Gambling is a legal activity that poses potential risks to Canadians. Although only about 1% to 3% of the population struggles with a gambling disorder, harms related to gambling are distributed widely across the entire population of people who gamble. Yet people are not aware of the risks of gambling-related harms and there is a lack of evidence-informed guidelines for people who gamble to help them do so in a way that reduces their risk of experiencing these harms.

The poster included at the beginning of this report presents the Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines (LRGGs). They are the culmination of four years’ work and have been produced by the first large-scale, comprehensive project in the world to develop lower-risk gambling guidelines. The guidelines provide a set of quantitative limits and a summary of information about special risk populations, contextual factors and other health messages that should be included when educating the public about how to gamble in a lower-risk manner.