The house always wins. Canada doesn't.
The betting boom is often defended as an economic win — jobs, taxes, a regulated market. Follow the money and the story looks very different.
A common argument for liberalizing online gambling is that it eliminates the unregulated market by drawing players onto legal, “safer” sites. But evidence suggests the size of the unregulated market is overstated. What opening the market to transnational operators actually fuels is aggressive competition for market share — intensified advertising and promotions, which drive more gambling. Since Ontario opened its online market, the total amount wagered online by people living in the province grew more than 400%, from $4.08 billion in early 2022 to $22.9 billion by the beginning of 2025.1
Much of that money doesn't stay in Canada. Many of the largest betting platforms operating here are foreign-owned, and their profits flow to shareholders abroad — while the costs of gambling harm, from healthcare to family breakdown, stay home.
And the tax revenue? It doesn't pay the bills. The public costs of gambling harm — addiction treatment, mental-health care, financial distress, family services — are not offset by what governments collect from the industry.
One-pagers coming soon
Campaign members are preparing downloadable one-page briefs for this section: Foreign ownership and “Taxes don't pay the bills”. They will be posted here — in the meantime, read the full case or browse the research.
Sources
- Young, M. M., McKnight, S., Kalbfleisch, L., et al., Gambling Availability and Advertising in Canada: A Call to Action, Greo Evidence Insights / Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (updated November 2025), citing iGaming Ontario (2025).
It doesn't start with a bet.
It starts with an ad.
Tell your MP to pass Bill S‑211 — it takes a minute.