Alberta is looking for organizations to deliver new gambling-addiction services and supports as the province’s regulated online gaming market launches. The call for expressions of interest, published on Monday, seeks options beyond Recovery Alberta and includes a possible 21-day bed-based treatment program and help with hotlines.
The Mental Health and Addiction Ministry said the new programs will be paid for from revenue expected to come from Alberta’s regulated iGaming system, which launched last month. The ministry said nobody should have to struggle with addiction alone, and the application notice says gambling-related harms can affect mental health, physical health, relationships, financial stability, employment, housing and overall wellbeing.
As reported in July, Alberta opened the regulated market with a revenue model that set aside 1% of gross gaming revenue for social responsibility initiatives. CBC reported that the province also takes a 20% cut of revenues from each private operator, and almost two dozen sportsbooks and casinos were ready on launch day, with five more coming online in the weeks since.
The government says the new market is meant to keep Albertans away from black-market operators, but Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally has acknowledged the province could also see more gambling addiction. The current call says the growth of online gambling has created new challenges in preventing problem gambling behaviour and responding to it.
The proposed 21-day treatment option would add to existing services. An Alberta Health Services brochure from 2017 describes a 20-day residential gambling treatment program at the Northern Addictions Centre for adults with serious gambling addiction, with daily workshops, lectures, therapeutic group counselling, leisure activities and participation in community 12-Step groups.
That brochure also says the program includes a family component every second week and requires applicants to submit a gambling application form, a physician’s health assessment and a counsellor’s assessment. It says clients must be gambling-, alcohol- and drug-free for at least five days before admission and remain abstinent during treatment.
Organizations have until Sept. 10 to apply, and the ministry says people looking for help in the meantime can contact 211 Alberta.
