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Walk into any Toronto sports bar this season and the same screen-glow shows up on a dozen phones, the live odds, the same-game parlay, the next push notification. Four years after Ontario opened its online gambling market, the scale is staggering: $82.7 billion wagered through licensed operators in 2024–25, a 32 per cent jump in one year. Calls to Ontario’s problem gambling helpline have, climbed 254 per cent since the iGaming market launched in 2022with the sharpest increases coming from young men and teenage boys.
Sandra Zisckind, Managing Partner at Diamond and Diamond Lawyers, sees the human side of those numbers regularly.
“What people don’t appreciate is that gambling can be as addictive or even more so than drugs.”
The design of the modern betting app is the part most people miss until it is too late.
“The problem with these gambling apps is the way they make the most money is the parlays, and the parlays give you that feeling of the near miss that people are chasing.”
That “near miss”, almost winning on a multi-leg parlay, is the same reward mechanic that drives slot machines.
What Ontario Law Says, and What’s Changing in 2026
Two developments matter for anyone who bets online. First, Ontario is launching its long-awaited Centralized Self-Exclusion program, known as BetGuard, in mid-2026. A single registration through iGaming Ontario will cut a person off from every licensed online gambling site in the province within 24 hours, replacing the patchwork of operator-by-operator opt-outs in place since 2022. Exclusion periods of up to five years will be available, and operators will be legally required to honour them.
Second, Ontario courts have already established that gambling providers can be held financially liable when self-exclusion programs fail. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has settled multiple lawsuits brought by people with gambling addictions who were allowed back into casinos despite registering on the self-exclusion list. That precedent, combined with growing “addictive by design” litigation across Canada and the United States is the foundation for civil claims against operators who profit from players they should have blocked.
What to Do Right Now
If gambling has stopped being a hobby, get help right away addiction is treatable, and acting early protects both your recovery and any future claim:
- Use BetGuard the moment it launches. Until then, register operator-by-operator and call ConnexOntario at 1-866-531-2600.
- Keep records: deposits, marketing emails, push notifications, and any promotions sent after you asked a platform to stop.
- Speak with a lawyer before signing anything an operator sends you.
Talk to a Lawyer Who Knows Ontario’s Gambling Files
When an operator’s design choices fuel an addiction and that addiction destroys finances, jobs, and families, the law gives Ontarians options. The team at Diamond and Diamond Lawyers has experience handling gambling addiction claims and related class action litigation across Ontario. For a free consultation, call our 24/7 injury hotline at 1-800-567-HURT or visit diamondlaw.ca to speak with someone now.
About Jeremy Diamond