Since 1970, charitable gaming in Ontario has grown into a $3 billion industry, employing thousands of people in more than two hundred and fifty bingo halls and charity casinos, and catering to thousands of break-open ticket vendors. Government-provided gaming in the form of lotteries, casinos and the proposed VLTs and provincial bingo game, as well as horse-racing (both on-track and off-track betting locations) attract an even higher gross spend. Legalized gambling, in one form or another, is available today within walking distance of all who live or work in the towns and metropolitan areas of the province. Other provinces, such as Alberta, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia have moved even more quickly in the introduction – and acceptance – of VLTs and casinos.

Growth in prevalence of problem and compulsive gambling

The growth of problem and compulsive gambling is not restricted to any one province, and its social cost has mirrored the growth of legalized gambling in Canada. Unfortunately, however, government and industry policies and programmes to deal with the adverse effects of problem and compulsive gambling have not kept pace.

Three Ontario studies conducted in 1994 and 1995 revealed that a minority of the adult population that gambles experiences gambling-related problems, namely:

• 1% qualify as compulsive or pathological gamblers
• 2% – 7% encounter serious gambling-related problems

 

One percent of the Canadian population represents approximately 300,000 people, about 75,000 of them under the age of nineteen. Other studies in the United States tend to suggest that each compulsive gambler adversely affects 10 to 17 people, close family members and others. Applied to Canada, this means that more than 5 million Canadians suffer from the effects of problem and compulsive gambling in a material way.

The need to create awareness

Charities must adopt responsible gaming policies designed to help those hurt by charitable gaming. There is unfortunately little or no social safety-net for the thousands of Canadian problem or compulsive gamblers who frequent charitable gaming facilities and participate in other charitable gaming such as break-open tickets. There are no co-ordinated crisis intervention and referral programmes or any linkage between the charity gaming providers and their customers, on the one hand, and the care-providers and various other social service agencies on the other.

Recognizing the urgent need for programmes to meet this rising problem, the Canadian Foundation on Compulsive Gambling (Ontario) is pushing to have a great deal more done. As a result of its efforts, Ontario has not only allocated two percent of total video lottery terminal revenues to an attack on problem and compulsive gambling but also adopted the Foundation’s call for a comprehensive problem and compulsive gaming strategy. The Foundation is pushing the province to ensure that the policy links:

• the introduction of new bingo games and charity casinos and other forms of charitable gaming;
• the provision of resources to care for those that are hurt by these games;
• the support of Foundation initiatives to make gaming providers aware of the social cost of gaming for which they ought to accept a fair measure of responsibility.

 

Towards a Responsible Gaming Policy

The Foundation argues that there ought to be minimum standards of knowledge and awareness of problem and compulsive gambling for all licensed gaming industry workers, including gaming assistants, bingo hall managers, bingo callers, croupiers and all others who interact with the gaming public. To be licensed, it says, gaming assistants should have received a certification of completion of a problem and compulsive gambling awareness training programme supervised by an appropriate industry representative.

The Foundation also wants all licensees (other than gaming assistants) to maintain an adequate supply of public awareness materials in gaming premises and offices, for their employees and customers. Such advertising, it says ought to include billboard advertising and a share of the commercial advertising on bingo programmes and cards, in public service announcements and on posters.

The Foundation is now urging the charities to follow the government’s lead, and contribute 1% of their gross income to the alleviation of the effects of problem and compulsive gambling. Gaming charities should join the Foundation, it suggests, through which they will have access to staff and volunteer training, resources for employee assistance programmes and gambling related issues in the workplace, and a supply of pamphlets, brochures and posters for public and staff awareness. It has also planned a recognition program to recognize, those in the charitable gaming sector who adopt responsible gaming programmes, with a launch dinner planned for next February 7.

Based on a presentation by Tibor Barsoni, Executive Director of the Canadian Foundation on Compulsive Gambling, to the Games People Play Conference, October 9, 1996,in Toronto. For more information concerning compulsive gambling or the Canadian Foundation on Compulsive Gambling, call (416) 499-9800.