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.

  • Grass@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    3 days ago

    some people just want a quick way to get out of debt. my family has several problem gamblers and apart from the one that’s straight up addicted to gambling itself, they all just want an easy way to not have to work as hard. I don’t really care to be rich either, apart from how you basically have to eat shit right out of your employer’s ass every day if you aren’t.

    • Infomatics90English
      1·
      2 days ago

      yes, this is one way people think they can get out of debt they really shouldn’t of been (for the most part, I know there are edge cases) in the first place. I have debt from my own past mistakes and I know that I have to pay for them myself. buying lotto max tickets is not going to make my situation better.