Betting on the Net: The Development of Www.ProblemGambling.ca
|
If you are the presenter of this abstract (or if you cite this abstract in a talk or on a poster), please show the QR code in your slide or poster (QR code contains this URL). |
Abstract
[Note: This presentation (poster) is a companion presentation to the one being delivered by Chris Tysiaczny entitled “Professional Portal to Client Portal – The Evolution of ProblemGambling.caâ€]
Ontario has experienced an unprecedented expansion of gambling opportunities over the past period of time. Since Ontario’s first permanent casino was opened in Windsor in 1994, 28 permanent casino operations have opened throughout the province and approximately 83% of Ontarians gamble in some form or another. According to the Canadian Gaming Association, during the past 14 years gambling has grown by 235% in Canada to more than $15 billion annually. This figure does not include informal and illegal forms of gambling, as well as the huge amount of gambling done via the internet.
Gambling is also a major public health problem. Research has shown that the prevalence rate of moderate and severe problem gambling in Ontario adults is estimated to be 3.4%. Translated into real numbers, that means that 253,857 people in Ontario experience moderate problems with gambling and 78,110 experience severe problems with gambling. And people with moderate to severe problems with gambling produce 35% of the revenue that Ontario generates from gambling. Problem gambling is also linked to a host of public health and social issues, including financial debt/bankruptcy, crime, suicide, intimate partner violence, child abandonment/neglect and various psychiatric comorbidities. Unfortunately only a small minority of people affected by problem gambling seek treatment.
ProblemGambling.ca is an online resource designed to support Ontario’s specialized problem gambling treatment system, to build awareness and helping capacity within a broad range of helping professionals and to educate the general public. It is home to a comprehensive range of resources, including online training, guides for helping professionals such as physicians and financial counselors, as well as information and self-help tools for people affected by problem gambling. It also hosts a wealth of resources developed by community partners committed to reducing the harm caused by problem gambling that focuses on a number of specific populations including women, youth, older adults, and aboriginal people. In a relatively short time ProblemGambling.ca has become an international destination for information about problem gambling and is now one of the most popular sites of its kind in the world.
This presentation will discuss the goals and objectives of the website, the online resources and services that have been developed, our measures of success and future directions.
Robert Murray, MSW, I.C.A.D.C.
Robert is Manager of the “Problem Gambling Project†at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Ontario, Canada. This program is an important component of Ontario’s problem gambling strategy and is devoted to providing specialized problem gambling training and resources to the province’s specialized treatment providers, allied professionals and the general public.
Ontario has experienced an unprecedented expansion of gambling opportunities over the past period of time. Since Ontario’s first permanent casino was opened in Windsor in 1994, 28 permanent casino operations have opened throughout the province and approximately 83% of Ontarians gamble in some form or another. According to the Canadian Gaming Association, during the past 14 years gambling has grown by 235% in Canada to more than $15 billion annually. This figure does not include informal and illegal forms of gambling, as well as the huge amount of gambling done via the internet.
Gambling is also a major public health problem. Research has shown that the prevalence rate of moderate and severe problem gambling in Ontario adults is estimated to be 3.4%. Translated into real numbers, that means that 253,857 people in Ontario experience moderate problems with gambling and 78,110 experience severe problems with gambling. And people with moderate to severe problems with gambling produce 35% of the revenue that Ontario generates from gambling. Problem gambling is also linked to a host of public health and social issues, including financial debt/bankruptcy, crime, suicide, intimate partner violence, child abandonment/neglect and various psychiatric comorbidities. Unfortunately only a small minority of people affected by problem gambling seek treatment.
ProblemGambling.ca is an online resource designed to support Ontario’s specialized problem gambling treatment system, to build awareness and helping capacity within a broad range of helping professionals and to educate the general public. It is home to a comprehensive range of resources, including online training, guides for helping professionals such as physicians and financial counselors, as well as information and self-help tools for people affected by problem gambling. It also hosts a wealth of resources developed by community partners committed to reducing the harm caused by problem gambling that focuses on a number of specific populations including women, youth, older adults, and aboriginal people. In a relatively short time ProblemGambling.ca has become an international destination for information about problem gambling and is now one of the most popular sites of its kind in the world.
This presentation will discuss the goals and objectives of the website, the online resources and services that have been developed, our measures of success and future directions.
Robert Murray, MSW, I.C.A.D.C.
Robert is Manager of the “Problem Gambling Project†at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Ontario, Canada. This program is an important component of Ontario’s problem gambling strategy and is devoted to providing specialized problem gambling training and resources to the province’s specialized treatment providers, allied professionals and the general public.
Medicine 2.0® is happy to support and promote other conferences and workshops in this area. Contact us to produce, disseminate and promote your conference or workshop under this label and in this event series. In addition, we are always looking for hosts of future World Congresses. Medicine 2.0® is a registered trademark of JMIR Publications Inc., the leading academic ehealth publisher.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.