The 2005 OSDUS contained questions about gambling activity during the previous year. Students were asked, “How often, if ever, in the last 12 months have you done each of the following?” Among all students, the 10 activities surveyed ranked as follows, from most to least prevalent:

Cards: 32.7%

Gambled in other ways: 23.6%

Lottery tickets: 18.5%

Sport pools: 17.0%

Dice: 14.7%

Bingo: 8.6%

Sports lottery tickets: 7.2%

Video gambling machines: 6.2%

Internet gambling: 2.1%

Casinos: 1.1%

Among all students, 5.9% gambled in at least 5 of the 10 activities during the previous 12 months, and this group can be considered to be heavy gamblers. This group represents about 58,800 students across Ontario.

Between 2003 and 2005, gambling at cards increased significantly from 24% to 32.7%.

Gender and Grade Level

Nine of the gambling behaviours varied significantly by gender. Males are more likely than females to play cards for money, play dice, bet in sports pools, buy sports lottery tickets, play video gambling machines or slots, bet money in a casino, bet over the Internet, and gamble in other ways not listed. The only activity for which results did not differ by sex is buying lottery tickets.

There are significant differences among grade levels for the activities surveyed. Participation in 5 of the 10 activities gradually increases with each grade and peaks in grade 12. These activities are the following: playing cards for money, betting in sports pools, buying sports lottery tickets and other lottery tickets, and casino gambling. Heavy gambling activity varies significantly by grade, peaking in grade 12 (8.5%).