Ontario needs a public-health strategy for gambling.
Our letter to Hon. Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health of Ontario, asking her to lead a whole-of-government public-health response to a crisis now touching an estimated 1.6 million Ontarians.
June 26, 2026
Hon. Sylvia Jones
Deputy Premier and Minister of Health
Government of Ontario
Dear Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Jones:
We write as concerned citizens of Ontario about the growing public health crisis constituted by the meteoric growth of problem gambling in Ontario caused by the largely unregulated liberalization of sports betting and online gambling in Ontario and the proliferation of advertising.
According to the most recent Canadian survey published by the Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Abuse, Greo Evidence Insights, and Mental Health Research Canada in November 2025, 9.9% of the surveyed population experience ‘problem gambling’. Applied to the population of Ontario, that's 1,600,000 people. Among young adults who gambled online, 69.4% met the criteria for problem gambling and 23.5% reported experiencing a high level of gambling-related harms. The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health estimates that for every bettor addicted another five to six persons are negatively affected. The World Health Organization, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Psychological Association and countless other bodies call for significant reforms to reduce the harms.
These numbers will no doubt grow even higher with the saturation advertising for sports betting during the current men's FIFA World Cup.
The rapid growth of the sports betting and online casino industry, in partnership with the large media companies and professional sports leagues may generate new tech jobs for Ontario graduates of colleges and universities and advertising revenue for Canadian companies like Rogers, but little else from that growth benefits Ontario. Most of the betting, high-tech and sport companies are foreign owned so the profits leave the country. Although Ontario gets some taxes from betting revenues, worldwide estimates suggest those revenues are dwarfed by the social, mental health and economic costs (lower overall economic growth, lowered rates of savings, and loss of jobs) of betting and online gaming. It's short-term gain for long-term pain.
While your colleague Stan Cho, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, has recently voiced concerns about the growing mental health challenges, the ‘responsible gambling’ approach endorsed by his Ministry is not working. ‘Responsible gambling’ was developed by the industry as a strategy of legitimation not harm reduction. A health crisis of this dimension requires a ‘whole of government’ public health approach led by the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.
As the CCSA and others recommend, we ask you to take leadership to develop a comprehensive public health strategy to address the growing crisis, and work with the federal and other provincial governments to ensure coordinated implementation.
Your leadership is urgently needed. We would be pleased to meet with you to discuss this.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Robin Campbell, Joel Finlay, and Bruce Kidd
Campaign to Ban Ads for Gambling
Copy to: Hon. Stan Cho, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming