Online and offline gambling laws differ from one country to another but in most cases, gambling activities are regulated by the country’s government. Canada is different when it comes to regulating what gamblers can and what they can’t do on the country’s territory
Online and offline gambling laws differ from one country to another but in most cases, gambling activities are regulated by the country’s government. Canada is different when it comes to regulating what gamblers can and what they can’t do on the country’s territory as this issue is given out under provinces jurisdiction, meaning every province has the right to decide how gambling-related things are going to work here. Now let’s look at Canada’s provincial governments’ approach to gambling — who is treating this right well and who’s still an outsider.
British Columbia
In this rocky Canadian province, online gambling is monopolized which means it’s only allowed to make real money bets in the state-owned PlayNow casino, opened in 2004 and successfully providing the whole range of gambling games to the locals since then. Besides, British Columbia citizens can enjoy land-based gambling in one of many brick-and-mortar casinos and make sports bets on 5 horse-racing tracks. Local gambling is regulated by the BC Lottery Corporation and Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (if we talk about charitable gaming). The legal bodies are quite open about where the money goes and clearly show it to the public.
Ontario
Ontario’s gambling regulation history dates back to long ago when the Ontario Lottery Corporation was founded in 1975. Since then, gambling activities have been legal and regulated all over the province territory. As for today, online gambling is monopolized, just like in BC, and online gambling games can only be played in the state-owned online casino PlayOLG. And we can’t say it’s bad — PlayOLG offers quite a lot of slots, table games, sports betting activities, and lottery tickets to all the adults which under Canadian gambling laws and regulations means 19 and older so only people of legal age can have a try for a win. By the way, the largest lottery prize in Canada was won right here in Ontario, and was worth more than $22 million!
Alberta
Alberta’s offline gambling activities are controlled by the Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Regulation body that makes sure that everything is legal and safe in numerous local land-based casinos. But when it comes to online gambling, Alberta stays one of the two Canadian provinces where it’s still not regulated in any way. Basically, it means that players from Alberta can make their bets in whatever international casino they want but no one would come for help if anything goes wrong. Recently, the first steps were made towards the online gambling market regulation so we can expect the introducing of the Online Gambling Act and the local online casino in the near future.
Saskatchewan
So here comes the second outsider in the world of Canadian online gambling — Saskatchewan, where it’s not regulated in any way and no moves were taken by the local government yet to change the situation. The people had to take it’s in their own hand so the first Saskatchewan online casino was opened by the First Nation man but only to be closed due to economic reasons two years later. As for land-based gambling, it’s quite popular in the province and is controlled by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.
Manitoba
And now we’re quickly coming back to the territories with fully regulated gambling activities. Manitoba’s state-owned online casino is PlayNow, opened in partnership with the British Columbia government back in 2013. It was not quite successful at the beginning but improved its performance at the hands of time. It, together with the land-based casinos and sports betting spots is regulated by the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba (LGCA).
Quebec
Quebec is “the province that tried”. It tried to monopolize the local online gambling market and block the access to international online casinos but this plan was rejected by the court so now the players can enjoy both international websites and a local online casino Espace Jeux, owned by the Loto-Quebec regulating body. What’s interesting, the state-owned casino is the most financially successful one in Quebec so even though the province didn’t manage to cut out competitors by law, it has a chance to cut them out by a high-quality product.
New Brunswick
All the gambling-related activities in New Brunswick are regulated by the New Brunswick Lottery and Gaming Corporation, which is one of the youngest ones in Canada as it issued its first casino license only in 2008 to the Casino New Brunswick. Since then, one more land-based casino, the Grey Rock one, was opened in 2015 and no new venues are planned to be built soon. Online and sports betting activities are kind-of-regulated here but there is no state-owned monopoly or a casino and international websites are totally accessible by the New Brunswick players.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of the smallest Canadian provinces which still has enough online and offline gambling fans. Those are regulated by the Nova Scotia Alcohol and Gaming Division while the online gambling products are provided by the Atlantic Lottery Corporation. Unfortunately, it can’t provide the necessary level of service and range of games so the locals are free to play on international websites. Besides, Nova Scotia government treats the issue of gambling addiction quite seriously — it’s the only province where addicts can get a lifetime casino ban, even though some changes to this law are now being discussed.
Prince Edward
The Atlantic Lottery Corporation is successfully operating on the territory of Prince Edward Island as well, working under regulation of the Lotteries Commission Act. Locals can make their bets in a land-based casino or in the ALC websites. Some time ago, the government had a dream to turn the Prince Edward Island into the local version of Cayman island and to become a huge online gambling regulator. For legal and technical reasons, this plan didn’t work out yet a dream is still there.
Newfoundland and Labrador
The same rules apply to the Newfoundland and Labrador: online gambling services are provided by the Atlantic Lottery Corporation while the websites from overseas are not blocked as well and can even get a local lottery license, as said by the Newfoundland and Labrador Lottery Licensing Regulation.
So these were all Canadian provinces — all different, but similar in their attempts to make gambling as safe and comfortable for those who take part as possible. Some do it better and create their own online casinos like British Columbia and Ontario, some trail far behind like Saskatchewan with no online gambling regulation at all, and some try to make things better like Alberta. Some are more aggressive, like Quebec trying to ban international casinos. It’s hard to say how state monopoly could influence the whole gambling industry but it seems like it’s not going to work anyway — even if the new attempts will occur, they will most likely be declined by the court.
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