P.E.I.’s Problem Gambling Strategy Draws Attention of Experts

In September, the Province of Prince Edward Island launched a new responsible gambling strategy, featuring a new website and a new social media campaign. However, Elizabeth Stephen, a counselling therapist in Halifax who specializes in helping people overcome addictions, is unsure how useful the new resources will be in protecting Islanders from problem gambling.

Currently, the said website features links to Prince Edward Island-based addiction services along with the toll-free number for the province’s gambling support line. Slightly below that users will see links to a series of brief articles titled “Financial Resilience: What Is It?” and “How Can Budgeting for Gambling Help Me?”

Not That Specific

However, Ms. Stephen says that these resources are quite general and not as gambling-specific as she wanted them to be. She described the website as a missed opportunity for the province. She noted that there should be more specific information about gambling risk and gave “A good rule to remember when gambling is never spending more than you can afford to lose” as an example of a good article.

She added that the site should feature specific limits on spending provided by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction in the lower-risk gambling guidelines. These guidelines state that players should spend no more than 1% of their before-tax earnings on gaming. The site also gives calculations on how much a different household should spend every month.

The province’s new responsible gambling strategy was launched in mid-September and urged the province to start gambling literacy campaigns based on the lower-risk guidelines. Nora McCarthy, a community engagement and education specialist with the province’s three-person gambling support unit, said the new website is just trying to meet people where they are.

Ms. McCarthy explains that due to technology people can now gamble 24/7 on their phones, unlike before. She remarked the new site was created based on interactions across the aisle and tip-to-tip, delivering resources and educational sessions, and listening to what Islanders have to say while pointing out that the site features self-assessment tools and support for family members impacted by problem gambling.

Meanwhile, Ms. Stephen claimed that the Atlantic Lottery Corporation which offers legal gambling should not be the source when attempting to mitigate harms. She explained that “governments do not want the harm but they want the profits” and that if harm is reduced then profits would plummet too. That is why she wants the two separated.

At-Risk Gamblers Triple

A few weeks ago, the province released a prevalence study based on a 2019 survey which discovered that the proportion of at-risk bettors tripled between 2005 and 2019. This translates to 11,137 Islanders being a degree of risk from gambling or 8.6% of the adult population. Also, it discovered that those who resorted to online gambling were 3.6 times as likely to be at risk.

Source: Campbell, Kerry “New P.E.I. site that targets problem gambling a ‘missed opportunity,’ expert says” CBC News, November 3, 2023