According to the Responsible Gambling Council\’s 2005 gambling prevalence study, led by Dr. Jamie Wiebe, the number of Ontarians gambling on the internet has risen, with a significant increase among young adults.
Among 18-24-year-olds, the number of people gambling online has increased from 1.4 per cent in 2001 to 5.5 per cent in 2005. Although the overall numbers for internet gambling remain low relative to other forms of gambling, the percentage of people gambling online has almost tripled from 0.7 per cent in 2001 to 1.7 per cent in 2005.
Internet gamblers are also spending more time online: 25 per cent gamble at least weekly, with 12.7 per cent gambling daily. The average internet gambler spends about 3.5 hours a month gambling online. The frequency of play increases among gamblers who have problems. People who have moderate problems according to the Canadian Problem Gambling Index spend 11 hours gambling online; those with severe problems spend 17 hours. Non-problem gamblers spend approximately two hours a month gambling on the net.
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