The Great Canadian Casinos

by Jerry "Jet" Whittaker

February 8, 2006

Gambling is ubiquitous in Canada. Although it has only been 30 years since the first lotteries were introduced in Canada, there are now over 50 permanent casinos, 21,000 slot machines, 38,000 video lottery terminals, 20,000 annual bingo events, and 44 permanent horse race tracks in Canada. Over the same period, a national debate has emerged over the appropriate level of gambling in our communities. To date, Canada's gambling debate has not been informed by public opinion data. The Canada West Foundation's Public Opinion on Gambling survey attempts to fill this void.

The Public Opinion on Gambling survey provides a benchmark of gambling behaviours and attitudes across Canada. The survey findings provide a context for current debate, and can be used to track future changes in gambling opinion and behaviour.

Key Findings:

• 72% of Canadians participated in the last year in regulated (e.g., lotteries, casinos, bingo) and unregulated gambling (e.g., sports pools, bets with friends, stock speculating);

• 63% of Canadians feel that, on the whole, gambling is an acceptable activity in their province;

• 68% of Canadians feel that gambling has not improved the quality of life in their community;

• 84% of Canadians feel that government should hold public consulations before introducing new forms of gambling;

• 63% of Canadians agree that it is their right to gamble regardless of the consequences, 32% disagree;

• 77% of Canadians feel that governments should do more to limit the negative effects of problem gambling;

• 92% of Canadians feel that gambling is inevitable and that people will find a way to gamble even if it was made illegal;

• 32% of Canadians indicated that they know someone "who is a problem gambler, that is they spend more than they can afford on gambling."

Conclusions and Implications

• Opinions vary significantly by region. Ontario respondents are the most tolerant of gambling and the least likely to view gambling as a problem, while Atlantic respondents are the least tolerant of gambling and most likely to see it as detrimental to communities.

• The policy debates on gambling tend to be driven by smaller strongly opinionated groups. Sixty percent of Canadians feel that gambling has no overall impact on their communities; 24% perceive a negative impact and 9% feel gambling has had a positive affect on their communities.

• Canadians accept gambling in part because it is seen as an inevitable part of their culture. Within this context, they support government regulation and control of gambling; 47% of Canadians are satisfied with the current level of restrictions on gambling, 43% would like more restrictions and 7% would like to see less restrictions.

• The study found that in some key policy areas public opinion appears at odds with current government policies.

• Video lottery terminals (VLTs) are widely available in bars and lounges in * provinces; 70% of Canadians think VLTs should only be available in casinos and race tracks. Canadians are split (43% disagree, 41% agree) on whether VLTs should be banned altogether.

• First Nations groups have limited opportunites to operate gambling in Canada; 52% of Canadians think that governments should license First Nations on-reserve gambling, while 34% disagree.

• Provinces currently retain 80-85% of gambling revenue in Canada while charities share 15-20% of this revenue. However, 43% of Canadians believe that charities should be the primary benefactor of gambling revenue; while only 17% believe that the provinces should.

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