Gone are the days when people used to travel miles just to gamble. Online casinos almost took over the brick and mortar ones, making gambling easier and comfortable for the players. The brick and mortar casinos are also expanding their business to online platforms due to the high demand that online casinos are in lately. There are thousands of online casinos available on the internet and each day their number keeps growing. People are now choosing online casinos over the ones that are land-based, due to the convenience and comfort the online casinos are offering to their players. They now can avail and access several bonuses and hundreds of games right from the comfort of their homes and offices. Online casinos have brought the casino world to our fingertips and made everything a lot better and easier.
The online casino industry is blooming each day. The United States has the highest number of online casinos and the United States citizens are not allowed to gamble on offshore casinos. In contrast to the US regulations, Canada being its top competitor, only allows its citizens to gamble on offshore online casinos. The Canadian casino industry is on the rise even though the country outlaws any private ownership of online casinos. How is it possible for Canada to top the charts even with the speed breaking regulations set in place? Aren’t you curious? Let’s look deeper into Online Casino Canada.
Online Casino Industry in Canada: An Overview
Are you aware of the revenue of the Canadian Online Casino industry per year? You would be shaken, the yearly revenue recorded by online casinos in Canada is about 31 Billion Canadian Dollars(C$31 Billion). If not for the government regulations on online casinos, the revenue would be skyrocketing in no time.
In Canada, only government based casinos are considered legit and no private stakeholders are allowed to own any online casinos. About 76 per cent of the adult population of Canada is enthusiastic about gambling. In a country with a maximum of its adult population enthusiastic about gambling, only in the government based casinos would not be enough to cater to the gambling needs of its population. Thus the government has introduced a relaxation in the regulations allowing Canadian citizens to gamble on offshore gambling sites/ online casinos. This way, Canadian citizens can enjoy access to the top online casinos of the world and also earn more money by spending less in cases of several nations.
There are a few companies that have dedicated themselves to connecting Canadians to global casinos and players legally. Playtech and Microgaming are industry-leading software providers in Canada, that makes sure that the Canadian players have access to newer, innovative and more advanced games for them to play.
Lately, Canadian gambling has taken a turn towards online casinos, the revenue of the brick and mortar casinos is falling low each day and the online casinos on the other hand are thriving. The main casinos in Canada that currently have both online and offline presence are Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, MGM Resorts International, Game host, Caesars Entertainment Corporation.
Compared to a while ago, Canadians now are having a very comfortable gambling experience. The government of Canada has left the gambling decisions to individual provisions and the terms are way more relaxed than before. Along with that, with the improved internet facilities, mobile technology and many advancements in the Candian cyberspace, the players in a remote village are also able to easily access and enjoy access to plenty of online games with a more than satisfactory experience. With improved internet access more people are able to play and the games are also quick to load and also leading to more people showing interest in online casinos.
Even now, a few provisions in Canada banned online gambling. Generating revenue through online casinos could rise up the status of the provision and lawmakers are also looking into it too, due to which the process of development of online casinos is moving slowly. While the process is slowly moving in some provinces, others like Ontario, Alberts, Manitoba and a few other provinces already have relaxed regulations on online gambling. Since it is illegal for the private stakeholders to have their headquarters within Canadian borders, the online casino owners are moving the headquarters to places where it is legal and operating from there and providing Canadian citizens with online casino games legally.
Not so long ago, land-based casinos were preferred over online casinos, that was because, then, the online casinos took forever to load, their games were pixelated and there were no live casinos either. But those times are now long gone. In recent years, online casinos have introduced many games and improved the quality of the games and overall playing experiences to their customers. They have introduced several bonuses and more varieties of slots and games than a land-based casino to attract new players. Also, unlike the brick and mortar casinos, online casinos are not restricted by limited space or time or any physical barriers this makes it a better choice for the players as they could experience more online than their land-based counterparts. This has made online casinos popular and a preferred choice in Canada and led to higher revenues and huge success of online casinos in the country.
As it’s already mentioned above, the gambling rules and regulations are left to the individual provinces of the country by the Canadian government. Canada is made of 10 provinces namely, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Labrador, New Brunswick. The gambling rules in these provinces are governed by the provinces themselves. Let us now examine a few of them here.
- Ontario allows its citizens to access a number of their favourite games from the internet. While can choose from the provided betting options, one thing they are needed to do is to check whether the online casino they are playing with is legitimate. It is the most populated province in Canada and back in the day, 82.9% of the adult population of this province did admit that they have accessed real money casinos at least once that year.
- Quebec citizens can access any online casinos that accept them and can also visit Espacejeux, which is owned by the government. The sites that don’t have Loto-Quebec approval will be blocked for unlicensed gambling.
- Nova Scotia doesn’t have its own gaming sites, so the citizens can access any offshore online casinos that are legitimate.
- Manitoba allows gambling and the residents can enjoy gambling on govt based websites. You will also find several unlicensed gaming sites here, but it is better if you choose to avoid engaging with them
- New Brunswick allows gambling in the province. But the residents have to choose from offshore casinos.
- British Columbia has legalised gambling in the province for almost three decades. When it comes to the online casinos, the only regulated site here is Play Now, owned by Lottery Corporation.
In Conclusion
Online gambling in Canada is regulated by individual provinces. With more provinces coming in terms with online gambling and changing their regulations, the Canadian Gambling industry continues to grow each day. More and more people and companies are showing interest in online gambling and casinos which makes it impossible for online casinos to fail. If you are a Canadian citizen and are interested in online gambling, you need to make sure that you are aware of and are abiding the rules and regulations set by your province regarding online gambling and also make sure that the online casino that you choose to play in is legitimate.
