend to be online gamblers. Online gaming that now includes heavily promoted sports betting has bumped up the addiction level. Rod lost everything to gambling 15 years ago and stole vast sums to feed his addiction.
Critics are concerned about the promotion of sports betting. Raffi Cavoukian is angry about Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid promoting sports books. Online gaming has been around for two decades. Prof. Robert Williams says it doesn't have an impact on recreational players. He says the ads’ frequency will fade after companies carve out their market share.
Gambling advertising is not restricted as it is for tobacco, alcohol and cannabis. Williams believes it should be banned. He believes governments will go further to capture a share of the gaming market.
There are good reasons for Ontario to introduce better regulatory protections. The industry has taken the regulation seriously. Alberta and other provinces aside from Ontario are not ready to allow regulated private online sports betting. Ontario does not allow the inclusion of bonuses and incentives in their advertising.
Sports betting represents up to 30 per cent of online gaming in Canada. NFL football is the most popular game of chance in the country. “The NHL has more parity, you never know who’s going to win on any given night”.
