By Chris Bell
March 24th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
Unlike in the US, gambling has been present in Canada for quite some time. The Great White North is famous for being one of the first countries to accept online gambling. As Canada’s first legal gambling form appeared in 1969, Canada was bound to have a highly developed gambling industry. Moreover, casinos became one of Canada’s famous landmarks where tourists and locals came for some quality entertainment.
I am a game expert working at Gamblizard; I love to blog and give my audiences piece of his mind after reading my articles.
The gambling culture in Canada became so mainstream, and it became one of the top ways to entertain yourself.
And as the advancement was introduced to the industry, online gambling started to be a thing in Canada. Nowadays, many Canadian residents opt for online casinos and sportsbooks, but it doesn’t mean that land-based casinos are any less popular.
If you are up for a quick Canadian gambling history lesson, tune in.
First Legal Encounter with Gambling
Chronologically speaking, the first time a legal document concerning gambling in Canada appeared in the 19th century. It was called the Canadian Criminal Code, and it banned all sorts of gambling activities known. As something new, strange and unknown, many disliked gambling, which is why it was considered illegal up until 1969.
Once the benefits of legalised gambling became clear to the Canadian government, they decided to alter the Criminal Code in 1969. After all, there was no stopping the casino enthusiasts from enjoying their favourite pastime activity – even if it was illegal.
The two activities that became legal with the altered Criminal Code were gambling and lottery.
This was the first step towards the incredible expansion of the industry in Canada. And for the next couple of decades, tons of new land-based casinos emerged, and the industry flourished. The gambling culture in Canada became so mainstream, and it became one of the top ways to entertain yourself.
However, after the 1990s, everything started to change, and by the early 2000s, it became easily accessible and available to almost everyone. The fast growth of Internet technology and computers gave birth to online casinos. Once online casinos started to become familiar, a new era of online gambling began in Canada.
You could go online and play blackjack, poker, baccarat and roulette.
The Beginnings of Online Casinos in Canada
And as it is entirely logical, the first online casinos in Canada and the rest of the world were quite simple. Even if this was considered groundbreaking at the time, the tech limitations allowed operators to offer only a few casino games users can play online.
Thus, you could go online and play blackjack, poker, baccarat and roulette. Another thing that used to limit people is the accessibility – as not many people had computers. Unlike today when everyone has a computer when students can access any online casino, they find on the website Gamblizard via phones when bored and get offers in Canada or play on their way to college. In other words, only a limited number of people could play these games and access the first online casinos in CA.
Also, online gambling was in a somewhat grey zone. Even if it wasn’t illegal, there wasn’t a law regulating anything conducted online. Without a clearly defined law concerning online gambling, many took advantage of the situation, which went beyond Canada’s borders and became a worldwide issue. This is precisely why many countries worldwide started defining online gambling laws and determining the legal status of online casinos.
Online Casino Laws in Canada
After almost two decades of online casino presence, Canada and many other countries worldwide struggle to define the laws concerning this matter. Thus, residents of the Great White North can play online casino games but only on offshore licensed websites. In other words, no online casino operator is allowed to run a gambling platform from CA. The country cannot issue any licenses and permits to enable such operating since there is no law defining it.
Unfortunately, the country won’t profit from playing taxes or license taxes as long as they don’t decide to pass a bill. All in all, people who are engaging in online gambling activities in Canada aren’t committing a crime – as long as that online casino is licensed offshore. Many of these offshore websites offer great bonuses, offers, top odds and exquisite gambling experience. Still, many people are hoping that the Canadian government will start changing the law soon. After all, this is a country with such a long gambling history, and it just needs to embrace it.
Chris Bell is a game expert working at Gamblizard who loves to blog and let his audience get a piece of his mind by reading his articles. He is an absolute slot machine enthusiast, and he loves to play online video slots. When Chris is not working, he usually spends time with his family or reading interesting gambling content.
