Young people inundated with sports betting ads that doctors warn can be harmful

Doctors are calling for restrictions on sports betting ads, saying they are setting youth up for a future of problem gambling.

"I have seen people's lives fall apart at all ages, from all walks of life, whether it's an accountant with a career behind him, or a kid who's just looking to maximize his college fund who then had lost it all within a matter of a few weeks," said family physician Dr. Shannon Charlebois, who is also the medical editor at the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ.) 

Charlebois and Dr. Shawn Kelly published an editorial in the CMAJ on Monday about how betting ads are everywhere during sports broadcasts and the legalization of online gambling has made every smartphone a potential betting platform.

Even if ads aren't targeting youth, they still see them and are affected, said Kelly, who watches sports with his twin children.

"These ads are not directed at the nine-year-olds sitting with me, but they are picking up on it," said Kelly, who is an adolescent addiction specialist. 

While Kelly primarily focuses on substance use cases, he works with all addictive disorders, and has started to screen for gambling behaviour — something he believes is an emerging issue.

"I have seen an increase in harms from gambling in people who are under the age where they should be legally allowed to engage in any gambling," he told CBC News on Monday.

"The typical story that I see in the clinic is a 13- or 14-year-old boy who has borrowed dad's credit card, or mom's credit card, engaged in some online wagering and lost a significant amount of money."

Online gambling activity seeing an increase among B.C. youth: report

Kelly says gambling addiction still carries a lot of stigma, so people try to hide it and can be