young boys and men aged 15-24<\/a>, according to ConnexOntario data.<\/p>\nYoung Men Most Affected<\/p>\n
\u201cCallers frequently describe chasing losses, gambling for longer than they intended, hiding their gambling from family members, experiencing financial stress, or initially believing gambling was a way to make money, only to find themselves in a much more difficult situation,\u201d said Kaur.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re also finding that many people don\u2019t always recognize when gambling has shifted from entertainment to causing harm or know what warning signs to look for.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2019-20, that number was just over 92,780. And those interactions are getting more complex, she added, with staff on a call for longer periods of time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Calls Becoming More Complex<\/p>\n
Under current procedures, staff provide supportive listening, helping individuals to understand what\u2019s happening, and educating them about the mental health, substance use and problem gambling system. <\/p>\n
The individual is then connected with programs and services that best fit their needs, completes e-referrals if they\u2019re ready to move forward, and follows up to see how they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n
\u201cGambling can be one piece of what\u2019s going on, but there are often other factors involved as well, anxiety, depression, financial loss, or simply not knowing what to do next,\u201d said Kaur. \u201cPeople often ask us how to talk to their family, where to start, or what supports are available to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some people contact them because they\u2019re starting to question whether their gambling has become a concern and simply want to talk it through, she added. Others have recognized changes in their gambling but aren\u2019t sure what to do next.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Funding Falls Behind Demand<\/p>\n
Then some may have already experienced significant financial and emotional impacts.<\/p>\n
Government funding hasn\u2019t kept pace with the increase in those seeking help, said Kaur.\u00a0ConnexOntario is funded entirely by the Ministry of Health. <\/p>\n
They received a 5% funding increase in 2023-24, and a 4% increase in 2025-26, taking their current funding level to $4.18 million. That\u2019s nowhere near enough to cover demand, she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdditional investment would help us continue providing timely access to support as demand continues to grow and become more complex,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
People don\u2019t have to be in crisis to reach out, she added. It can be in the earliest stages, when the individual is starting to question their gambling, to help them better understand what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur priorities would include expanding our capacity to respond to increasing demand while maintaining timely access, continuing to provide follow-up support for individuals who would benefit from additional check-ins after their initial contact, and continuing to evolve our navigation model to meet the changing needs of Ontarians,\u201d Kaur concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Ontario\u2019s iGaming market continues to rapidly expand, more residents are turning to ConnexOntario for support\u2014but provincial funding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[163,85,46,522,523],"class_list":["post-541225","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\/541225","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=541225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/541226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Caesars-Sportsbook-Las-Vegas.jpg\")
Problem-gambling calls have surged in Ontario since market launch in 2022, according to ConnexOntario. (Image\/Mark Keast)<\/p>\n