Underage Gambling Is Rising on Ontario’s Regulated Betting Apps

Ontario’s regulated gambling market is facing an uncomfortable problem: more teenagers are getting onto betting and casino apps, and in some cases, the adults meant to stop them are helping them gain access.

Read more Football

A new provincial survey found that 12% of high school students had gambled online through regulated sites, up from 8% in 2023. The increase comes despite strict age restrictions and identity checks built into Ontario’s licensed gambling system.

The numbers point to a weakness that technology alone cannot easily fix.

Parents Are Bypassing the Rules

Several parents in the Toronto area have acknowledged opening gambling accounts that their teenage children later used.

One mother allowed her 16-year-old son to register for a government-licensed app using her identification after he repeatedly asked for access. Another parent opened accounts for his sons before shutting them down when their behaviour became worrying.

The issue had reportedly become visible inside schools as well. One parent described a private school bringing in a gambling counsellor after betting among students became increasingly common. Students were still gambling on their phones during the presentation.

Ontario law prohibits minors from gambling. Yet age verification systems are largely designed to stop teenagers from independently creating accounts. They are far less effective when a parent provides the identity documents, photographs or access needed to complete the process.

Verification Has Already Failed

Ontario’s licensed operators require government-issued identification and photographs from customers. That has not prevented minors from getting through.

Harley Redlick, a gambling law instructor and executive director of the Canadian Addiction Recovery Association, has warned that teenagers can secretly use their parents’ documents. In some cases, they reportedly photograph a parent to satisfy identity verification requirements.

Read more NFL

Regulators have already documented failures.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario fined Betty Gaming Ltd. $120,000 after at least nine minors successfully created accounts, deposited money and placed bets. Another 14 underage users managed to open accounts but did not deposit funds.

The case shows that the problem is not limited to teenagers casually accessing an adult’s phone. Some minors have been able to pass through the full registration process of regulated gambling platforms.

Advertising Adds Another Layer

Ontario has tightened rules around gambling advertising, including a ban on sports celebrities directly promoting betting products.

But the boundary is not always clear to younger audiences.

Athletes can still appear in responsible gambling campaigns, leaving familiar sports figures connected to gambling brands on television and digital platforms. Redlick has pointed to advertising involving Toronto Blue Jays player Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Betway as an example of how that association can remain visible even when direct promotional activity is restricted.

For teenagers already surrounded by sports betting advertising, the distinction between a responsible gambling message and brand exposure may carry little weight.

Ontario’s figures could also attract attention south of the border. States including New York, New Jersey and Illinois have rapidly expanded legal sports betting, creating large and heavily marketed markets of their own.

Ontario offers an early warning from one of North America’s most developed regulated online gambling systems. Licensing, ID checks and age gates can block many underage users.

Read more Gaming Corps Partners with Bally’s Intralot for UK and Spain Rollout

They become far less reliable when the route around them begins at home.

Source: www.thesportsgeek.com