Counsellor, addict worry launch of online gambling in Ontario may lead to more addiction

For the last 16 years Chris Fogolin's life has been consumed by his addiction to illegal online sports betting, which prompted him to lose family relationships, a few million dollars and at one point his home.

The 42-year-old construction worker is now enrolled in Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare's intensive gambling addiction help program. As a lifelong sports guy, Fogolin recalls how easy it was to place a sports bet, which he did once while waiting for a bus.

"It got so bad that instead of buying a loaf of bread to make a sandwich, I would place a sports bet, hoping that by chance I would win and I would have triple the money I had started with," said Fogolin.

Next month, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), overseen by the Ontario Government, is launching iGaming. It's being marketed as a legal online gambling option that they say ensures "safer play."

But when Fogolin thinks back to the convenience and easy access to online gambling at his fingertips, he worries the introduction of iGaming in Ontario may lead others down the same path.

"This disease has brought me down to the depths of hell, basically," said Fogolin.

His gambling addiction became so intense Fogolin found himself studying everything about the sports game he was betting on — weather, playing conditions and if a quarterback is better during the day or at night.

It started out small, where Fogolin would play only on weekends or during major sporting events. Eventually, he began betting upwards of 20 times a day, and even on sports he wasn't familiar with such as table tennis.

"I would put everyone and everything in my life second to my gambling — my mother, my father, my brother, my girlfriend. Nothing else could even come close to my next bet, that's how obsessive it was for me," said Fogolin.

At one point, he found himself sleeping on a park bench after gambling away his rent money. It happened during the pandemic when homeless shelters were full and there was nowhere else for him to go.

Fogolin's rock bottom, he said, was getting criminally charged with theft and fraud in relation to his gambling addiction.

"Online it just made it so much more accessible and easy for me to play," he said.

The OLG is launching its new online gambling service April 4. It allows companies to operate gaming websites of their own on behalf of Ontario, if they've signed an agreement.

CBC News asked the provincial government if it's concerned about whether iGaming could have an effect on gambling addiction rates.