Rob Kilner’s clients carry gambling debts ranging from a few thousand dollars to more than a quarter million. One lost $250,000 on sports betting apps this year. Another spent $100,000 over two years, with his partner in the dark for most of it, he said. “I just signed up a husband who had not told his wife until about two months ago,” said Kilner, a licensed insolvency trustee in Ontario.
While those sums are above average, Kilner has watched both his tally of clients and the depth of their gambling debts balloon in recent years. “Ten years ago I didn’t see anyone, because you’d actually have to go into a casino,” he added. “It’s just the last two, three years.”
Betting apps put young adults at risk
The rise of online sports betting and casino apps has yielded big profits for gambling companies. But insolvency and psychology experts warn of dire consequences for a growing number of Canadians—young men, in particular—and recommend counselling, a payback plan, and self-examination for those needing to dig themselves out of debt.
Compared to gamblers who exclusively played the lottery, Canadians who reported betting online over the past year were 45 times more likely to qualify as problem gamblers, according to a new report from Greo Evidence Insights, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, and Mental Health Research Canada.
“Young adults are emerging as the group most at risk,” said Matthew Young, chief research officer at Greo, a not-for-profit research organization with expertise in gambling. Nearly one in three adults aged 18 to 29 place bets online, according to the poll, which was based on data from more than 8,000 respondents. “Those who do are far more likely to develop gambling problems and suffer related harms,” he said in a release.
The sheer ubiquity of betting amounts to a constant risk for some, who carry a virtual casino in their pocket. “You can gamble walking down the street on your phone. You can gamble sitting in the comfort of your living room,” said Scott Terrio, manager of consumer insolvency at Hoyes, Michalos & Associates. “The former barriers to gambling—i.e., getting up off your ass and going to the casino or the track—aren’t there now.”
Gambling losses and debt climb in Ontario
Canada legalized single-event sports betting in August 2021, upending more than a century of prohibition on the practice in the hopes of winning back customers from offshore sites, U.S. casinos, and illegal bookmakers. Ontario threw open the door to private betting platforms, while other provinces including Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta offer sportsbooks run by their lottery and gaming commissions.
On top of being just a click away, daily fantasy sports companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel advertise relentlessly, as anyone who watched the recent Toronto Blue Jays playoff run can attest. “This is so prevalent and in your face,” Terrio said.
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Typical debt totals for his clients range between $20,000 and $80,000, though he’s handled cases of up to $263,000. “I’ve seen statements where somebody was pulling cash advances out over the course of three or four days and it was in the tens of thousands from a few different banks,” he said.
In Ontario, the internet gambling industry saw monthly cash wagers rise 31% year-over-year to a record $8.6 billion in September, according to iGaming Ontario’s latest market performance report. Online casinos make up the bulk of that total, while non-casino betting—the category includes sports—saw by far the biggest increase at 39%.
Official statistics on gambling debt are hard to come by, but Ontarians lost $329.4 million on the iGaming platform in September, 20% more than in the same month a year earlier.
Managing debt after online gambling losses
The path out of debt isn’t always pleasant. The first step is to acknowledge the problem, stop gambling—including by asking sites to ban you—and contact a non-profit credit counselling agency for financial advice.
If the debt has spiralled, a second step is to work with a licensed insolvency trustee to consider a consumer proposal—an agreement with creditors to repay a portion of what’s owed, often within five years. “They like to see 30%, 40% depending on how bad the gambling was. But you get that at no interest,” said Kilner.
Sometimes, creditors impose harsher terms on gambling debt because it tends to accumulate more rapidly, he said. “Normal debt generally builds up over time. And from the selfish perspective of the banks, they’ve probably made some money off you,” Kilner said. “They’ve been able to charge interest. Generally, with gambling, it’s quick.”
Other experts said the percentage owed can range widely, and hinges on income, assets, and prior bankruptcies.
Declaring bankruptcy is an alternative that typically results in a lower payback amount. But it wreaks havoc on credit scores and usually demands a much shorter timeline, often 18 months, said Terrio.
Why online betting can become addictive
The toughest part of the process may be confronting the deeper reasons behind addictive behaviour. “Ask yourself, am I doing it for entertainment?” said Kilner. If so, set a limit, as you might for a night out.
Iris Balodis, associate director of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research at McMaster University, noted that pleasure might be the initial motivation, but compulsive behaviour can creep in quickly. With online betting apps, where users can put down money on almost any aspect of a sports game—whether a pitcher will throw a ball or a strike, how many rebounds a basketball player will rack up, or even the colour of the Gatorade poured over the winning coach at the Super Bowl—gamblers can become all the more “immersed in a game, and that can feel very pleasant, where you forget everything else,” she said.
On top of the thrill of anticipation, betting offers a sense of community via chat groups and message boards, she said.
But after addiction takes hold, even wins can feel like losses. “They realized, ‘Oh my gosh, I just won big. That means I’m going to stay here and play it all until it’s all gone again,’” Balodis said. “That’s what really shows that this is an addictive disorder—that as you play more and more and it’s more compulsive, the pleasurable aspect is gone.”
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