‘We need to understand the risks’

Recommendations target reducing gambling-related harms for youth

Editor’s Note: This is part four of four of our youth gambling series, which focuses on recommendations by the IWK Mental Health and Addictions Health Promotion Team to reduce gambling-related harms on young people.

In light of recent changes to federal laws around online sports betting and the ‘gamblification’ of video gaming, members of the IWK Mental Health and Addictions Health Promotion Team are making recommendations to the federal government.

Those recommendations are aimed at reducing gambling-related harms, especially for young people, through a public health policy approach.

Prevention and Health Promotion specialist Jenna Hopson, of IWK Health Mental Health and Addictions, said the policy recommendations address the marketing, pricing and availability of gambling opportunities aimed at holding the gambling industry accountable for minimizing youth exposure. Hopson said these are the same recommendations made for other substances.

“We see strong policies at a federal level as it relates to other areas such as the Cannabis Act and tobacco and vaping products. Those are not marketed and they are not normalized,” Hopson said.

In an email, Sabrianne Penner, of the IWK Health Promotions Team, said the purpose of the restrictions is to protect public health and children and youth.

Penner said the interventions would include restricting gambling promotion and sponsorship material aimed at children and adolescents in all forms of media, developing communication strategies to emphasize gambling risks and harms and increasing transparency by highlighting gambling industry tactics to increase profits.

The act would include regulating accessibility by including the implementation of strong safeguards for verification of minimal age, particularly as there is growth towards online gambling. It would include regulation of gambling content, packaging and labelling, which may include gambling-related warning messages in games and advertising and restricting the use of false and misleading information.

The act would also include strategies to ensure the general public knows the risks, harms and warning signs of gambling, especially for children and youth.

The act would also include gathering, analyzing and reporting data on gambling patterns, trends and health impacts among the child and youth population at the federal and provincial levels.

MORE DATA NEEDED

Hopson noted the last release of data related to gambling trends among youth in Nova Scotia was the Adolescent Gambling Surveillance Technical Report, Identification of Gambling Risk and Harm Among Adolescents Aged 13-18 Years, released in 2011.

“There has been a huge shift in terms of online access, online gambling, gamblification of gaming in the last 11 years and we do not have access to data as it relates to child and youth numbers. And without that data it’s hard for us to prioritize health issues and to understand trends and patterns in the shift and identify those harms,” Hopson said.

“When we look at other health topics, like alcohol, cannabis, vaping, data sources are coming from research institutions or government institutions. We don’t know why, but there is a huge gap in the evidence (with gambling data) in terms of allowing us to understand what the priorities are.”

“It doesn’t allow us to see a true picture in terms of what the needs are of children and youth,” Hopson said. “With any health issue we need to understand the risks that are associated with participation.”

Penner said the potential risk of harm for youth who gamble includes loss of funds leading to financial insecurity, loss of relationships with family and friends leading to social isolation and loss of productivity at work or school. It may even include engaging in criminal activity to obtain funds, possibly leading to arrest and a criminal record that can last.

In a statement, Nova Scotia Opposition Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Addictions’ Rafah DiCostanzo said, “The government has a responsibility to address this growing issue by offering free, educational programs to our youth so they have the tools they need when they become exposed to gambling. The government needs (to) be engaging subject matter experts, as well as looking at other jurisdictions like Ontario who have created strategies to help our youth who may develop issues with gambling. This would an investment in our youth and lowering healthcare costs for the future.”

SUPPORTS AVAILABLE

Khalehla Perrault is a communications and media relations advisor with the provincial Department of Health and Wellness. In an email, Perrault said the 2011 Nova Scotia Adolescent Gambling Technical Survey was a onetime report.

In a statement provided by Perrault, the Office of Addictions and Mental health (OAMH) said, “We monitor program outcomes for ways to improve mental health and addictions care for Nova Scotia youth. We also collect and analyze data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information and other nationally reported data as we continue to build and expand our supports.”

Perrault said the OAMH works alongside many community and health partners to help protect Nova Scotia youth from the risks associated with gambling and substance use. She noted OAMH recently invested $700,000 in mental wellness programs at seven youth centres across the province.

Available data and even advocates for policies promoting safer gambling practices acknowledge that not everyone who gambles is harmed by it. However, looking back on a 20-year gambling addiction that began with scratch tickets in Christmas and birthday cards as a child, Jack C. recently spoke about the “massive” personal cost of finding money to pay for his habit.

“It’s guilt, stress, anxiety and depression. It’s broken relationships and suicidal thoughts. It’s very real and much more common than what people think,” Jack C. said. “It’s incredible how easy it is to continue to hit rock bottom when you believe you can win.”

According to IWK Mental Health and Addictions Services, should a youth require treatment for gambling behaviour, the IWK Health clinicians can help upon referral to Mental Health and Addiction services. The best way to connect to mental health supports is by calling the central intake line at 1-855-922-1122. Clinicians will connect youth to the best service to fit their needs, whether treatment at the IWK or support provided in the community.