Many Canadian hospitals run lotteries which are utilized as fundraisers. Prizes ranging from large cash benefits to estate that is real cars receive away to lucky champions, while the proceeds are accustomed to offer the medical operations at the hospitals.

For many, this appears just like a win-win proposition. But one or more name that is big the Canadian medical industry believes that these lotteries could possibly be much more dangerous than people assume.

Healthcare Journal Editor Speaks Out

Within the most issue that is recent of Canadian Medical Association Journal, editor-in-chief Dr. John Fletcher had written an editorial saying that hospitals choosing to run these lotteries should take care to ensure they’ve been protecting players who have reached risk for problem gambling when they want to live as much as their social duties.

‘It is contradictory for legislation to ban hospitals from selling one potentially harmful, but legal, addictive item on their premises tobacco while allowing them to actively market another lotteries,’ wrote Dr. Fletcher. ‘Have we lost our moral compass to such an extent that individuals are blinded to your duty to ‘first do no harm’ by the attraction of easy revenue?’

Fletcher did make it clear he wasn’t advocating for a ban on medical center lotteries. After all, he said, many individuals takes part such drawings and simply have a little fun. During the time that is same they raise much needed funds for good causes. But hospitals should also take care to make sure they aren’t using those who find themselves prone to compulsive gambling.

Based on Fletcher, only about 4 per cent of Canadian adults are believed to have gambling problems of varying amounts of extent. Not surprisingly, this group that is small for much more than their reasonable share of gambling revenues, generating about 23 percent of the nation’s total.

Oftentimes, somewhat innocuous policies may actually encourage gambling problems. For instance, Dr. Fletcher points out that in many medical center lotteries, there are incentives created to have players to buy more tickets. If one admission costs $10, ten may only cost $50 ople that are thus encouraging spend more to increase their likelihood of winning.

These sorts of incentives can lead to huge outlays of money so as to obtain the best odds of winning possible. And as Fletcher himself described, issue gamblers can sometimes have extreme difficulties in stopping at a responsible destination, instead accruing financial obligation and on occasion even losing jobs, homes or family members relationships because of their gambling.

And Now for Another Viewpoint

But not everyone agrees with Dr. Fletcher’s take on the specific situation. Dr. Robert Bell, the elected president and CEO of University Health Network, told The Globe and Mail that he had been disappointed by Fletcher’s editorial.

Bell cited a 2011 study from Sweden that lotteries were among the least addictive forms of gambling, making them much less dangerous for society as a whole. That, combined with good that the lotteries do, made him feel comfortable using the hospital contests.

‘The hospital lotteries execute a tremendous level of good in supplying funding for enhancing patient care and truly funding essential research funding that is hard to raise in alternative methods,’ Bell said.

There are numerous hospital lotteries throughout Canada. Some of the largest yearly lotteries have had the opportunity to raise as much as $10 million or more for major hospitals.