Ontario Gambling Prevalence Study [report]

The Responsible Gambling Council Ontario has produced the report "Gambling and Problem Gambling in Ontario 2005" (2006, September). It contains a huge amount of statistical data obtained from a survey of 3,604 people which took place between February and July, 2005.

A few highlights:

• 63.3% of adults 18 years and older reported participating in at least one gambling activity in the year prior to the survey (down from 63.3% in 2005).
  
• 1.7% of participants reported gambling on the Internet. Of those who gambled on the Internet, about 25% gambled on a weekly basis, and almost one in two of those individuals gambled daily.
  
• The most common form of Internet gambling engaged in was poker.
  
• In the year prior to the survey, 2.6% of Ontarians experienced moderate gambling problems and 0.8% experienced severe gambling problems (assessed using the CPGI instrument).
  
• There were no significant changes in the prevalence of moderate and severe gambling problems from 2001 to 2005.