White Papers
Author(s): Hahmann, Tara E. ; Matheson, Flora I.
Publisher: Gambling Research Exchange Ontario
Year Published: 2017
Date Added: June 16, 2017
Resource Type: White paper
While gambling continues to generate nationwide revenues, the economic costs of gambling are increasingly shouldered by those who can least afford the monetary and social losses. Indeed, people in the low-income brackets (2.8%) spend a higher percentage of their household income on games of chance than people in higher income brackets (0.5%). This is important given that the risk of gambling related harm increases significantly when more than 1% of gross family income is spent on gambling activities. The additional risk of gambling for those in a lower income bracket warrants further attention with the expansion of government-operated gambling throughout Canada, especially since increased rates of problem gambling prevalence are linked to enhanced accessibility and availability.