Kath says she and her husband tried their best to resist, but finally did something they never imagined would be part of the parenting experience.
asserted
they → say → experience
The Toronto woman used her own credentials to set up an account for her 16-year-old son on a government-regulated gambling app, allowing him to skirt rules that ban anyone under 19 using the sites.
asserted
that → use → sites
“He would bug us and for the longest time we said ‘Absolutely not.
asserted
we → bug → time
It’s illegal and blah blah blah,” recalls Kath, who asked that her full name not be published.
asserted
name → ’ → ?
But “every single kid is betting, like everybody …
asserted
kid → bet → everybody
Eventually, I was just worn down …
asserted
I → wear → ?
Eventually he used my ID — which I’m not proud of — and opened an account.”
asserted
I → use → account
As surprising as her decision might be to many parents, it seems far from unique.
uncertain
it → seem → parents
Two other parents told the National Post they too facilitated their own minor children’s online gambling and said many families are doing the same.
asserted
families → tell → same
Harley Redlick, a lawyer and responsible-gambling activist, said he’s heard from numerous parents who have opened accounts for their teenage kids, often citing an “epidemic” of Internet betting among adolescents they feel is hard to resist.
asserted
they → say → adolescents
Kids are gambling on sports and casino games in social groups, at home and even while at school, they say.
asserted
they → gamble → school
Ontario’s decision to legalize commercial gambling apps — a policy mirrored by Alberta last month — has always been controversial, with over $100 billion bet in the last year and spikes in gambling addiction, gambling-related bankruptcies and possibly even gambling-linked suicides
But officials have insisted that at least young people would be kept off the sites, thanks to strict rules that require players to upload government-issued identification and photographs to register accounts.
uncertain
that → legalize → accounts
Interviews with parents, a teenage gambler and gambling experts suggest the safeguard is having less impact than might be expected.
“I would say every single one of my son’s (high school) friends has an account,” said Kath.
uncertain
one → suggest → account
He says a lot of kids are losing a lot of money.
asserted
lot → say → money
The hard data about the prevalence of underage betting is limited, even as the market grows by leaps and bounds.
asserted
market → grow → leaps
The Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey concluded that 12.4 per cent of the male high school students and three per cent of females had gambled online in 2023, but that was just a year after the province set up its commercial gambling program — and the overall volume of bets placed since then has exploded.
asserted
volume → conclude → bets
“It’s definitely widespread,” says David, a father who set up a betting account for his sons, then shut it down when he saw some concerning behaviour.
asserted
he → ’ → behaviour
“And it’s a problem because you’re getting kids … addicted to a behaviour that has real-life consequences as they get older.”
asserted
they → ’ → consequences
Like the other parents interviewed — all of them professionals in the Toronto area — David asked that his full name not be published, partly because he knew that what he did was illegal.
Robin, a third parent, said her son’s private school brought in a gambling counsellor to address the students because of concerns about widespread betting.
asserted
school → interview → betting
Even during that assembly, she heard, teenagers were on their phones gambling.
asserted
teenagers → hear → phones
“My son knows kids who have lost thousands of dollars,” she said.
asserted
she → know → dollars
“One kid won $6,000 on slots at (school) lunch.”
asserted
kid → win → lunch
Redlick, who teaches a professional-development course on gaming law at the Law Society of Ontario and is executive director of the Canadian Addiction Recovery Association, said he has sympathy for parents, especially given that marketing for Internet betting inundates sports broadcasts and other media.
asserted
marketing → teach → broadcasts
Ontario did ban sports celebrities from those ads, but it still allows them to appear in so-called “responsible-gaming” spots that are produced by the same companies and present the topic in a generally upbeat way, he noted.
asserted
he → ban → way
Redlick cited a BetWay commercial featuring Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Toronto Blue Jays superstar.
asserted
Redlick → cite → Jr.
“It seems like the government has offloaded this to the families and parents,” he said about underage gambling.
asserted
he → seem → gambling
“It’s giving lip service to responsible gambling.”
asserted
It → give → gambling
Yet it’s not always a conscious decision by parents to let their teenagers use the apps.
asserted
teenagers → ’ → apps
Some kids anxious to open accounts will borrow IDs without permission and even take pictures of their parents to upload, claiming they’re for some legitimate use like “Christmas photos,” said Redlick.
asserted
Redlick → open → photos
And the guardrails the sites have put in place are not totally foolproof, suggests a recent prosecution by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
uncertain
prosecution → put → Ontario
The regulator fined Betty Gaming Ltd. $120,000 for “failures” that let at least nine people under 19 years old create accounts, deposit money and gamble and another 14 set up accounts without depositing money.
asserted
14 → fin → money
The age restriction is “one of the most basic and important safeguards” in Ontario’s regulated system, said AGCO CEO Karin Schnarr about the case.
asserted
Schnarr → say → case
Like Alberta’s new initiative, Ontario’s policy licences gambling companies to set up sites and advertise.
asserted
policy → licence → sites
It is illegal to facilitate access to underage online gambling in Ontario, confirmed Ontario Provincial Police spokeswoman Tracey Mellersh.
asserted
Mellersh → facilitate → Ontario
But the force has yet to lay any charges, preferring a harm-reduction, education-based approach, warning parents and guardians about the law and the risks of young people betting, she said.
asserted
she → have → law
Meanwhile, unregulated gambling apps also operate online, often making little or no attempt to bar minors.
asserted
apps → operate → minors
The Ontario Provincial Police charged one person in 2024 in a scheme involving a site called TopBets, after several underage teenagers in Orillia, Ont., were allegedly lured into gambling, then threatened with violence when they racked up debts.
uncertain
they → charge → debts
Similar to the other parents, Kath said her son made the case that his friends were already doing it.
asserted
friends → say → it
It seems to be a highly social activity, groups of boys gathering to bet on a sports event or casino games, she said.
asserted
she → seem → event
Kath likened her approach to that of parents who let underage children consume alcohol under their supervision rather than take a hard, no-drinking line, knowing the kids will imbibe regardless.
asserted
kids → liken → line
…and 21 more, not listed.
