Problem Gambling in Ontario Has Roughly Tripled Since 2018 to Nearly 130,000 People, New Estimates Show, as Coroner Data Point to a Rise in Gambling-Related Suicides

Nearly 130,000 Ontarians now show signs of problem gambling, up from roughly 43,000 in 2018, according to new estimates reported by CBC News on Wednesday, October 21. The broadcaster also reports that gambling-related suicides in the province have tripled since private operators were allowed into the online market in April 2022.

The figures arrive five days after records obtained by the Toronto Star showed that iGaming Ontario, the agency that runs the province’s regulated online market, shelved its own problem gambling study after early results came in higher than expected. That story is set out in our report from October 16. CBC’s numbers come from outside researchers rather than from the province.

Where the Estimate Comes From

The estimates are from the Alberta Gambling Research Institute (AGRI). Its researchers used the Problem Gambling Severity Index, a standard screening tool, and data from Statistics Canada’s 2025 Canadian Community Health Survey. CBC reports that they found a 0.5 per cent jump in Ontario’s rate of problem gambling compared with 2018, which CBC describes as a tripling in the number of people affected.

AGRI researcher Carrie Shaw, who presented the findings at an institute conference in May, told CBC that the number of problem gamblers in Ontario began to climb within six months of the private market opening, while it fell in the rest of Canada. “In Ontario’s market, gambling is very much normalized through access and advertisements,” she said. “With online gambling … the barriers to access are completely removed.”

Coroner Data and Earlier Studies

The suicide figures come from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario. CBC reports that the province averaged five gambling-related suicides a year between 2016 and 2021, and that the annual number tripled after 2022. The numbers are small, and coroner classifications depend on what investigators can establish in each case, but the direction matches other measures.

Two peer-reviewed studies published this year point the same way. The emergency department research, led by ICES and the University of Toronto, was the subject of our September report. The helpline study, which analysed more than 745,000 calls to ConnexOntario, was covered in our August report on the helpline.

“We Warned”

Matthew Young, chief research officer at Greo Evidence Insights, told CBC he urged government two years ago to track online gambling activity more closely. “We warned that we might be seeing the harms that we’re now seeing in the data,” he said, adding that the calls were ignored. Greo was formerly the Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre, which the province defunded in 2019.

Mr. Young called it “unfathomable” that provinces are opening markets without proper study of the public health effects. He wants independent monitoring and a share of gambling revenue set aside for research into reducing harm. The Ontario government told CBC it has spent CA$421 million on responsible gambling education, research and addiction treatment since 2018, including nearly CA$70 million last year.

What It Means for Poker

Poker is a small part of this picture. It accounts for about 1 per cent of wagering in Ontario’s regulated market, and the CBC report focuses on online casino games and sports betting. But poker is run by the same Crown agency, under the same rules, and poker players use the same accounts, limits and self-exclusion tools as other customers. Questions about how iGaming Ontario measures harm, and what it chooses to publish, apply to every product it oversees.

Pressure for disclosure is building. The Ontario NDP has called for iGaming Ontario’s shelved study to be released, and Alberta, which opened its own private market in July, is likely to face similar questions. Players who want to set limits or take a break can find the tools available on every regulated poker site in our responsible gambling tools guide, and province-wide self-exclusion through our self-exclusion resources page.

Reporting draws on the CBC News investigation by Dave Seglins, Andreas Wesley and Saloni Bhugra, published October 21, 2026, and prior OntarioPoker.com coverage. Figures and quotations are as reported by CBC. The illustration is AI-generated for editorial purposes. Online poker in Ontario is limited to players aged 19 or over who are physically located in the province. If you or someone you know is struggling, free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day from ConnexOntario at 1-866-531-2600 or by texting CONNEX to 247247.