Canada’s relationship with online gambling is kind of complicated, especially with each province having the right to regulate it separately. To truly understand how this legislative framework works and how Canadians interact with iGaming products, we need to take a look back and analyze the historical aspect of this promising industry. The adoption of legal gambling was a gradual process that increasingly brought formerly illicit activities under government control, resulting in a development of a robust business field that is contributing significantly to Canada’s financial output.
Every province in the nation allows online gambling in some form in 2024, although the exact conditions guiding who can organise it and who can participate in it differ from one location to the next. Let’s try to clarify how Canada changed from a highly restrictive jurisdiction to become one of the most dynamic iGaming markets in the world.
Overview of Gambling Legislation over the Years
When Canada first emerged as an independent nation in the second half of the 19th century, any form of gambling was prohibited. That remained the case for more than 100 years, until the government withdrew the blanket ban in 1967 and transferred the authority for regulating gambling activities to the provinces. That opened legal space that provincial governments used to supplement their income, institutionalising various types of gambling one by one starting with lotteries and soon expanding to casino gaming. The arrival of online gambling changed the situation again, with Kahnawake Mohawk Territory being the first to acknowledge the winds of change and start licensing websites of this kind in 1996. At the dawn of the new millennium, Canada had 59 casinos operating within its borders and nearly 2000 other types of licensed gaming providers, including racetracks, bingo halls, and others. The number of providers exploded over the next couple of decades, while all of the provinces allowed online gambling under controlled conditions. Ontario was the slowest to follow suit, but it finally relented by legalising online casinos and sportsbooks in 2022.
Soaring Value of the Canadian iGaming Market
Parallel with the growth of legal establishments offering casino services, the nation experienced a rapid expansion of revenues from gambling activities. As a result, today in Canada online slots and other forms of gambling are becoming serious drivers of sustainable economic growth. The entire gambling industry was estimated to be worth around $6.4 billion in 1995, but the value more than doubled to 15.1 billion by 2010. Just when the analysts were expecting the growth to slow down, it remained strong throughout the 2010’s thanks largely to the adoption of iGaming services delivered over the internet. Online casinos are increasingly taking up a larger share of the market, with iGaming alone contributing more than $14 billion to the economy in 2023, nearly as much as all gambling establishments a decade ago. The projections for the rest of the decade are bright, with annual growth of around 6% predicted until 2030. Relaxed regulations in several provinces are contributing to this trend, so it’s possible that the experts are underestimating the vitality of the Canadian iGaming sector again.
Estimating How Much Canadian Citizens Use iGaming Services
The image of gambling in Canada has undergone a nearly complete transformation over the previous several decades. Once viewed as a socially destructive vice, today it is mostly accepted as harmless fun that allows citizens to let off some steam. In recent years, over 80% of all households in Canada are spending at least some cash on gambling activities, with a yearly average of around $460 per family. A closer look at the numbers reveals that most people approach this activity merely as a pastime and risk only small sums – 43% of all players stay under $20 per month, while only 3% admit spending more than $100 monthly on various games of chance. The existence of legal venues for gambling is certainly driving the consumption amongst law-abiding citizens, while also helping to redirect some funds from illegal offshore sites to regulated and taxed providers. Since legal internet casinos can be more readily controlled, problematic gambling by individuals is recognised earlier and acted upon.
What’s In the Cards for iGaming’s Future in Canada?
The recent legislative changes and strong local demand have put Canada on the map of iGaming hotspots and made it an important destination that the leading companies can’t ignore any longer. More and more top online casino brands are acquiring licenses that allow them to operate across Canada, while the general acceptance of this entertainment mode continues to spread beyond major cities. Based on this, it’s safe to say that Canada will become even more important in the global market for iGaming services, and that some locally-based businesses active in this niche could become powerful on the international level. It’s essential that the increase in the number and quality of legally approved online casinos is matched by the improvement in mental health and addiction therapy resources, and this can be done by redirecting a portion of tax revenues towards organisations capable of providing assistance to those who need it.