New P.E.I. site that targets problem gambling a 'missed opportunity,' expert says

The P.E.I. Department of Health and Wellness has launched a new website and social media campaign as part of the province's responsible gambling strategy.

But there are questions as to just how useful the new resources will be when it comes to protecting Islanders from gambling addiction, and why the province didn't include more specific information about spending on gambling and the number of Islanders considered at risk.

The website includes prominent links to P.E.I.-based addiction services as well as the toll-free number for the province's gambling support line.

Below that, the site links to a series of short articles with titles including "Financial Resilience: What Is It?" and "How Can Budgeting for Gambling Help Me?"

"There was nothing wrong with what they were showing, but it was pretty general and not as gambling-specific as I thought [it would be]," said Elizabeth Stephen, a counselling therapist based in Halifax who specializes in helping people addicted to gambling.

Stephen described the website as a "missed opportunity" for the province, saying there should have been more specific information about gambling risks and the incidence rate of problem gambling in P.E.I.

For example, an article on budgeting for gambling states: "A good rule to remember when gambling is never spend more than you can afford to lose."

Stephen compared that language to "the way people used to look at smoking in the 50s… 'Budget for gambling but make sure you don't budget too much.'"

Stephen thinks the P.E.I. site should have incorporated specific limits on spending laid out by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction in its lower-risk gambling guidelines.

Those guidelines stipulate Canadians should spend no more than one per cent of their before-tax income on gambling.

And unlike P.E.I.'s web page, the site for those national guidelines clearly lays out how much that amounts to monthly for Canadians in different income brackets. 

For example, households with an income of $70,000 should gamble with no more than $58 per month.

For a household earning $100,000 a year, the limit is $92 monthly.

"Most people would be shocked by that," said Stephen. "If you were playing VLTs, that $92 would be gone in less than an hour, probably."