More than half of Canadians believe online is the most harmful form of gambling despite the fact that more of their family members have endured problems with other forms of gambling.
A new Angus Reid poll of Canadians’ gambling activities shows 14% of Canadian households contained at least one person who partook in online gambling in the past year.
By far the most popular form of gambling among Canadians was lotteries (82%), followed by charitable gambling (43%), casinos (32%), video lottery terminals at a bar or pub (14%), sports betting (13%) and racetrack betting (10%).
Provinces whose lottery monopolies offer some form of online gambling reported higher online participation. Online gambling provinces like British Columbia (18%), Atlantic Canada (16%) Quebec (15%) and Ontario (14%) scored higher rates than Alberta (12%) and Saskatchewan (10%), which have yet to launch their own online services.
Among Canadians who admitted gambling online, 24% spent nothing in the previous 30 days, 37% spent less than $25, 29% spent between $25-$100 and 10% spent over $100. No female online gamblers reported spending over $500 while males aged 18-34 years were the only ones who spent over $1k.
Of those who gambled online regularly, males between 18-34 years of age were most likely (16%) to have indulged, and no other demographic (male or female) scored double-digit participation. Interestingly, males over 55 years of age scored a mere 1% participation compared to 5% of females over 55.
PERCEPTION V. REALITY
As for the impression of the online gambling experience, 9% had only positive memories while 27% were more positive than negative and 40% were neutral. Only 12% reported a more negative than positive experience while 5% said their experience was very negative.
British Columbians were least likely (46%) to view online gambling as harmful to most participants, compared to the national average of 56%, yet British Columbians still rated online gambling more harmful than other gambling products. The highest disapproval rate for online gambling came in Atlantic Canada (66%), followed by Quebec and Saskatchewan (each at 61%).
Online gambling was also viewed as the most harmful form of gambling, with 36% of respondents pegging it with the scarlet letter, while casinos were well back in second place with a ‘most harmful’ score of 28%. Ontario (46%), BC (44%) and Saskatchewan (42%) each scored significantly above the national average in viewing online gambling as the most deadly game.
Despite this view, when queried as to whether a household member had suffered from problem gambling behavior, online gambling was fingered by 16% of respondents, below VLTs (33%), casinos (30%), lottery tickets (23%) and racetrack betting (17%). Only sports betting, charitable gaming and ‘other’ ranked lower than online gambling in causing actual problems.
Similarly, when asked with which form of gambling had caused a family member the most problems, online (9%) ranked well below VLTs (30%), casinos (23%) and lotteries (19%).
A majority of Canadians don’t want to see their province expand gambling options. Over half (54%) want their province to maintain its status quo on gambling options, while just 9% want to expand options to increase revenue. Over one-quarter (27%) want their government to reduce gambling options while 11% want the province to get out of the gambling business entirely.
