Canada's Single-Game Betting Legalization Drives Rapid Growth and Rising Harm Concerns

Canada's 2021 legalization of single-game sports betting has fundamentally reshaped the country's gambling landscape, particularly in Ontario, where the subsequent opening of the private online market in 2022 has created conditions for rapid commercial expansion alongside growing concerns about gambling-related harm.

The federal reform was designed to modernize sports betting rules by allowing wagers on individual sporting events rather than requiring customers to bundle outcomes into traditional parlays. It also enabled in-game betting on specific player performances and other granular outcomes. While the legislative intent focused on sports wagering, the subsequent market evolution in Ontario reveals how operators have leveraged the regulatory opening to drive adoption of more profitable products. According to Matthew Young, chief research officer for gambling research organization Greo, online casino games have become a major growth driver since private companies entered the market in 2022, as these products generate substantially larger profits for operators than sports betting alone.

The scale of Ontario's market expansion is striking. Active online gambling accounts have grown to approximately three times the level at which the private market opened. Gambling revenue per adult in Ontario has skyrocketed, though increases in other provinces have been more modest. This growth has been accompanied by concerning shifts in participation patterns and harm indicators.

Statistics Canada data shows that while the proportion of Canadians who reported betting on sports in the past year has declined slightly since 2018, those who do engage in sports betting are now doing so with greater frequency. The percentage of sports bettors placing wagers at least once monthly jumped from just under 25 percent to over 40 percent. Beyond frequency changes, broader harm metrics have deteriorated. Between 2018 and 2025, Statistics Canada documented increases in problematic behaviors including chasing losses and borrowing money to continue gambling. Ontario's ConnexOntario problem gambling helpline experienced particularly acute demand pressure, with average monthly call volumes tripling after the private market opened and remaining elevated ever since.

Regulatory fragmentation presents an additional concern as provincial markets expand. Ontario-based gambling advertisements are reaching audiences in other provinces where those operators cannot legally offer services, potentially exposing young people and individuals in recovery from gambling addiction to intensive marketing. Luke Clark, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia studying gambling addiction, has highlighted these cross-border promotion risks.

At the federal level, proposed legislation aims to establish national advertising standards. Advocates argue that coordinated oversight could meaningfully reduce advertising exposure as the industry continues to grow. Alberta's recent launch of its private online gambling market in July 2026 signals ongoing provincial expansion, suggesting the tensions between commercial opportunity and harm reduction will intensify unless regulatory frameworks evolve to address them comprehensively.