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.

  • socsa@piefed.social
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    7 days ago

    I saw this shit crush people back when it was a legal grey area operated out of random sites in Bermuda and shit. The fact that it’s every other commercial during sporting events, and you can just scan a credit card to start an account, is a ticking time bomb in our society.

    • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      7 days ago

      It’s no different than when provincial gov’ts found lotteries and casinos were thee cash cow they needed to fund their tax coffers instead of taxing the rich … which is what should have been done.

      Privatize and tax the fuck of ALL forms of gambling and get the gov’t out of it.

  • 4am@lemm.ee
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    7 days ago

    Man I remember when the web was new online gambling was banned. When the fuck did we get paid off? We know this shit is bad.

  • Grass@sh.itjust.works
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    6 days ago

    or maybe make life here more affordable and less miserable so people don’t seek out literally anything that will make them temporarily feel better or a risky bet on an easy way out

    • Infomatics90@lemmy.ca
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      4 days ago

      I half agree with this comment, but greed also plays into this. people think they will be the next millionaire for social media to worship. I actually prefer to live a very low income life because I don’t care nor ever want to be rich.

      • Grass@sh.itjust.works
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        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.

        • Infomatics90@lemmy.ca
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          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.

  • Arkouda@lemmy.ca
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    7 days ago

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

    They aren’t the problem, Dopamine is.

      • Arkouda@lemmy.ca
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        6 days ago

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

        • streetfestival@lemmy.ca
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          6 days 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

      • Arkouda@lemmy.ca
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        6 days ago

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

        • streetfestival@lemmy.ca
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          6 days ago

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

          • Arkouda@lemmy.ca
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            6 days ago

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

        • Nik282000@lemmy.ca
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          6 days 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@lemmy.ca
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            6 days ago

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

        • Infomatics90@lemmy.ca
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          4 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@lemmy.ca
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            4 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@lemmy.ca
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              4 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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      6 days 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@lemmy.ca
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        4 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.