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Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health.

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Vanessa Abban

Will promise of riches overwhelm analysis of social and health impacts of proposed casino?

A casino will bring increased health and social costs for Toronto, warned two leading experts at a community forum hosted by the Wellesley Institute on Jan 22. While a casino for Toronto is being pitched as a sure-fire money-spinner (exactly the same way that casinos are marketed to individual gamblers), the real story is much more complex.

Toronto Medical Officer of Health Dr David McKeown noted that availability and proximity are key factors in boosting problem and at-risk gambling behaviour. He said that research suggests that there would likely be a big increase in the estimated 140,000 problem and at-risk gamblers in the GTA if a casino is located here. Trent University gambling expert Dr Jim Cosgrave noted that governments are increasingly relying on gambling revenues and, as the economic downturn continues to erode revenues, governments are increasingly turning to the quick stimulus of gambling to shore up their finances.

The presentations of Drs McKeown and Cosgrave can be found posted below.

Toronto’s public consultation on the casino proposal wraps up on Friday. Background information on the health and social impact of casinos, along with links to additional resources, is listed below.

Presentation by Medical Officer of Health Dr David McKeown

Presentation by Trent University gambling expert Dr Jim Cosgrave

Backgrounder from Wellesley Institute on casinos and your health

Toronto casino consultation website

Toronto Public Health’s technical report on health impact of casinos

Wellesley Institute’s Health Equity Impact Assessment of a Toronto casino

Dr Jim Cosgrave’s book, Casino State: Legalized Gambling in Canada

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Vanessa Abban

Vanessa Abban

Vanessa Abban was a research assistant at the Wellesley Institute 2013-2015 providing support to senior staff on various projects relating to the social determinants of health and health equity. She has a Master of Global Affairs degree from the University of Toronto and research experience in Ghana, India and at the University of Toronto on women’s rights, empowerment, and ethics. Her academic pursuits focused on ways to empower community driven development, with a strong emphasis on gender inclusion and community-based research. Her current research interests include exploring health issues that affect socially marginalized groups. VanessaAbban

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We wish to acknowledge this land on which the Wellesley Institute operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.

Revised by the Ceremonial Committee at the University of Toronto Office of Indigenous Initiatives in April 2021.