A non-profit agency that runs Ontario’s 24-hour problem gambling helpline says a lack of funding means it is drowning under a wave of new, more complex calls for help brought on by a more open betting market.
ConnexOntario, which offers listening and advice services for people struggling with gambling addiction, said the number of calls it receives has exploded.
In the 2019-20 year, the community service said its call takers had a total of 92,780 interactions and the average call lasted just under eight minutes. By 2025-26, the number jumped to 155,391 interactions and calls lasted almost 12 minutes on average.
“Our staff are seeing more demand on our service. The calls are changing; there’s more complexity with the calls,” Nerin Kaur, the executive director of ConnexOntario, told Global News.
“People are requiring more supportive listening, more understanding about the mental health and addiction sector, more education, more ability to follow up with them, as well as help them set clear expectations and what to see when they want to access care.”
The increase in calls appears to have coincided, at least in part, with the liberalization of gambling in Ontario.
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Back in 2022, the Ford government allowed non-government online gambling companies to enter the market in Ontario under a system called iGaming.
The move, which has come with a volley of gambling commercials, also appears to have increased the number of people seeking help for addiction.
In 2021/2022, before the changes, there were 95,252 people who spoke to ConnexOntario in a single year. That number jumped 23 per cent the next year to 117,407 — and has continued rapidly climbing.
But the increase in work has not come with a meaningful boost to its $4.2 million in government funding.
ConnexOntario received a four per cent bump in the 2025-26 year, following a five per cent increase in 2023-24. The numbers, Kaur said, aren’t close to enough.
“I think the government needs to invest more in the prevention promotion piece and the supportive piece for the community sector to support the demand in problem gambling,” she said.
“We’ve definitely seen an increase in gambling-related calls in, and specifically young men ages 15 to 24, and then also the 35-to-45 mark. We want to make sure that there are sufficient resources going for that target population to ensure that they’re healthy and safe as they’re engaging in these behaviours.”
Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming Stan Cho’s office did not respond to questions from Global News ahead of publication.
Cho has previously acknowledged there is an acute problem with gambling addiction in the province.
“It’s a growing issue, so there’s no sugar coating the fact that more people are gaming online, specifically young men,” he previously told Global News.
“That’s precisely the reason we regulated the market.”
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