Gambling enthusiasts in the province of Quebec are among the most eager ones as it has been recently confirmed by a probe conducted by the Montreal Public Health Department. According to the information obtained through it, the annual amount of cash spent on gambling by a single player at the gaming parlors overseen by Loto-Quebec reaches CA$3,000.
This Thursday saw the public issuing of the information gathered by the research which highlighted one of the issues in the gambling field of the province. Players appear to prefer the gaming offerings provided by the two locations overseen by the provincial crown corporation, which results in a significant amount of money spend at the said venues. On average, gaming patrons had poured some CA$3,113 on gaming over the span of 12 months.
Montreal Public Health Department Reveals Staggering Details
Such findings turned out to be quite concerning for the community as this is a record sum spent on gambling, as it turns out. The said amount it is more than what players tend to spend on other gaming options to the liking of video lottery, casino, or the lottery. Jean-François Biron, a researcher at the Montreal Public Health Department stated that there is a significant surge of gambling in the said venues in comparison to previous studies and the information gathered by them.
The probe took place both via telephone conversations and online poll aiming to shed more light on the gambling habits of people in the time period between November 2017 and March 2018. According to the information provided by it, players spent an average of CA$222 per year on traditional lottery games, which was the smallest amount of cash poured into gaming. In the meantime, video lottery was able to make people spend about CA$2,053 over 12 months of gaming.
Loto-Quebec manages the operation of gaming venues via its subsidiary Société des casinos du Québec. There are four casino venues to the liking of Casino de Montréal, Casino du Lac-Leamy, Casino de Mont-Tremblant, and Casino de Charlevoix. As it is stated in the survey, these venues have attracted players spending some CA$1,092 over the span of a single year. They provide more than 6,000 individuals with a reliable source of income.
Problem Gambling Remains an Issue
In the meantime, Société des établissements de jeux du Québec, another subsidiary guarantees the operation of as many as 12,000 video poker machines sprinkled throughout Quebec City and Trois-Rivières. They could be found in bars frequented by locals, as well as two gaming halls. The aforementioned offerings turn out being the most attractive ones, drawing more and more eyeballs and eventually emptying players’ wallets.
A total of 10,005 individuals participated in the study and provided their fair answers to the question asked. As it turned out, some 65 percent of the people of legal age in Quebec have participated in a gambling activity since the beginning of this year. The last such survey was conducted in 2012 and back then the percentage was the same. Another concerning trend was noticed while evaluating the answers, however, raising the topic of online gambling raving popularity.
Back in 2012, this gambling offering prevailed by 1.5 percent, but as it turns out nowadays gaming via mobile apps or other devices connected to the Internet has reached some 5.2 percent prevalence. Those who took part in the study were for the most part players outside of Montreal, residing in regions to the liking of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Lanaudière, as well as Mauricie-Center-du-Québec.
Findings such as these raise problem gambling awareness. Loto-Quebec provides its players with support hotline offering guidance and advice for those seeking help.
