The real cost of gambling

For this week’s No More Ls column, we’re looking at the costs of gambling, both financial and psychological. 

Do gambling ads in your social feeds seem like they’re targeting young guys? Yeah, and the marketing strategy is working. 

A new Ontario study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found gambling-related calls to the addiction helpline ConnexOntario rose 96% overall between 2015 and 2022—coinciding with the launch of PlayOLG, the online gambling platform funded by the Ontario government, in 2015 to the expansion of privatized online gambling in 2022. Calls from boys and men aged 15 to 24 saw an even steeper increase of 317%.

The numbers show how much more visible gambling-related harm has become since Ontario expanded private online gambling and legalized single-event sports betting in 2022. The Globe and Mail (paywall) reported that researchers have linked rising harm to a mix of heavier advertising, more gambling websites and easier access to new forms of online betting. 

In other words, gambling has become visible, available and difficult to avoid—especially for young men. (The trend is similar in the U.S., where men are the vast majority of sports bettors and, according to a study in the Journal of Gambling Issues, 98% of “problem gambling sports bettors” are male.)

For many Canadians, the reason to start gambling is the same as investing in crypto or a meme stock: the possibility of quick returns. And experts suggest that the tough economy is pushing young people to lose faith in traditional investments and the financial system.

The fallout from gambling starts with your finances. But there’s a serious psychological cost, too.

With gambling, finances take the first hit

Gamblers can lose a lot of money fast, says Andrew Kim, an associate professor of psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University, who has seen patients fall into serious debt or even be forced to sell their homes. And, the rise in sports betting has become a dangerous on-ramp to online gambling, especially among young men, says Steve Rose, a Windsor-based addiction counsellor who specializes in gambling. Rose’s patients are mostly between the ages of 25 and 35—far younger than they were a decade ago.

In Ontario, gambling-related bankruptcies have surged more than 330% since the launch of private iGaming and single-event sports betting, according to a 2025 report from Insolvency Insider Canada. “Financial harms, I would say, are the most common and the most salient for people with gambling problems,” says Kim.

National research supports that finding. A 2025 report, from the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, Greo Evidence Insights and Mental Health Research Canada, found that just under a quarter of young adults aged 18 to 29, who had gambled online in the last year, reported a high level of gambling-related harm—including lower savings, more credit-card debt and diminished well-being. The report also found that, compared with lottery-only players, online gamblers were more than 45 times more likely to meet the criteria for problem gambling.

At a certain point, gambling “becomes a real financial mess,” says Rose. For gamblers, “the biggest impact is spending any disposable income and going into debt, getting predatory loans, lines of credit. Gambling really just takes everything, plus more.”

The psychological toll can spread fast

Why men? Aside from marketing that targets them directly, men engage with gambling differently then women. One often quoted study from the Journal of Gambling Studies reports that the male subjects “took more risks and had lower levels of impulsive coping than women.” That means they react immediately to stress and uncomfortable situations. And when matched with those behaviours, those who are “more socially anxious individuals tended to have more problems with gambling.”

The financial harm is often the most visible part of gambling addiction, but it is not the only one. Kim says gambling can worsen anxiety and depression, create guilt and shame, strain relationships and affect work or school. Financial stress can intensify all of it, especially when someone is struggling to cover basic needs. 

Gambling addiction can be both a symptom and cause of mental health problems. “If you can’t pay your bills, if you can’t put food on the table, you can’t pay your rent or mortgage, that’s going to be significantly stressful,” says Kim. Gambling addiction can also impact your interpersonal relationships by, for example, creating conflict with your spouse or family members.

Mental Health Research Canada found that one in 10 Canadians is at high risk of problem gambling. (Given that gambling skews male, that means more than one out of 10 of your male friends.) Men and adults aged 18 to 34 were more likely to report risky gambling behaviours, and people at high risk were also more likely to report severe mental-health symptoms. Part of what makes gambling hard to spot early is that it can look ordinary from the outside. As Kim notes, there is no obvious physical sign of intoxication. What tends to show up instead are changes in mood, routine and money. 

What to do if you (or someone you know) may have a gambling problem

Some of the most common warning signs are growing financial stress, chasing losses, irritability, preoccupation and dishonesty. Someone may be constantly checking odds, talking about betting, falling behind on bills, asking for money or pulling away from the activities and people they usually enjoy. Rose also points to mood swings tied to wins and losses, gambling to escape distress and lying to conceal how much is really being spent.

The good news is there are effective treatments available. Kim says cognitive behavioural therapy and motivational interviewing are the first recourses for supporting those with gambling addiction. National organizations dedicated to preventing problem gambling, such as the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC), help direct Canadians to nearby treatment centres in each province, and offer guides to self-directed tools that addicts can use to curb their gambling—such as self-exclusion, or voluntarily excluding yourself from online or in-person gambling spaces. ConnexOntario can also connect people in Ontario with treatment and support services. 

Rose says practical barriers can help early on too. These include handing over control of money to a trusted person, temporarily restricting access to online banking and adding more friction between the urge to gamble and the ability to act on it.

The earlier someone acts, the easier it can be to protect both their money and their mental health. Gambling problems are treatable, but they are easier to manage before debt, secrecy and stress start piling up.