Ontario’s only in-patient gambling treatment program sees demand rise with legalization of online play

Ontario’s only in-patient gambling treatment program sees demand rise with legalization of online play

Article brief provided by CBC News
  • CBC News
November 5, 2022 11:21 AM

Advertising for sports betting has become ubiquitous, especially since it became legal and regulated in Ontario this spring.

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It’s leading to more demand for a problem-gambling in-patient treatment program at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in Windsor, Ont., the only one of its kind in the province.

Diana Gabriele is a Canadian-certified gambling counsellor at Hôtel-Dieu, and says she saw this coming.

“We, as counsellors, knew that with that accessibility, that ease of access, combined with technology, that people would be even more susceptible to the ravages of gambling,” she said. “We’ve been seeing an uptick of that ever since the single sports betting came online in April.”