4 ms·

That figure seemed way off to me (gut response) so I did a tiny bit of digging: Ontario claims income (primary household income) for 2024 was $791B. ~10% isn't

That figure seemed way off to me (gut response) so I did a tiny bit of digging: Ontario claims income (primary household income) for 2024 was $791B. ~10% isn't as shocking as I expected.

542458 16d ago
Really? That's an incredible number to me. 10% of all household spending goes to gambling?! 31,000 dollars per player *per year*? The mind boggles.
- pennomi 16d ago
  By transaction volume yes. Presumably it’s not all spending though, if you regularly win back some of that money. The same dollar is probably wagered multiple times before it is lost.
  - 542458 16d ago
    Ontario lotteries pay out about 58 cents per dollar in, so that's still $13,000 annually out-of-pocket for a total spend of $31,000. That's crazy money.
    - dmurray 16d ago
      Sportsbooks typically pay back more like 90%, brick and mortar casinos 90%-99% depending on the game. I don't know what Ontario mandates for regulated online casinos, but I'd guess they're at the high end of that and focus on volume, return custom and dark patterns rather than extreme house edge. If it's 98%, the average household loses 0.2% of their income gambling.
  - tonyarkles 16d ago
    https://igamingontario.ca/en/news/igaming-ontario-posts-steady-growth-market-matures-year-3 https://igamingontario.ca/en/news/igaming-ontario-posts-stea... $3.2B revenue, 2.6M player accounts, ~$1230/yr ~= $100/month
- deleted 16d ago
  [deleted]
fn-mote 16d ago
Wagering 10% of your household income is not shocking?? What would it take to shock you? That is an astounding amount. Most people are living paycheck to paycheck. I've watched gambling destroy more than one family member's lives. To put this number in context: estimate 1/3 of income for rent, so this is 1/3 of their rent?! Translating that to my own rent is an amount that would immediately lead me to quit forever.
- dpkirchner 16d ago
  The key word is *as*. It's a lot, it's shocking, it's not *as* shocking as my I thought on first read.
- AlexandrB 16d ago
  It's both better and worse than it seems. I'm guessing something like 50% of folks gamble $0. Then another 45% gamble some amount of their income, averaging 10%. Finally 5% will gamble everything they have and send their family careening into poverty.
deleted 16d ago
[deleted]

That figure seemed way off to me (gut response) so I did a tiny bit of digging: Ontario claims income (primary household income) for 2024 was $791B. ~10% isn't as shocking as I expected.

542458 16d ago

Really? That's an incredible number to me. 10% of all household spending goes to gambling?! 31,000 dollars per player *per year*? The mind boggles.

pennomi 16d ago
By transaction volume yes. Presumably it’s not all spending though, if you regularly win back some of that money. The same dollar is probably wagered multiple times before it is lost.
- 542458 16d ago
  Ontario lotteries pay out about 58 cents per dollar in, so that's still $13,000 annually out-of-pocket for a total spend of $31,000. That's crazy money.
  - dmurray 16d ago
    Sportsbooks typically pay back more like 90%, brick and mortar casinos 90%-99% depending on the game. I don't know what Ontario mandates for regulated online casinos, but I'd guess they're at the high end of that and focus on volume, return custom and dark patterns rather than extreme house edge. If it's 98%, the average household loses 0.2% of their income gambling.
- tonyarkles 16d ago
  https://igamingontario.ca/en/news/igaming-ontario-posts-steady-growth-market-matures-year-3 https://igamingontario.ca/en/news/igaming-ontario-posts-stea... $3.2B revenue, 2.6M player accounts, ~$1230/yr ~= $100/month
deleted 16d ago
[deleted]

fn-mote 16d ago

Wagering 10% of your household income is not shocking?? What would it take to shock you? That is an astounding amount. Most people are living paycheck to paycheck. I've watched gambling destroy more than one family member's lives. To put this number in context: estimate 1/3 of income for rent, so this is 1/3 of their rent?! Translating that to my own rent is an amount that would immediately lead me to quit forever.

dpkirchner 16d ago
The key word is *as*. It's a lot, it's shocking, it's not *as* shocking as my I thought on first read.
AlexandrB 16d ago
It's both better and worse than it seems. I'm guessing something like 50% of folks gamble $0. Then another 45% gamble some amount of their income, averaging 10%. Finally 5% will gamble everything they have and send their family careening into poverty.

deleted 16d ago

[deleted]