Online gambling is booming ahead of Super Bowl. So, experts say, is the risk to public health

This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by  clicking here .

With football fans expected to wager billions of dollars on this year's Super Bowl, experts are urging governments to reduce the public health harms that come with the rapidly growing gambling industry.

The American Gaming Association estimates American fans alone will bet a record $1.39 billion US on this year's game. The growth is a sign, the AGA said in a news release, of "the continued expansion and enthusiasm around the legal sports betting market."

That enthusiasm exists in Canada too.

The Canadian government legalized single-event sports betting in 2021 and Ontario legalized online betting in 2022, opening the door to private online gambling companies to operate there.

Some off-shore companies offer betting apps, accessible in most provinces, but they are not regulated.

"Sports betting now is so intertwined with sports as a whole, you can't watch an entire game without seeing an ad," said Jeremy Alleyne, 36, a basketball coach near Toronto.

Luke Clark, director of the Centre for Gambling Research at the University of British Columbia, said the legal changes in Canada have quickly shifted to the landscape.

"Those changes also extend to advertising and marketing and they also include the emergence of some new and riskier forms of gambling," Clark said.

"From a public health perspective, this has been generating a lot of concern."

Super Bowl bets worth billions

For Theodore Oliver, 27, the emergence of multiple sports betting ads can be triggering, and troubling.

Oliver got into online gambling