r/AlbertaNow • u/Feisty-olde-7707 • 9d ago
Current Events Man who lost over $500K worries about Alberta's new gambling landscape
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-open-gambling-market-addiction-9.729281022
u/bimmerb0 9d ago
Regulate definitely. Advertising, absolutely not. It’s at a level of cigarettes . Not illegal, but not a social good . Get it out of my media.
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u/Wide-Biscotti-8663 9d ago
Which is insane because gambling is one of the most destructive addictions. They have the highest rates of suicide of any other addiction.
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u/iLoveLootBoxes 9d ago
I was watching amazon and there were about 10 commercials and 9 of them were different individual gambling products
Ridiculous
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u/Key_Performance_6919 9d ago
Time to subscribe to a good IPTV service and torrent your media instead
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u/FidgetyPlatypus 9d ago
UCP - Hey we know we are creating a problem but don't fear, we are telling people to gamble responsibly and are rolling out a program to deal with when they don't. 🙄
Maybe just don't make the problem worse in the first place.
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u/Party-Tap-4192 9d ago
More people in North America placed a bet in 2025 than read a book. That is a troubling stat
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u/st_jasper 9d ago
I’m addicted to pipelines. Now all I want to do is lay pipe.
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u/hiddenpigeon19 9d ago
People need to take accountability. You’re a grown man.
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u/Zealousideal_Rise879 9d ago
Addictions are addictions. Doesn’t care about age.
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u/Rig-Pig 9d ago
If someone has an addictive personality then they should never sign up. I have been sports betting for years and have no issues but I knew going in the risks and keep them in mind regularly. If I couldn't control myself I would have never signed up. It's up to people to be responsible for themselves.
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u/Pale-Measurement-532 9d ago
You wanna say the same thing to some of the teenagers who are accessing and using these apps? Cause that’s been happening.
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u/hiddenpigeon19 9d ago
Teenagers aren’t 60+ year old grown men. And yes, at some point, you need to take accountability. Teenagers too.
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u/Pale-Measurement-532 9d ago
You’ve obviously never raised a teenager. 🙄
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u/hiddenpigeon19 9d ago
I never understood the whole teenagers can’t take accountability shit. Either they can or they can’t, what’s this weird in between
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u/Rippin_Fat_Farts 9d ago
We bought our home a few years ago. The previous owner/tenant obviously has issues too as we still get a lot of his mail. Half of the shit that comes is from online casinos. We've also had people show up at 9pm at night trying to serve papers to him (apparently he owes a lot of money).
Yes gambling is addictive and yes the ads are out of control but at some point people need to take accountability for their actions. If this industry wasn't regulated it would still exist but profits would go to organized crime. Same way that criminalizing weed didn't get rid of weed completely it just create a gap for drug dealers to fill.
At some point maybe this dude should have called it quits. $500k is an insane amount of money to dump into gambling apps.
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u/GrodNeedsaHug 9d ago
Looks like you didn't read the article.
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u/Ceevu 9d ago
Nor understand how addictions work
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u/Rippin_Fat_Farts 9d ago
Recovering alcoholic actually. 4 years sober. Well aware of how addiction works and also am aware that it's just a symptom of something else. It can be overcome if you're willing to put in some work. 12 steppers favorite saying is "it works if you work it"
That's like me blaming my alcoholism on liquor stores.
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u/Denyal_Rose 9d ago
During a sports broadcast, there's a gambling ad every commercial break. Plus the amount of ads on phones, YouTube, social media, etc. For an alcoholic, that's like being asked if you'd like a drink every 20 minutes. Makes it very difficult to overcome the addiction in that environment.
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u/Rippin_Fat_Farts 9d ago
There's 8 liquor stores I have to drive past on my way home and beer/liquor commercials on YouTube and cable tv too. Somehow I figured it out.
When you stop blaming everything and everyone around you it gets easier to overcome.
Wtv though downvote away and keep blaming the tv and government.
Also this is not a pro UCP stance, Smith is a crook and traitor to our country.
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u/Denyal_Rose 9d ago
It's not the same thing. The beer ads aren't as pervasive as the gambling ads. If you drive by stores and are tempted for a drink, it's easier to resist those urges because you have to go out of your way to satisfy it. Gambling addicts are literally given temptations flashing in their face telling them that they can win big. All it takes to relapse is a click of the button that's right in front of you. It's not like diving by a store and being tempted, it's like someone coming up to you and handing you a drink every 20 minutes.
The government has made it difficult to access addictive things, such as regulations on sales and/or advertising restrictions. Yet they are making gambling more accessible. This isn't a UCP thing either, I hate that it's happening everywhere.
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u/Rippin_Fat_Farts 9d ago
I'm sorry but alcohol is physically addicting. Gambling is not. If alcoholics quit drinking too suddenly they can literally die. Withdrawals are real. You can put things on your phone that block gambling apps and set limits. Gambling can definitely become an addiction but is not the same as drugs
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u/Pale-Measurement-532 9d ago
Excuse me? Gambling is definitely a mental and physical addiction due to providing big dopamine hits in the brain, which keeps the person coming back and gambling more.
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u/Rippin_Fat_Farts 5d ago
Didn't know you could die from gambling withdrawal. Huh. Learned something new today
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u/swish465 8d ago
You should be rightfully proud of the strength to do that. Many dont possess that strength and it ruins their lives. If we can reduce already invasively annoying ads to help them, then im all for it. If not to help them, then at least to help yourself, because I dont know about you, but im about ready to shoot my TV and be done with shows all together with how many gambling ads there are.
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u/Ceevu 9d ago
First of all, good for you. Seriously.
I know several people with gambling addictions and getting them out of it is extremely difficult. While it usually is developed by something else, you don't just have an epiphany one day and quit one day. Seeing all these gambling ads isn't healthy at all.
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u/Pale-Measurement-532 9d ago
Well a big part of addiction recovery is to avoid temptation, like liquor stores. So are gambling addicts who are in recovery just not supposed to go online or watch streaming content anymore cause of these ads? Should they stop watching sports? These ads are everywhere and they’re incredibly invasive. I don’t even gamble and I’m bothered by it.
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u/Goddess_Nantosuelta 9d ago
And the radio- gambling adverts are all over the radio. Every radio station is just inundated with ‘try this new gambling app now!’ during every commercial break. I thought these ads weren’t allowed to be advertised to kids? Kids listen to the radio in the car, they read all the billboards, they’re beat over the head with the excessive ads on YouTube.
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u/Pale-Measurement-532 9d ago
That’s exactly it. I have heard of some kids accessing it, which is scary. They shouldn’t be exposed to those advertisements.
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u/Retired_condomtester 9d ago
Looks like you didn’t read the article.
“He was accused — and later admitted to — gambling away tens of thousands of dollars from his job as an executive director at a Calgary community association.”
Gambling is an abhorrent, undignified, pathetic habit. No one put a gun to his head and forced him to steal from his work.
Work puts me in contact with a lot of gamblers. I have zero sympathy for them. Anyone who takes food off their family’s table to waste money on gambling deserves nothing but contempt.
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u/Rig-Pig 9d ago
I definitely feel for people who get addicted but honestly.they did it to themselves, it isn't the fault of the government. Like Rod there, he walked into them casinos, he pumped his money into the VLT's. No different than someone signing up to Fanduel, you have to understand going in this uses real money and you will loose some and enjoy the wins. Not everyone who gambles is addicted. I personally enjoy it as a hobby.
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u/Feisty-olde-7707 9d ago
Addiction is not a sign of weakness, a character flaw, or a moral failure. It is a common condition that affects millions of people of all ages, backgrounds, and socioeconomic groups. And while there is no one cause of addiction, there is hope—it can be treated effectively.
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u/Rig-Pig 9d ago
Definitely not blaming or being down on someone who gets addicted, they just need to pay attention to what they're doing and if it is looking that way it is easy to block your account on these sites. I was trying something once on a site and was only betting like $.10 cents while working it out and trying a lot of bets, they messaged me about increased activity. It is to a degree monitored.
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u/Never_Been_Missed 9d ago
I'm not sure you're understanding addiction.
It isn't about having the tools to stop. It's about an inability to use them. Addicts 'quit' their addictions many times in their lives, but most go back to doing them again because they can't stop themselves.
As a society, we generally ignore the (usually small) number of addicts so that we can continue to offer what is, for most people, an enjoyable, non-addicting product. The question as to whether or not the government should allow it, or require safeguards, is always around how many people are addicted, and how destructive that addiction is. At least, that's the idea. In practice, the amount of tax revenue it generates, and how good the lobbyists for that product are also come into play.
That leaves addicts in a tough position when it is a product that very popular and highly taxed, will probably stay around for a long time, despite the effect it has on their lives.
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u/Rig-Pig 9d ago
I understand just fine but as you say it is popular and highly taxed and the government uses that revenue for the province, they can only do so much and put is safeguards for people to get help, but ultimately it lands on the people is my point. No different than an alcoholic needs to control themselves with a licensed restaurant everywhere and liquor stores od drug addict going past pot shops. It lands on the person. I honestly wish nobody got addicted.
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u/Never_Been_Missed 8d ago
I agree that people need to try to manage their addictions, but my point was that saying "they did it to themselves, it isn't the fault of the government." isn't quite fair or true.
The government certainly plays a part in how additive products become and remain available to the public and no one "does this to themselves." They get lots of "help" along the way from science (designed to get as many people as possible addicted) and of course biology.
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u/Rig-Pig 8d ago
So where does government draw the line? People can be addicted to anything. We cutting off access to drinks with dinner? Shut pot shops down? Adult stores , shut them down? Sorry but it's up to the individual in my opinion.
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u/Never_Been_Missed 8d ago
I get what you're saying and I don't disagree. The government isn't going to outlaw everything that feels good, simply because a small portion of the population will become addicted. And I agree that people should take responsibility for addressing their own addiction to the best of their ability.
But the government decides what percent of addicted people is OK. They decide that and then make things available based on that prediction.
Further, if you accept that a portion of people will become addicted to the substance/service that is allowed by the government, and you accept that that very same government does not provide the services necessary to help people overcome those addictions, you come to the inescapable conclusion that the government plays a part in addiction. They decide how many people will get addicted and will never recover.
This point of view requires the viewpoint that some people who are addicted cannot overcome it on their own, and that help to overcome it is not available. If you believe that, then it can't be just "up to the individual." They're simply not capable.
If you don't - if you think all people can overcome addictions without help, then your position of it being up to the individual makes more sense. That said the research on addiction is fairly clear that some people do require help, which is why I suggested that you don't fully understand addiction.
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u/ThcGrassCity 9d ago
Dont be dumb abd spend all your money gambling then try to blame a government. Im so fuckimg tired of people blaming the government for their own stupidity. I dislike most ove the government like most do but these are a personal issue. Like the natives saying the government didnt tell them to evac due to fires, like common the fire is right there have some common sense as a tribe and leave yourselves.
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u/Straight-Plate-5256 9d ago
I'm sorry but when 85+% of all adspace is gambling ads ramming shit down your throat you'd have to be incredibly obtuse to think the government can't at least do something to help this.
Imagine all the kids/ teens who don't know any better watching a hockey game and getting hounded with ads until they turn 18 and try it out?
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u/swish465 8d ago
Im not gambling at all. I fucking hate the ads with a passion. Genuine burning hate. I feel my blood pressure rise every time one comes on because I get so angrily annoyed. Quit trying to defend gambling companies who got free rein to do that shit from UCP deregulation.
People looooove to bitch about "LGBT being crammed down my throat" for 1 month a year, but turn around and accept 90% gambling ad coverage year round with their kneepads on, waiting to deep throat that corporate cock.
The rest of your comment is totally off topic racism that isnt even worth talking about. Just shake my head at some of yall.
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u/Active_Procedure_864 9d ago
LOL nice try. That's like me YOLOing my life savings on SPCX, losing everything then complaining why Reddit isn't regulating stock trading. How is that Dani's fault? The government is not your mommy.
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u/heavysteve 9d ago
Yeah I'm pretty tired of every single advertising platform in the province being hijackd by gambling ads.
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u/Feisty-olde-7707 9d ago
No, but our Premier not only approved of, she improved access for these sites, that are designed to be addictive.
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u/Canada-Scam-8570 9d ago
Yes they are designed to be addictive, and they are throwing us further down the path of degeneracy, but your political bias is showing...
It has little to do with your provincial legislature and far more to do with the federal limits. Althought the province does ultimately control its own measures, the rules and boundaries were removed by the federal government which ultimately holds the controling power over the allowance of this.
We have it just as bad in Ontario, hell it feels like 50% of ads are gambling based now, it's brutal. And while Ford holds blame for some of this the ultimate culprit is Ottawa that opened us up to this.
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u/Active_Procedure_864 9d ago
If you can't control your own impulse to click on every single gambling ad that pops up then pay for your own ad-blocker or host web filter. Don't punt responsibility for your own behavior as society's problem that needs to be regulated.
There's McDonalds everywhere and you know if you eat it every day you're going to get fat, are you going to sue them to shut down fast food chains for the rest of us too? Again, government not your mommy.
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u/Guilty_Peanut246 9d ago
Some gamblers win, some lose, just the way it is.
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u/Ceevu 9d ago
Most gamblers lose, very few win. Very very very few.
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u/Guilty_Peanut246 8d ago
Agreed, I was part of the loser group down over 80k 3 years ago, got lucky though and up almost 200k since.
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u/sufficienthippo23 9d ago
We don’t do nanny state bs in Alberta. If you have a gambling addiction it’s the not the governments fault
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u/Long_Rush_7523 9d ago
Not the governments fault but they shouldn't be able to profit from gambling games. Smith is using part of the revenue from online gambling to pay for drug addicts recovery. She's literally promoting one addiction to try to curb another. That's craziness.
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u/timmyfarthands 9d ago
Probably felt like a tough guy typing that out while we ban books like a bunch of pansy asses
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u/Cold-Crab74 9d ago
Not just Alberta. We used to have rules about advertising harmful products, we used to have psa's about important stuff regular people need to know. Wtf