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anada has experienced a widespread expansion of
gambling in the past 10 years. From casinos to scratch-and-win discount
cards at your local grocery store, it's easier to gamble today than
ever before. While most Canadians gamble responsibly, gambling has
become a serious problem for an increasing number of people in our
country. Problem gambling, like other addictive behaviors such as
drug and alcohol abuse, does not only impact the gambler, it also
has far-reaching effects on other individuals and on the communities
where they live and work.
Published findings for the mid-1990's set the rates for problem gambling
between 3 and 5%25. These figures indicate that between 640,000 - 1,000,000
adult Canadians are directly affected by problems related to their
gambling behavior. If we include family members or significant others
affected by gambling, that means that as many as 3,000,000 people
in Canada are negatively affected by gambling.
What is safe gambling versus problem gambling?
Gambling means risking something of value when
there is an element of chance associated with the outcome. While most
people who gamble are able to do so in a responsible manner, a significant
number have problems controlling their gambling behaviours. For these
people, gambling ceases to be just a harmless pastime and begins to
disrupt their lives. Within a gambler's lifetime, gambling behaviours
can vary, moving back and forth between non-problematic and severely
problematic.
While about 5%25 of gamblers have harmful involvement with gambling
or exhibit pathological behaviours, the majority of people fall within
the first three categories as demonstrated in Figure
1.
Some of the many reasons that people may develop
problems with gambling are:
- Winning big and early: the thrill of a big win, especially if
it occurs early in their experience, can cause gamblers to develop
unrealistic expectations regarding their chances of winning.
- Self-worth associated with winning: Often the individual who
is already developing a gambling problem begins to associate feelings
of self-worth with success at gambling. This person may only think
about gambling, ignoring almost everything else - frequently using
gambling as a "treat" after a bad day.
- Avoiding problems: When a problem begins, some people gamble
purely for distraction and escape: winning or losing doesn't matter.
They use gambling to avoid life stresses or difficulties, even
feelings as common as loneliness or boredom.
- Preoccupation with the gambling: Gamblers begin to become preoccupied
with gambling at the expense of other important things in life,
including professional and personal commitments, as well as family
relationships.
Most people, however, are able to gamble without
experiencing any problems. Guidelines people use to gamble safely
include:
- Set financial and time limits
- Think of gambling as one form of entertainment
- Participate in other activities
- Keep relationships from being affected
- Never gamble alone
- Leave credit and debit cards at home
- Take regular breaks when gambling
 Signs and symptoms of problem gambling
 How to detect a gambling problem
An explosion of gambling opportunities
Historically,
the regulation of gambling or gaming was in the federal domain
and its framework was contained in the Criminal Code of Canada.
In 1985, an amendment to the Code gave the provincial governments
exclusive control. Other amendments helped in the expansion
of gambling; for example, dice games, which were illegal for
centuries are now permitted in Canada. As a result, Canadians
have seen an explosion of gambling opportunities. From a virtually
non-existent gambling industry in the 1980's, to the opening
of the first commercial casino in Winnipeg in 1984, the Canadian
public is now exposed to nation-wide gambling that includes:
- 50 permanent casinos,
- 44 permanent horse race tracks
- 20,000 annual bingo events.
- 60,000 video lottery terminals (VLT's) and slot machines
The lottery business, which arose from
Canada's first $1 million lottery (in support of Montreal Expo
'67) has become a daily business with tens of thousands of retailers
across the country selling hundreds of thousands of instant
and weekly win products. Newsweek reports that there are 1,800
virtual casinos and that gambling has surpassed pornography
as the Web's most lucrative business.
Figure 2 shows that the majority of Canadian provincial
governments have realized increases in the proceeds of gambling
and in some cases the increases have approximately doubled in
the 5-year period 1995 - 2000.
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Gambling and health: calculating the risk
Moderate or severe problem gamblers are
more likely to have health problems. Approximately one in four moderate
or severe problem gamblers report being under a doctor's care for
emotional or physical problems due to stress, and more than one in
three report feeling depressed at times.
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Observations from an addictions counselor |
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Gambling
in the Chinese Community
by Esther Tran
Many Canadians believe that we Chinese
are avid gamblers. This belief may have emerged for a variety
of reasons, including comments in the media or the observation
by casino-goers that gaming tables are often populated by people
who appear to be of Chinese origin. Is there any truth to this
stereotype? Do the Chinese communities in Canada experience
a greater share of problems?
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Some people may choose to gamble as a way of dealing
with existing illnesses such as cancer, HIV infection, Parkinson's
disease and chronic pain. Depression is also quite common as a result
of people becoming overwhelmed by the problems related to the gambling.
Alternatively, individuals sometimes gamble to cope with pre-existing
depression. It is sometimes referred to as self -medication; albeit
no drug or substance is involved. Poor sleep and nutrition habits
are often consequences of gambling. Problem gamblers often attend
all-night gambling sessions as they chase their losses or attempt
to self-medicate. This often results in medical and, sometimes, emotional
problems.
Researchers estimate that the annual cost associated with a compulsive
gambler ranges from $20,000 - $56,000 through loss of work, costs
of court and treatment. Studies have yet to tally the impact on health
and it will be difficult to place a price tag on the cost of a broken
family or the stress experienced by the family members. As gambling
grows, methods are needed to explore the impacts of gambling expansion
on the more vulnerable and at risk populations, which would include
youth, older adults, the indigent, our Aboriginal population as well
as women and ethno-cultural populations.
Related resources
Most provinces have a Problem Gambling Helpline that you can
call to get further information about programs available in your community. To
locate the Gambling Helpline for your province click
here.
References for this article
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Article prepared by the 
