Sports gambling has victims — and they are typically highly educated young men

CBC Saskatchewan is looking at single-event sports betting in the province. This story is a part of a series examining its impact.

Read Part 1 here, which focuses on a Conservative MP who says the Saskatchewan government has "dropped the ball" on single-event sports betting. His private member's bill paved the way for its legalization in Canada.

Read Part 2 here about how responsible gambling advocates are keeping an eye on the increasing 'normalization' of sports betting — and worry about the impact of TV ads and endorsements on young viewers.

Single-event sports betting has been legal less than a year in Canada, so there isn't data yet on what its explosion in popularity has meant for problem gambling, but experts in the field say well-educated young men are the demographic most at risk.

Being male, young, single, tech-savvy, and having a higher level of education are "pretty robust risk factors" according to research when it comes to sports betting, said Shauna Altrogge, the director of the Gambling Awareness Program with the Canadian Mental Health Association's Saskatchewan division.

"I think anyone that feels that they have a really solid knowledge base and skills around sports in general, they may have a sort of a sense that, 'I know more than the average person, therefore, I'm going to place that bet because my chances are pretty solid,'" she said.

"So that's a little bit of a worry."

Shelley White, CEO of the Responsible Gambling Council, said that sports betting has some unique risk.

"Because of that illusion of control, because of the social aspect of it, because there is a tendency for people to be drinking or using substances while they're watching sports," she said.

"As well, it's appealing to a younger