Our focus was on Ontario youth between the ages of 18-24. Each workshop included thirty youth that helped identify and discuss youth gambling issues specific to their community.

The workshops collected insight from this age group who has recently been identified as high risk. A recent study conducted by the Responsible Gambling Council in Ontario indicated that young adults 18-24 years old still have the highest prevalence of problem gambling. Today, 6.9% experience moderate to severe problems and online gambling has increased from 1.4% to 5.5% among this age group between 2001 and 2005.

The workshops were a huge success, with a section of each workshop open for brainstorming. Youth were encouraged to discuss specific gambling issues and potential solutions.

A panel of community members who work in the gambling field (counselors, gaming facility workers, etc) answered some tough questions from participants. This sparked some insightful discussions.

The information collected from the workshops will be used by the YMCA Youth Gambling Awareness Program, as well as the University of Toronto YouthBet program to develop new material to better reach Ontario youth in the future.

This one time project was provided with funding through the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion.