Online gaming - Who is going to take responsibility for this?

I should say up front that I have never been a gambler. When I was working, I travelled to Las Vegas twice a year for conferences. My neighbours were amazed when I returned and said I did not gamble. Not even a little - zero. At the end of my career, I worked for a Canadian company that produced slot machines. I visited customers all over the US, primarily Native American-owned casinos. Never gambled in any of them. The few times I have found myself playing the odd slot machine I rarely exceed $10 before I stopped. I don’t find gambling entertaining or enjoyable and I hate losing money. So, not a gambler.

I should also point out that I believe in personal responsibility. In the end, I think we are all answerable for our behaviour, good and bad. That means we are responsible for how we treat each other, our behaviour with others, how we choose to spend our money, the activities we choose to engage in, and the amount we eat, drink, and exercise (or not). We are largely answerable for our addictions and excesses. In the end, we all need to take personal responsibility.

Having said that, I don’t find a contradiction in also believing that society and governments need to have rules and laws in place that protect people from each other and from themselves. Laws against fraud, and protecting individuals against sophisticated scammers seem legitimate and necessary to me. Laws that enforce safety, whether that be food safety, product safety, or work environment safety are all required. I have no problem with companies being held accountable for behaviour that is clearly unsafe, immoral or causes any number of deaths. This means I don’t have any issue with tobacco companies, asbestos companies, opioids manufacturers, or companies polluting the planet being charged with breaking laws and significantly punished (including throwing their executives in jail). I also support these companies being sued, and if found guilty having to pay millions in damages.

So it is with all of that as background that I have been overwhelmed and disgusted over the last few months by the volume and intensity of advertising for online gaming. You can no longer watch anything on TV, particularly sports without being deluged with online gaming ads. It is not just advertising, but the level of celebrity endorsements that is shameful. Wayne Gretzky, Jamie Fox, George St-Pierre, Mathew Burnaby (ok he is just a bad washed-up hockey player and not really a celebrity), Connor McDavid and even our hometown hockey hero Austin Matthews.

The amount of advertising and celebrity endorsements during regular TV programming is normalizing what I believe is a dangerous endeavour. During hockey games, Cabbie Richards has a regular segment on gambling. Richards is Sportsnet Executive Producer of Sports Betting (what?). I totally understand that Sportsnet owns the hockey telecast and that Hockey Night in Canada is just rebroadcasted on CBC to continue a tradition and fill in time (CBC receives no revenue from the rebroadcast). But as a result of the rebroadcasts, Richard’s segment on gambling is shown on CBC. Can someone explain to me why our public broadcaster is promoting online gambling? The Score (sports website and app) now owns and promotes an online betting app, theScore Bet.

We have been swamped by new and easy to access online betting apps - BetRivers, Bet MGM, Bet 99, Fan Duel, theScore Bet, Draft Kings, Bet365, Jackpot city.net .

Although all the online gambling sites concern me, I am very (read very very) concerned about online sports betting. How many males (I don’t mean to be sexist here, it could also be females) do you know who think they are experts at sports? I think I am an expert at sports. I am sure if I was the general manager of the Leafs it would not be 45 years since we last won the cup. I know I could make better decisions than Charlie Montoya on when to pull the pitcher or put in a pinch hitter.

Now let's think about this. You no longer need to go to Las Vegas to gamble. You don’t even have to go to Rama (or Pickering now) to gamble. You don’t have to call a bookie. You don’t have to break the law. All you have to do is download one or multiple apps on your phone and you can start betting on sports. So young males (the group I want to focus on) can be out drinking with their friends, discussing and arguing about sports, reinforcing how much they know about sports and then at any time, sign on to the app and bet money. Real money.

A simple google search highlights the potential issues with sports betting:

• Sports betting skyrocketed in pandemics. Experts warn of a 'ticking time bomb' - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sports-betting-skyrocketed-pandemic-experts-warn-ticking-time-bomb-n1266518

• The Sports-Betting Boom is a Moral Disaster - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/online-gambling-sports-6/629790/

• As Single Sports Betting arrives in Ontario experts advise how to avoid the pitfalls - https://globalnews.ca/news/8769633/single-sports-betting-ontario-pitfalls/

• Not Just A Game: Online Sports Betting And The Rise Of Corrosive Technology - https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/02/25/not-just-a-game-online-sports-betting-and-the-rise-of-corrosive-technology/?sh=bf5910d70ec4

• Gambling Addiction Concerns Unaddressed As Sports Betting Expansion Continues - https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackjones/2022/01/12/gambling-addiction-concerns- unaddressed-as-sports-betting-expansion-continues/?sh=251727c7683f

• Sports betting is exploding. This ex-gambler has a $15,000 cautionary tale. - https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/04/29/sports-gambling-addiction-legal/

I think five years from now, maybe less, we are going to see a very real issue with gambling addiction, largely caused by the explosion of online sports betting. Safeguards? The industry people I have spoken to say the safeguards are a joke. They don’t protect against gambling problems. They are meant to make the gaming companies feel better and to ensure they are protected legally and from having government intervention. They don‘t really care about gambling addictions.

So let's go back to the title of my blog post. Who is going to take responsibility for this? Is Wayne Gretzky or Jamie Fox going to own up to their part in creating a huge addiction problem? Will they be legally and financially responsible? How about Sportsnet? CBC? The Score? Are MGM Bet or any of these gaming companies going to be liable for ruining thousands of lives? Will Doug Ford and his government own this? Justin Trudeau?

As I read through the list above I can’t see the potential for anyone to take the responsibility for what I think will be a gigantic problem causing financial and mental health issues for thousands of people - not just the gamblers but for their families also.

Will this be the next opioid crisis where thousands of individuals and families are ruined because of the greed of a few?

I think so and I don’t know what to do about it. The companies don’t care. The celebrities don’t care - they both just want the money. Governments don’t care - they also want the money.

How do we stop this? First, don’t let anyone you care about get sucked into this rat hole. After that let's hope someone comes along and puts a stop to this insanity.

Let me know what you think. Do you think this is a problem? What do you think we should do? Let me know at thethirdperiod.ca@gmail.com