A new poll finds widespread concern about addiction and problem gambling even as governments pocket the revenue from legalized wagering
Three years after Canada legalized single-event sports betting, a new Angus Reid Institute survey suggests the public is deeply ambivalent about where the industry is heading and increasingly worried about the people around them.
Just 13% of Canadians say they placed a sports bet in the past year, but the ripple effects of the industry's expansion appear to be felt much more broadly.
Some 28% of respondents say they are worried someone they know has developed an addiction to sports betting, a figure that climbs to 37% among men aged 18 to 34; the same demographic most likely to be wagering in the first place. Among those concerned about someone in their life, 81% say that person is male.
The addiction worry is dwarfed by a broader unease about where the industry is headed. Seven in 10 Canadians say they expect the number of problem gamblers to grow as sports betting continues to spread.
That anxiety is reflected in how Canadians evaluate the expansion overall. Some 46% say the rising presence of sports betting is a bad thing, compared to just 8% who view it positively, with 31% taking a neutral stance. The divide between bettors and non-bettors is sharp: one in three active bettors sees the expansion as a good thing, while half of non-bettors — 50% — view it negatively.
High earners
Participation is concentrated among younger men and higher earners. More than one in five men under 55 have placed a bet in the past year.
Ontario leads regionally at 15%, followed by British Columbia and Alberta at 14% each, while Atlantic Canada records the lowest rate at 8%. Participation rises with income, reaching 19% among households earning over $200,000 annually.
For those who do bet, the primary motivation is financial. Making money topped the list at 57%, just ahead of entertainment at 51%, while 34% say wagering makes games more engaging.
Only 11% cite superior knowledge as a reason they participate. Most bettors keep their stakes modest — 57% say their largest single bet in the past six months was $50 or less — though 21% have placed a single wager of at least $100, and 5% report bets exceeding $500.
Regulated safeguards exist, though uptake is mixed. Among those who have bet in the past year, 46% say they have used at least one responsible gambling tool. Deposit limits are the most common at 20%, followed by spending trackers at 16% and cool-off periods at 15%. A majority of bettors — 54% — say they have not used any of these tools.
Three in five Canadians overall acknowledge that regulated betting markets generate meaningful revenue for provincial governments, suggesting the public understands the fiscal trade-off even as it remains skeptical of the broader social consequences.
The Angus Reid Institute conducted the online survey between May 7 and 11, 2026, among a randomized sample of 1,803 Canadian adults drawn from the Angus Reid Forum. The margin of error for a probability sample of equivalent size would be plus or minus 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
