As the gambling industry continues to grow globally with the rise of online gambling, a recent report from the medical journal The Lancet’s commission on gambling calls is calling on governments to approach gambling as a public health issue.

Malcolm Sparrow, one of the authors of the report, says this will put gambling in the same category as alcohol and tobacco, which are identified by the World Health Organization as issues of the public interest.

Statistics Canada estimates that in 2018, nearly two-thirds of Canadians gambled in the past year. The data estimates that about 300,000 Canadians were at moderate-to-severe risk of developing a gambling problem, where gambling starts to negatively affect a person’s life.

  • Arkouda
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    1 month ago

    What do Gambling, Social Media, Video Games, and Pornography all have in common?

    They aren’t the problem, Dopamine is.

    • Laser@feddit.org
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      1 month ago

      Alright, just ban dopamine /s

      Your comment gives off serious “I am very smart” vibes

      • Arkouda
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        1 month ago

        The point is not to ban anything simply because people are, or can become, addicted to it.

        • Laser@feddit.org
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          1 month ago

          Neither alcohol nor tobacco are banned in Canada, and this is asking to put online gambling on the same level.

          • Arkouda
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            1 month ago

            Gambling is already regulated in Canada.

              • Arkouda
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                30 days ago

                Neither alcohol nor tobacco are banned in Canada, and this is asking to put online gambling on the same level.

                If this is asking for gambling to be on the same level as alcohol and tobacco, does that not imply gambling isn’t on the same regulatory level as the others?

                • Laser@feddit.org
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                  30 days ago

                  Exactly. They’re all regulated. But gambling (addiction) is not an official “public health issue”. As the linked paper states:

                  First, gambling is a public health issue. In setting policy, governments should give priority to protecting health and wellbeing over competing economic motivations.

                  It’s not a call to start regulating gambling, but to change the way to look at it and act accordingly.

                  • Arkouda
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                    30 days ago

                    Gambling regulation in all countries, regardless of legal status, to reduce exposure and availability of gambling, provide affordable and universal support and treatment for gambling harms, and to de-normalize gambling.

                    Looks like it is exactly a call to start regulating gambling to me.

        • Infomatics90
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          28 days ago

          right, so instead of killing the problem at the root, we just allow it to flourish and nip off the bad buds over and over even if that doesn’t fix the issue…

          • Arkouda
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            28 days ago

            This isn’t killing the problem at the root.

            The root of the problem is a complete lack of care for people with addictions and mental health issues. No amount of regulation will help the root when it does not involve increase addictions and mental health care spaces.

            • Infomatics90
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              28 days ago

              So you believe that it was a good move to legalise online gambling in Ontario? I agree with your statements on other things but people who I knew who would never gamble are now doing it with all these platforms available to bet on.

      • Arkouda
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        1 month ago

        Capitalism simply gives people the dopamine they crave in whatever way they choose or are told they want to get it.

        • streetfestival
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          1 month ago

          I think you mean commerce and marketing ‘give’ those things. Capitalism is about preserving financial wealth and dividing access to health and agency in regulating one’s dopamine (to use your pet metaphor) according to wealth

    • Nik282000
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      1 month ago

      Dopamine is not the problem. Corrupt and incompetent government is.

      • Arkouda
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        1 month ago

        How exactly is the “Corrupt and incompetent government” responsible for people getting addicted to something?

        • streetfestival
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          1 month ago

          That’s an easy one. For example, by allowing the marketing or product to be unduly attractive to children

          • Arkouda
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            30 days ago

            How does one market something in a way that isn’t attractive to anyone between the ages of 0 and 17?

        • Nik282000
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          1 month ago

          A total lack of regulation and a wold view so far behind reality that they cant even identify problems until years after they occur.

          • Arkouda
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            30 days ago

            Why is the Government responsible for regulating an adult activity beyond age restricting that activity?

        • Infomatics90
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          28 days ago

          I’m going to go off a limb and assume your a sweet summer child and were not aware of the smoking ads in the past.

          • Arkouda
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            28 days ago

            I am going to assume you like the smell of your own farts, based on the condescending tone of your comment, and are not aware that people still start smoking without advertisements for cigarettes.

            • Infomatics90
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              28 days ago

              I used to smoke, I knew it was bad, but I did it because it was cool(in the beginning). tell me how that is not a problem?

    • ProgrammingSocks@pawb.social
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      1 month ago

      Ah yes, dopamine. The pop science final boss. Neurotransmitters are way more complex than this… Dopamine is responsible for some functions to do with the brains reward systems, but definitely not all, and it has LOTS of other functions in the brain and body.

      • Arkouda
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        28 days ago

        Is that supposed to be an insult?

        Try saying something meaningful next time so you don’t feel the need to spam my inbox 4 day old troll.

        • Infomatics90
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          28 days ago

          please tell me how your comment provided anything of worth that is in this realm of reality?

          • Arkouda
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            28 days ago

            How about you crawl back under your bridge instead?

            • Infomatics90
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              26 days ago

              right. instead of answering you deflect with troll responses.