Abstract
Instant ticket purchase gambling (ITPG) is pervasive in Ontario and has features that mimic slot machine play. Previous researchers have reported that ITPG is one preferred activity for at-risk/problem gamblers. In the general Canadian population, rate of participation in ITPG is second only to lottery ticket gambling. Both are particularly favored by youth and seniors. The next cohort of seniors will be Canada’s baby boomers, one-third of whom live in Ontario. Secondary analysis of Statistics Canada data revealed that adults in this cohort who buy instant gambling tickets (N = 1781) are significantly different from the complete group of their age peers (N = 4266) in number of activities pursued and frequency of involvement. At-risk/problem gambling prevalence was 10.2% amongst Ontario baby boomers who participate in instant ticket gambling, significantly higher than the 6.7% found amongst the total group of baby boom gamblers. For those who reported experiencing one or more of the Canadian Problem Gambling Index indicators for problem gambling (N = 237), 73% were buying instant tickets. Future research should consider cohort effects and explore combinations of preferred gambling activities that may increase risk for problem gambling. Social policy recommendations include the use of all ITPG venues as key locations for promoting awareness of problem gambling treatment services.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. (2007). Annual report 2006. Retrieved February 18, 2008, from http://www.agco.on.ca/pdf/Non-Forms/2005_06AnnualE.pdf.
Azmier, J.J. (2001). Gambling in Canada 2001: An overview. Retrieved March 19, 2003, from http://www.gamblingresearch.org/download.sz/GamblingInCanada2001.pdf?docid=1532.
Azmier, J.J. (2005). Gambling in Canada 2005: Statistics and context. Retrieved August 20, 2005, from http://gaming.uleth.ca/agri_downloads/1585/GamblingInCanada.pdf.
Berry, R.E., Fraehlich, C., & Toderian, S. (2002). Women’s experiences of gambling and problem gambling. Retrieved May 6, 2005, from http://www.gamblingresearch.org/download.sz/056%20Final%20Report.pdf?docid=5511.
Boughton, R., & Brewster, J. (2002). Voices of women who gamble in Ontario: A survey of women’s gambling, barriers to treatment and treatment service needs. Retrieved January 23, 2005, from http://www.gamblingresearch.org/download.sz/voicesofwomen%20Boughton%20(1).pdf?docid=1524.
Burge, A. N., Pietrzak, R. H., Molina, C. A., & Petry, N. M. (2004). Age of gambling initiation and severity of gambling and health problems among older adult problem gamblers. Psychiatric Services (Washington D. C), 55, 1437–1439. doi:10.1176/appi.ps.55.12.1437.
Campbell, C.S., Hartnagel, T.F., & Smith, G.J. (2005). The legalization of gambling in Canada. Retrieved July 18, 2005, from http://www.responsiblegambling.org/articles/legalization_of_gambling_in_canada_july_2005.pdf.
Canadian Institute for Health Information. (2008). Health information roadmap initiative. Retrieved April 15, 2008, from http://www.cihi.ca/cihiweb/dispPage.jsp?cw_page=profile_roadmap_e.
Cox, B. J., Yu, N., Afifi, T. O., & Ladouceur, R. (2005). A national survey of gambling problems in Canada. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 50, 213–217.
Currie, S. R., Hodgins, D. C., Wang, J., el-Guebaly, N., Wynne, H., & Chen, S. (2006). Risk of harm among gamblers in the general population as a function of level of participation in gambling activities. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 101, 570–580. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2006.01392.x.
Derevensky, J.L., & Gupta, R. (2001). Lottery ticket purchases by adolescents: A qualitative and quantitative examination. Retrieved July 4, 2005, from http://www.education.mcgill.ca/gambling/en/PDF/lottery.pdf.
Feeney, D., & Maki, T. (1997). Age, generational membership and their effect on gambling behavior and attitudes. Roseville, MN: Minnesota State Lottery.
Foot, D. K. (1998). Boom, bust and echo 2000: Profiting from the demographic shift in the new millennium. Toronto, ON: Macfarlane Walter & Ross.
Gravel, R., & Béland, Y. (2005). The Canadian community health survey: Mental health and well being. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 50, 573–579.
Griffiths, M. (2002). Are lottery scratchcards a “hard” form of gambling? Journal of Gambling Issues, 7. Retrieved November 17, 2005, from http://www.camh.net/egambling/issue7/opinion/scratchcards.html.
Healey, J. F. (2002). Statistics: A tool for social research (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
Marshall, K., & Wynne, H. (2004). Fighting the Odds. Perspectives on Labour and Income. Statistics Canada, Catalogue no. 75-001-XIE, 4(12), 7–15.
McCready, J., Mann, R.E., Zhao, J., & Eves, R. (2005) Seniors and gambling: Sociodemographic and mental health factors associated with problem gambling in older adults in Ontario. Retrieved April 27, 2006, from http://www.gamblingresearch.org/download.sz/2198%20Final%20Report%20-%20Posted%20Version.pdf?docid=7039.
McNeilly, D. P., & Burke, W. J. (2002). Disposable time and disposable income: Problem casino gambling behaviour in older adults. Journal of Clinical Geropsychology, 8(2), 75–85. doi:10.1023/A:1014679507988.
Petry, N. (2003). A comparison of treatment-seeking pathological gamblers based on preferred gambling activity. Addiction (Abingdon, England), 98, 645–655. doi:10.1046/j.1360-0443.2003.00336.x.
Petry, N. (2005). Pathological gambling: Etiology, comorbidity, and treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Pietrzak, R. H., Molina, C. A., Ladd, G. T., Kerins, G. J., & Petry, N. M. (2005). Health and psychosocial correlates of disordered gambling in older adults. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 13, 510–520. doi:10.1176/appi.ajgp.13.6.510.
Poulin, C. (2006). Public health: Gambling. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 175(10), 1208–1209. doi:10.1503/cmaj.061299.
Rush, B., & Moxam, R. (2001). Treatment of problem gambling in Ontario: Service utilization and client characteristics. Retrieved June 15, 2005, from http://www.datis.ca/download/final_gambling_report_aug1.pdf.
Rush, B., Veldhuizen, S., & Adlaf, E. (2007). Mapping the prevalence of problem gambling and its association with treatment accessibility and proximity to gambling venues. Retrieved February 25, 2008, from http://www.camh.net/egambling/issue20/pdfs/issue20.pdf#page=85.
Scratch-win lotteries ‘very healthy’ (2007, January 25). The Toronto Star, p. C3.
Statistics Canada. (2003). Canadian community health survey 1.2–mental health and wellbeing. Ottawa, ON: Author.
Statistics Canada. (2007). Summary tables: Population by sex and age group. Retrieved August 10, 2008, from http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/demo31a.htm?sdi=ontario%20age.
Welte, J. W., Wieczorek, W., Barnes, G., Tidwell, M., & Hoffman, J. (2004). The relationship of ecological and geographic factors to gambling behaviour and pathology. Journal of Gambling Studies, 20, 405–423. doi:10.1007/s10899-004-4582-y.
Wiebe, J., & Cox, B. (2005). Problem and pathological gambling among older adults assessed by the SOGS-R. Journal of Gambling Studies, 21(1), 205–221. doi:10.1007/s10899-005-3032-9.
Wiebe, J., Mun, P., & Kauffman, N. (2006). Gambling and problem gambling in Ontario 2005. Retrieved October 22, 2006, from http://www.gamblingresearch.org/download.sz/bib.pdf?docid=7670.
Wiebe, J., Single, E., & Falkowski-Ham, A. (2001). Measuring gambling and problem gambling in Ontario: Canadian centre on substance abuse and responsible gambling council. Retrieved January 12, 2005, from http://www.responsiblegambling.org/articles/CPGI_report-Dec4.pdf.
Williams, R., & Wood, R. (2004). The demographic sources of Ontario gaming revenue. Retrieved May 20, 2006, from http://www.gamblingresearch.org/download.sz/078%20PDF%20Final%20report%20-%20posted%20version.pdf?docid=6117.
Wynne, H.J. (2003). Introducing the canadian problem gambling index. Retrieved March 17, 2006, from http://www.gamblingresearch.org/download.sz/The%20CPGI%20V5%20-%20from%20Hal.pdf?docid=6446.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This work was funded by Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Papoff, K.M., Norris, J.E. Instant Ticket Purchasing by Ontario Baby Boomers: Increasing Risk for Problem Gamblers. J Gambl Stud 25, 185–199 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-009-9117-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-009-9117-0