![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\nWhile the government\u2019s warning focuses on scams, addiction specialists say the broader issue is how easily gambling is now accessed and promoted online.<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
Craig Extine, manager of clinical operations for Homewood Ravensview, a private mental health and addiction treatment centre in British Columbia, said he is seeing increasing demand for treatment tied to online gambling, along with younger clients presenting for help since the pandemic.<\/p>\n
He said many of the underlying issues are not just about gambling itself, but broader mental health challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people are living increasingly socially isolated lives, which then can be very much compounded by depression, anxiety, PTSD, [and] the impacts of addiction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Extine said technology can intensify those struggles, particularly when gambling is integrated into everyday digital environments.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of what happens for many people is access to technology, there\u2019s just so much information\u2026 but also to really start to develop a pattern of basically dissociating in certain ways where it\u2019s been kind of lost within the pattern of being online for hours and hours a day.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the rise of online gambling has changed how quickly problems can develop.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can start to look at the increase in access to online gambling, the increase in certain advertising, sports betting, and the various kinds of platforms that are available. It\u2019s really led to a casino in one\u2019s pocket, where not everyone will have vulnerabilities or problems with gambling, but there\u2019s many people who have concurrent issues who do have a vulnerability to either escape in certain ways or to get some excitement and thrill and focus in their life through gambling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Extine said that for those at risk, the consequences can escalate quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we see here from clients is there\u2019s people who are dealing with very large sums of money and significant losses, but then they\u2019re able to stay up all night gambling\u2026 they can be with friends and family and all it takes is just a quick moment to sneak away with some of the kinds of methods that are available through some of these platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that secrecy and hiding behaviour often become part of the cycle, which can strain relationships and make it harder for people to recognize the extent of the problem.<\/p>\n
A recent Angus Reid Institute poll found seven in 10 Canadians are concerned about an increase in problem gambling tied to online sports betting, while 28 per cent said they are worried someone they know is addicted. That rises to 37 per cent among people aged 18 to 34.<\/p>\n
In November 2025, the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority held Responsible Gambling Awareness Week across its seven casinos, with more than 3,700 users accessing responsible gambling tools and over 1,000 completing surveys. Digital outreach during the campaign generated more than 1.75 million ad views, while the SIGA GameSense website recorded 5,058 visits.<\/p>\n
Extine said support is available, but recovery often requires a structured approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would encourage folks to pursue counseling and therapy, a specialized treatment for the issue that you\u2019re facing in this case, but also to involve family practitioners, physicians, and really kind of build a support team. There\u2019s a lot of options out there [and] it can take some time to connect to those.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 with files from The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the government\u2019s warning focuses on scams, addiction specialists say the broader issue is how easily gambling is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[163,85,46,522,523],"class_list":["post-479789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}