Study Finds That Seventy Percent of Quebec Residents Gamble

A study by researchers at Concordia University and the University of Montreal found that 70% of all Quebec residents have gambled during the last year. The study, which surveyed 11,888 people in the Montreal area, asked respondents about lotteries, slot machines, poker and other forms of gambling. The average respondent spent $483 per year on gambling.

It appears that young men make up the largest segment of serious gamblers. According to the results of the study, about 0.7% of Quebecers could be in danger of becoming problem gamblers, and young men who gamble online are among those in the most serious danger.

"They play more often and spend more substantial amounts of money,” said Sylvia Kairouz, director of the Lifestyle and Addiction Research Laboratory at Concordia University. “Some also reported increased problems associated with alcohol abuse or cannabis use," she added.

The study comes in the wake of a decision by Quebec’s government to launch online gambling as a way to attract revenue for the province. As part of the plan to offer online gambling, an advisory committee was created to study the societal effects it might have. Continuing analysis of gambling’s impact will be conducted over the next five years. Loto-Quebec, the provincial gaming agency, is expected to launch their online gaming site sometime before the end of the year.

One prominent gambler from Quebec has had a good week, though his gambling prowess was shown in live play, not online. Jonathan Duhamel, a French-Canadian resident of Quebec, became the first ever Canadian to win the World Series of Poker’s Main Event on Monday, winning $8.94 million after defeating John Racener in a heads-up battle.