People go to the ER after losing money on a Leafs game?

Over 14 years, there were 952 emergency department visits for gambling disorders from 757 unique individuals (mean [SD] age=41.8 [14.9] years; 72.0% male). The mean quarterly rates of emergency department visits for gambling disorders were 31.3% higher during the period after liberalization than before (1.28–1.68 per 1,000,000 individuals), with increases observed in males (1.81–2.63 per 1,000,000) but not in females (0.77–0.74 per 1,000,000). Visits were stable before liberalization, showed no immediate change on implementation, but began to increase by 7% per quarter (incidence rate ratio=1.07, 95% CI=1.04, 1.10). By the end of the study period (in April–June 2025), the rate of emergency department visits for gambling disorders was estimated to be 99.0% (incidence rate ratio=1.99, 95% CI=1.48, 2.67) higher overall and 154.0% (incidence rate ratio=2.54, 95% CI=1.15, 5.63) and 116.0% (incidence rate ratio=2.16, 95% CI=1.18, 3.95) higher in males aged 10–29 years and 30–44 years, respectively, than the expected rates without gambling market liberalization.

...

The primary outcome was an ED visit for a gambling disorder. An ED visit for a gambling disorder was defined on the basis of the clinical judgement of the treating team and was identified when ICD-10 codes F63.0 (pathological gambling) or Z726 (gambling or betting problems) were coded as the main or contributing reason for the visit.

Health administrative data do not capture the contextual information on symptoms and circumstances surrounding ED presentations. To better understand the characteristics of ED visits for a gambling disorder, this study identified codiagnoses for mental health or substance use that were present in the ED record of the visit for a gambling disorder. Substances were categorized as alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, opioids, and other substances (hallucinogens, amphetamines, sedatives, or polysubstance use codes). Mental health disorders were categorized as acute stress reactions, anxiety disorders, major depression, bipolar disorder, self-harm, and other disorders (eating disorders, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, personality disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder) using previously established coding.14,15 The proportion of ED visits where a gambling disorder was listed as the main reason for the visit and where the visit resulted in hospitalization were identified.

Eta link to study, it's open access: https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797%2826%2900294-1/fulltext

and the advertising for this crap is everywhere and most worrying it's pretty much the ONLY advertising in Toronto's financial district. Walk the Path there between the big bank buildings and every ad is for gambling sites. those are the LAST people I want becoming gambling addicts.

Yeah, no kidding. We come out of college with a lifetime of student debt, and housing, health care, and food costs skyrocketing. Nobody has any extra disposable income, but just in case you do, here's a fun new gambling act to light up your Dopamine receptors.

It's all part of the plan to extract every penny from us before we die. Intergenerational wealth is for the wealthy. The Middle Class is no longer allowed to participate. They're getting rid of the middle class, why should they have all that good money that the wealthy want?

And it's only young men for now, but they're going after everybody. The newest ads show middle-aged women with dissatisfied lives, with families that are ignoring her or exploiting her, then Ferris Beuhller sidles up and shows them this hot new Candy Crush phone game that isn't sports oriented, and now she's having fun that her family doesn't know about. It's her own little financial affair.

In many families, Mom is in charge of the household expenses, and in a couple of years, we'll be seeing stories of women who gambled away the family home.