Canada, Gambling & Everything Else
Canada is a country in North America consist of ten provinces and three territories which extend from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific ocean until the Arctic ocean. The world’s second largest country in terms of total land area which is a total of 9.98 million square kilometers. Despite having a large land area, statistically, around nine out of ten Canadian citizens live in the United States.
Canada Gambling & Casinos
Gambling in Canada started way back during the time of the Indigenous people which was a thousand years ago, even before Canada was born. During that time, the played the game called Slahal which is a game using animal bones, and is still played until today. In 1380’s, the monarch became concerned as their archers spent too much time playing dice games. As a result, the current king, Richard III prohibited any dice games.
While in 1767, the first horse racing was organized and was held in Quebec City. It marked the beginning of official gambling events in Canada. All citizens of Canada gathered at the Plain of Abraham to watch the horse race neck and neck for the prize money at stake. However, in 1892 after being fully independent from Europe banned gambling of any form through adding them in the Canadian Criminal Code.
This is because morality and religious beliefs were on the peak so the legislators were obligated to pleasure the mass. Unfortunately this led to the opening of underground gambling dens and a network of Canadian gamblers. The government then has realized the possible economic contributions of some betting games, and made amendments to the law. Therefore in 1900’s charity lottery and raffles were allowed. 25 years later, more amendments and made which allowed fairs and exhibitions to hold gambling events.
Starting 1969 and onwards, betting games and gambling slowly became legal. It started with lottery in 1969, a year after provinces were given the right to license and regulate gambling. In 1974, lottery was used to raise funds for the Montreal Olympics. Eleven years later, gambling became fully legal in Canada. Then the first casino opened in 1989. It was called the Crystal Casino and was operated by the government. Sadly, it closed in 1997 and was later absorbed by 2 other gaming centers to pursue its operations.
Online Gambling Laws in Canada
As technology became more accessible, gambling did as well. In 1994 Canadians were able to play on offshore online betting platforms. Even though it is not implicitly legal, the legislation does not say anything about it being illegal. However, technology still has not fully bloomed at this time. They stood behind noisy dial-up internet and shabby graphics, as well as it only consist of a limited selection of games. This dissuaded Canadian gamblers from playing.
In the current gambling situation, online gambling laws is still in the grey area for Canada. Although they have been the number one place for lotteries and slots with over 20 million participants reported in 2020, there are still no clear legislation regarding online gambling. Until now, Canadian provinces has set their own guidelines for licensing gambling. In Seskatchewan, acts of online gambling is technically allowed.
Despite the grey areas on its legality, Online and offshore gambling is still one of the most popular destination for Canadian gamblers. Now, they have a wider variety of choices for online casinos and bonuses. Moving forward, Virtual Reality casinos are gleaming into the limelight. It has reached to nearly 3 billion investments worldwide.
Payment Methods in Canada
As Online gambling is still not fully legalized in Canada, making sure that you are using secured payment methods is an advantage. On first glance, the well-known are most probably the best and the safest. Below we have listed the most popular payment methods you can use in Canada.
- Visa (credit or debit card)
- Mastercard (credit or debit card)
- Paysafecard
- American Express
- PayPal
- Neteller
- EcoCard
- ecoPayz
- PayNearMe
- Citadel
How to Bet Online in Canada
Betting Online in Canada is easy. You just need to sign up for an online casino that is available in Canada, choose one which has the games you like playing or the ones you deem is the most trustworthy. As there is no direct legislation which covers the entire Canada, just make sure that your province is allowing online gambling so you won’t have a problem later on.
Online requires a lot of personal information including your bank account details. Finding an online casino that ensures security and fun at the same time would definitely be a good choice. Also, always remember to check the odds each casino offers for the games. The better the odds, the higher the chance of winning.
Online Games in Canada
A lot of the big and popular names in the world of online games are from Canada. Minecraft, Call of Duty, CS:GO, Fortnite, Dota 2, and League of Legends are the top selling games for Canadians. Likely, online casino games has also grew rapidly in the country. Among the games, slots, poker, and blackjack are the most loved by Canadian gamblers because of their value for entertainment. Since they are in a legal grey area, checking the legitimacy and security of each offshore online gaming site is a must.
FAQs for Canadian Gamblers
Can I get in trouble for online gambling in Canada?
As long as you’re not playing at an illegal online gambling site that is based in Canada (there is no private online gambling operator in Canada), technically your are not doing anything illegal. Always check the legitimacy of the online casino you’re playing at.