The participation of Montreal adults in online gambling (GAG) has almost tripled during the pandemic, according to a study carried out by the direction of public health of Montreal. This “new normal”, states the report published on Wednesday, requires more regulation of the marketing of these virtual games which pose very real risks for players.
The study, based on data compiled by the National Institute of Public Health (INSPQ) and by the Research Chair in the Study of Gambling at Concordia University, shows that Quebecers’ enthusiasm for games of chance and money online has experienced an exponential rise over the past 10 years.
In 2012, only 1.5% of adults practiced it. Six years later, this proportion exceeded 5% across Quebec and stood at 4.4% in Montreal. The pandemic seems to have accentuated this trend. In the fall of 2021, in the midst of the health crisis, 12% of Montreal adults gambled online – an increase of almost 300% in three years and 800% in a decade.
The closure of casinos, bars and other gaming parlors has certainly led to a significant drop in offline participation. This is reflected in particular by a major reduction in the number of requests made to the Gaming service: help and referral during the pandemic. These have increased from 2,700 in 2019 to 860 in 2022.
However, a third of respondents indicated that they had started playing online during the health crisis and the portrait is of concern to the authorities. Jean-François Biron, main author of the report and public health expert on gambling and gambling, recalls the dangers specific to online betting and other virtual gambling.
“In the online game, there are fewer protective elements,” he explains. Accessibility is everywhere: your machine is on your computer, even your cell phone. The player is anonymous, he does not submit to the gaze of others. Isolated and without social interaction, he is more likely to be hypnotized by the game.
More than half of the respondents claimed to gamble at least once a week and 15% of them admit to gambling at least once a day. More than a quarter of gamblers believe they spend too much time and money on games of chance available online. “These excesses, notes the report, are more frequent among the youngest respondents and in disadvantaged groups. »
The results indicate that unhealthy gaming habits inflict negative consequences on the life of one in five gamers. These impacts are “well known”, adds the public health department of the CISSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, and “include the loss of resources essential to the social functioning of individuals”.
These results show the urgency of acting to better mark out games of chance and money online, according to Jean-François Biron. “We believe that this problem must be dealt with in a serious manner, underlines the expert. We can’t put off realizing the importance of putting in place a framework that doesn’t encourage people to play more. »
The marketing of online casinos and sports betting sites has been more aggressive in recent years, with the use of well-known spokespersons such as the athlete George Saint-Pierre and segments sponsored by online gambling operators sport shows.
“It’s clear that there has been an increase in advertisements because before, we simply didn’t see any,” says Mr. Biron. However, we cannot quantify it at this stage. »
The consequences, however, are known and proven by science, he adds. “Studies show that there is a trivialization by dint of seeing advertisements. In some groups, especially sports fans and young adults, it will lead to a normalization of online gambling and it can lead to a false sense of security in people. »
Loto-Québec acts both as a merchant and as a regulator in the gaming industry. According to Jean-François Biron, the state-owned company applies a strategy that is ill-suited to the reality of online games of chance.
“We are in a dynamic that does not really protect the players. Take the video lotteries: we replaced the devices run by organized crime with devices where the money collected went to the state. It brought about better supervision, but for online gaming, it doesn’t work because Loto-Québec competes with operators that are sometimes bigger than itself. The strategy of gouging the market from these people actually increases participation instead of decreasing it. »
The expert believes that Quebec would benefit from drawing inspiration from countries such as France or Germany, where a body supervises and regulates online gambling and gambling according to their dangerousness.
“Elsewhere, some authorities are trying to bring in the biggest operators using a licensing system. They then have the obligation to submit to a regulatory framework determined by the authority which defines the parameters, for example the games available or the money that people can play. It’s not perfect, concludes Jean-François Biron, but it’s an avenue that deserves to be considered. »