I n 2013, the American Psychiatric Association recognized gambling disorder as a type of behavioural addiction in its influential Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Individuals with a gambling disorder often incur significant debts. Some individuals will turn to bankruptcy to seek relief from their gambling debts. It is estimated that gambling contributed to the individual’s financial difficulties in one to 20 per cent of bankruptcies. Yet, not all individuals with a gambling disorder will receive debt relief in bankruptcy. Sections 172 and 173(1)(e) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) provide that a judicial officer cannot grant an absolute discharge to a bankrupt if the “bankrupt brought on, or contributed to, the bankruptcy… by gambling”. These provisions will not impact the bankruptcy of an individual who receives an automatic discharge, but will limit an individual’s ability to access relief once a discharge hearing is triggered, either as the result of an opposition or because the debtor does not qualify for an automatic discharge (e.g., a third time bankrupt or a personal income tax debtor). The provisions limiting the debt relief available to individuals who gamble date back to 1919, when Canada adopted the precursor to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. In the century since these provisions became law, the social context in which Canadians gamble has undergone two significant changes. In Canada in 1919, most forms of gambling were criminal. A hundred years later, gambling is marketed as a legitimate form of entertainment and generates substantial revenue for governments. In 1919, gambling to excess was viewed as a moral failing. A hundred years later, there is a growing consensus that compulsive gambling is a psychiatric disorder. When Gamblers Go Bankrupt Current practices and future directions By Anna Lund, University of Alberta, Faculty of Law & Arooj Shah, MLT Aikins Insolvency trustees have the unenviable task of incorporating the gambling- specific provisions of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act into their practices in ways that reflect the changing social context of gambling. We have researched how trustees are currently applying these provisions and how they might adapt their practices to reflect the current state of knowledge in the field of gambling studies. In the first phase of our project, we sought to understand the current practices of trustees by interviewing trustees, studying written decisions from the discharge hearings of gamblers, and analyzing statistics from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. A key finding of this phase is that trustees’ practices vary significantly when administering the bankruptcies of individuals who have gambled. Some trustees feel obliged to file an opposition 44 Rebuilding Success Spring/Summer2019