This region is known as a bit of a hotbed for young, multimillionaire poker stars who cut their teeth during countless hours betting online.
But what about the other side of that story that nobody talks about — the thousands who never make any money, who struggle with gambling addictions and whose lives are ruined as a result of all those virtual card games?
As Ontario plans to get into the lucrative world of online gambling by 2012, one local addiction expert is warning that the allure of online gambling is incredibly powerful and dangerous — and not nearly as glamorous as some people may believe.
“The reality is it’s like winning the lottery, because the number of people who actually make it to the top is so small,” said Susan McLaren, a social worker at St. Mary’s Counselling Service. “It’s like when the sports figure comes from the area, and people think ‘I could be like that person.’ But they don’t tell you about the millions of people who don’t make it to the top.”
Online gambling — namely poker — has become incredibly popular among young people, with Ontarians spending an estimated $400 million a year through unregulated internet gaming sites.
It’s no surprise McLaren is seeing more and more clients with gambling addictions who have never gone anywhere near a casino or a slot machine. They’re a new type of problem gambler, betting with credit cards on web browsers instead of using coins or bills.
Now the province hopes to grab a piece of that action, and thinks its own online gambling operation could produce revenues as high as $100-million within five years. That money would go toward things like schools, hospitals and bridges, the government said.
Critics say Ontario has no business getting into online gambling at all. It’s more addictive that other forms of gambling, with about one in five online gamblers having a moderate to severe addiction, according to the Responsible Gambling Council.
McLaren won’t weigh in on the politics of the issue, but is concerned about the growth in online gambling’s popularity. Part of the problem is this myth that hours and hours of online gambling can turn anyone into a successful poker pro, she said.
“I’ve worked with people who have lost houses, remortgaged homes. It’s quite easy for people to get caught up in it,” she said. “And it can be done very secretively … Some of my clients get up in the middle of the night to play, while their partners sleep.”
Local Liberal MPPs, meanwhile, wanted nothing to do with the controversy around their party’s move into online gambling. Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Leeanna Pendergast was too busy to comment, her office said, and Kitchener Centre MPP John Milloy’s office said he was unavailable for an interview.
That left opposition politicians free to rail against the province’s plan, calling it irresponsible and a money-grab after reckless spending.
“We’re offering our children another possible addiction,” said Cambridge MPP Gerry Martiniuk. “You can’t govern it. No one knows how old the person is at the other end. I can see some real problems there.”
The Tories, of course, greatly expanded gambling revenues while they were in power by adding new casinos, video lottery terminals and slots across Ontario. But Kitchener-Waterloo MPP Elizabeth Witmer said she’s not in favour of any government cashing in on gambling.
Provincially-run gambling websites would only further encourage people with gambling problems, she said.
“I’ve never supported the province getting into gambling,” Witmer said. “I’ve seen the devastation it has on the lives of the individuals who have a gambling problem and their families.”
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, meanwhile, is still figuring out how it would regulate cybergambling.
Some safeguards on the provincial websites could include self-blocking mechanisms that allow users to stop themselves from gambling past their limits, plus age verification tools to keep out minors. The sites would also display warnings about gambling addiction, the commission said.