Canada’s Online Gambling Landscape
The First Nations indigenous populations in Canada originally participated in games such as stick gambling and dice. Upon the arrival of European settlers, games like card games became commonplace. The 1970s saw the introduction of new gambling reforms, including determining a legal gambling age. However, the high costs of government licences meant that only affluent individuals could afford to access the services provided by casinos.
With the proliferation of the internet in the 1990s, online gambling became accessible to a broader audience. Today, around 64% of Canadians engage in gambling, including activities like lotteries and visits to casinos. Regulation of gambling is a responsibility that falls to the provincial governments. Aside from the historical embedding of gambling within Canadian societal norms, its proximity to the United States plays an essential role. Canada, being a technologically advanced country with significant internet usage, further fuels the prevalence of online gambling in the region.
Providing gambling services within Canada is deemed illegal unless adequately regulated by a provincial body. The federal government provides an overarching legal structure for gambling, but the onus of regulation and enforcement lies with the individual provinces. Each province oversees and regulates gambling activities within its jurisdiction, which encompasses both offline and online casinos.
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