Canada has loved its casinos and gambling for the longest time – right from the time the first settlers came on to this land. The love for the game among the population remains the same, though the focus has shifted from land-based to no deposit bonus casino in Canada.
Now, both paper magazines and online reviews have a lot to say about casinos in Canada. And the information is not only limited to the top casinos, gambling rules, and likes. So, after going through all the major online and offline publications about Canadian casinos, here is the information that we have derived. Give it a read!
Table of Contents
The Land-Based Casino Venues in Canada
Back in the days when gambling wasn’t legal in Canada, players found it hard to get in-person areas to place their bets, apart from the charity drives. The horse racing arenas started gaining popularity as the initial public location to bet and gamble. The popularity remains constant to this day, and the reviews of horse race tracks are still found online and in paper magazines. Moreover, nearly 3.5 per cent of Canadian players take part in some kind of horse race gambling each year with the help of Bitcoin.
The popularity of in-person casinos depends on physical entertainment. As per the latest news, even music artists now collaborate with the industry to offer live shows and quality music to attract crowds. The in-person table games are still the major pull for the land-based venues. But the online casinos are not lagging behind in this regard.
The Rise and Rise of Online Casinos in Canada
Slots and lotteries are the top sources of gambling in the country, with more than twenty million people participating every year. Online casinos draw in the maximum numbers in this regard because they are easy to access through mobile devices and browsers. It is highly popular among Canadians who do not want to visit an actual land-based casino.
It is important to mention in this regard that online gambling laws in the country fall under a grey area. Canada is all about provincial licensing, which means each region has a different set of rules for gambling licenses. Several provinces such as Saskatchewan are still in the grey area legally because they only technically allow certain online gambling acts.
Magazines have been trying to decode the basic terms and conditions found at online casinos since 1883. Since online gambling and offshore casinos are still highly popular destinations for Canadian gamblers that prefer to use the best chromebooks in gambling, it is important to know the regulations of each area. In fact, the legal grey areas have made offshore and online gambling platforms flourish even more. With a wider variety of online bonuses and promotions available, Canadians are not going to love online gambling any less in the years to come.
The Legality of Online Gambling in Canada
Online gambling is legal in Canada, but the matter isn’t so straightforward. The federal government has allowed every territory and province to govern gambling activities within the jurisdiction. It includes digital gambling options where every territorial or provincial gaming commission has its online gambling portal. Not every territory or province has those, and the options aren’t that great even for the ones that do. It makes offshore online casinos highly popular in Canada.
These offer better, bigger promotions, prizes, bonuses, and more. But here is the tricky part – though online gambling is considered legal and offshore casinos can still attract Canadian players, it’s technically not legal for Canadian gamblers to join the offshore casino sites. Now, enforcement still isn’t an issue, which makes this happen.
Offshore Gambling Sites Don’t have a Canadian Government License
Moving on to the complexities of offshore casino platforms, the government of Canada has no mechanism to license the offshore gambling platforms. The responsibility lies at the discretion of the individual territories and provinces. It also does not seem that licensing from territorial or provincial governments is going to happen too soon. And here comes the story of the loophole:
- The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is located in the Mohawk Territory of Canada.
- Since 19961, it has licensed a host of offshore online casinos.
- Going by the last report, more than fifty online casinos and more than 250 offshore gambling platforms had these licenses.
Now, it means Canadians can technically use these sites legally. But the Criminal Code of Canada says otherwise. And the grey area prevails.
No Offshore Casino Player Has Ever Faced Prosecution
Due to all the grey area that covers the Criminal Code of the country, people who want to spend their money at any offshore casino are basically safe. After all, there are no clear guidelines regarding the severity and type of penalty a person can face for playing at offshore online casinos. In fact, going by the paper magazines and online accounts, the Canadian playing at an offshore site does not even consider illegal.
That’s how well the offshore sites and their offers are. In fact, most offshore sites even accept the Canadian currency for making payments. As no Canadian has ever been jailed or fined, offshore casinos are seen as great alternatives to the available domestic options.
Gambling: A Preferred Social Activity in the Country
Now here is something that probably just the Canadians would be able to relate to. For the Canadians, games of luck are not seen as gambling. After all, lotteries, raffles, and bingos have been a part of their culture forever. It is hard to find even a junior league hockey game where at least a raffle isn’t conducted. Fridges all across the country have lottery tickets attached to them for years, and bingo is a whole different story!
As each small Canadian town is home to either an Elks Hall, seniors centre, or a Legion, Saturday afternoon or Tuesday night bingo is a major draw. Bingo has become a social event for family and friends to get together and have fun. All in all, gambling brings Canadians all over the nation together and gives them a fun pastime for those long, cold winter nights.