Q&A: Hidden studies, broken promises and Ontario’s gambling problem - Toronto Star

Submit your questions on Ontario's online gambling scandal, the study the government didn't want you to see and what comes next.

When Ontario opened its online gambling market in 2022, it vowed to share data with researchers to reduce problem gambling — but it never did.

The province also secretly shelved a study it commissioned to track rates of problem gambling when executives didn’t like what researchers found. These are the findings from two of my recent investigations into online gambling policy in Ontario.

In just a few years, online gambling has become incredibly lucrative for the province. Ontarians wagered more than $82 billion last fiscal year, with more than $574 million of that added to provincial coffers. 

Critics say that windfall has come at a cost to public health. Emergency department visits for gambling disorders have doubled since Ontario opened its legal market. Insolvencies in which gambling is identified as one of the causes have more than tripled. Suicides by people with gambling issues have also increased. Meanwhile, we are inundated with gambling advertisements.

Do you have questions about the province’s approach to gambling policy? Wondering how much the gambling companies take home in comparison to the province?

I want to hear all of it. I’ll be answering your questions in the comments on Friday, Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. in a live Q&A. 

Like all conversations on the Star, questions and comments are subject to moderation and the Star’s Code of Conduct.

Brendan Kennedy is a reporter on the Toronto Star’s investigative team. Reach him via email: bkennedy@thestar.ca

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