Ontario Youth Doing Mentally Better Since 2020, But Gambling Increases
Ontario’s youth have been doing much better since the pandemic, when mental health issues were a major concern. The Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey noted that the 2025 survey indicated that 46% of youth in grades 7 to 12 reported a “moderate to serious level” of psychological distress. O…
Ontario’s youth have been doing much better since the pandemic, when mental health issues were a major concern. The Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey noted that the 2025 survey indicated that 46% of youth in grades 7 to 12 reported a “moderate to serious level” of psychological distress. Ontario’s Youth Are Doing Better – but Their Gambling May Be a Ticking Bomb The number was down from the 51% of students responding in the affirmative in 2023, along with reduced use of drugs and alcohol in 2025 as well. However, one in ten students has placed a bet in 2025, compared to one in 100 in 2019, indicative of a major expansion of the activity among youths. The numbers are serious enough to beg further scrutiny, with CAMH’s Institute for Mental Health Policy Research co-director Hayley Hamilton noting that the explosion in youth gambling has coincided with one specific event – the expansion of Ontario’s gambling market to private operators. Hamilton explained that despite the legal safeguards inherent to licensed operators, students still find ways to gamble, although not necessarily on the said websites. Students Are Particularly Vulnerable and Find Ways to Gamble Despite Prohibitions According to the survey, online gambling also expanded since 2023, with 12% participating in iGaming activities among students in 2025, compared to 8% a few years prior. Peter Selby, Principal Investigator of CAMH’s INTREPID Lab, was similarly concerned about the numbers. Selby specifically noted that students are able to work their way around restrictions or access websites that are not licensed locally. He further said that the influencer economy that is promoting gambling could also have a role to play in driving students to gambling websites. Ontario’s government and the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) have been addressing this issue. The two have teamed up for a new safer gaming campaign, aimed at young men aged 19-24, and seeking to raise awareness about problem gambling as well as offer help to those who may need it. This aprticular demographic is considered the most at-risk of developing long-term life-altering consequences from gambling.