For a long time, Canada has been a country where a high proportion of its citizens enjoy gambling. It is reported that around 75% of Canadians gamble in some form or another, such as scratchies, lottery, online and offline slots, casino games, and sports betting.
The sector which has really fuelled the popularity of this entertainment form is online gambling. iGaming is incredibly popular across Canada, and even before Ontario launched its regulated market, there were estimated to be around 19 million active online accounts. Six out of ten Canadians say they have spent money on gambling within the last month, and the number is expected to increase.
Gaming, on the whole, is growing and is no longer regarded as child’s play. While you might expect PlayStation and Xbox games to dominate the market, mobile gaming contributes the most revenue to this market.
In fact, as the review site Casino.org that offers the most reliable online casinos reviews reveals,
“Mobile casinos are on the rise. Dozens of top operators offer dedicated sites for phones and tablets. We try and help players find the best ones out there. There is a great choice of mobile casinos in Canada, from mobile-first deposits to exclusive mobile slots. Mobile casinos let players take their favourite casino games with them wherever they go. Every top online casino in Canada has either an optimized browser version of their site or a native app for Android and iOS devices. We are seeing phenomenal growth in this area of the market”.
Jemma McColgan, who is their Senior Content Editor, explains,
“More than 75% of our readers visit the Casino.org pages from their phones or tablets. So, it is hardly surprising that the main growth engine for the online gaming sector is driven by increased mobile gaming. Canadian mobile casinos are increasing in popularity every day.”
We asked Jenny about the size of Canada’s online gaming market, and she gave us some interesting statistics.
“According to Statistica, the online games market in Canada is expected to reach a revenue of US$362.89 million in 2024. In comparison, revenue in the online gambling market is expected to reach a staggering US$4.19 billion and grow at over 6% annually. The projected market volume will be US$5.71 billion in five years. The lion’s share of the revenue will be generated by online casino activity, which will account for US$2.61 billion in 2024. While the most revenue will be generated globally in the USA, Canada is a huge hitter per capita. The average revenue per Canadian user is US$154.40. If you think the market is large now, by 2029, it is predicted that there will be 33.9 million active online accounts in the country”.
Ontario has been leading the charge when it comes to growing the iGaming market. In April 2022, it decided to open a fully-regulated commercial market. What this means is that international operators needed to apply for a license to operate in the country. While the Canadian government had historically paid no heed to offshore gambling, the Ontario government realized that they were missing out on opportunities.
McColgan talked a bit more to us about this,
“With online casinos being so popular, the provincial government of Ontario decided to set up iGamingOntario to oversee and regulate the market. The idea was to get people away from offshore operators and playing on licensed platforms. This was a three-way win. Players were afforded the protection of a regulated market, which meant they had somewhere to go if things went wrong. The operators had the advantage of a ‘seal of approval’ in the form of an iGamingOntario license, which helped distinguish them from unscrupulous offshore and downright scam casino sites which were nothing more than money-laundering facilities. Ontario won because rather than all the profits flowing offshore, a large percentage now makes its way to the province’s coffers in license fees, corporate levies, and taxes on profits”.
Where Ontario leads, other provinces follow. There is considerable interest in the model it has established. As Ontario is the most populous of Canada’s provinces, it was the one where the operators were most keen to grab one of the lucrative licenses and become part of the established gambling industry. However, things are highly unlikely to stop there. Not only have the other provinces seen that there is money to be made from running an orderly, well-run market, but they can also see the benefit in protecting citizens from potential gambling harms.
Jemma explains,
“While Canadian authorities have tended to turn a blind eye to offshore and unregulated gambling sites because illegal gambling is regarded as a victimless crime, the ease with which people can access sites means that a small minority of citizens are at increased risk. While user penetration and internet access were relatively low, the number of people gambling was less of a concern. However, improved technology now means that most people can access online casinos and slots from just about anywhere, whenever they want.”
“While some provinces do not yet see the need to make changes, British Colombia and Quebec have taken some steps to change their regulatory process. However, players need to look out for more than just a province’s stamp of approval. While that is a good start and gives them something to fall back on, it does not guarantee that they will have an enjoyable experience. That is why a review site like Casino.org is important. For us, having the right licences is just one of the things we want to check out before recommending a site”.
“Casino.org has a long-established, twenty-five-step review process. We start with the licenses but also check security, payment options, customer service responsiveness, player safety and bonus offers. We want to ensure iGamers have a fair chance of winning on their favourite games. Once we know it is legitimate, we look into the games on offer and who the software providers are. We set up accounts and play the games to give genuine feedback from a player’s viewpoint. Last but not least, we want to know if there is a native app and see how the site works on a mobile browser.”
Canada is not only one of the fastest growing countries in the iGaming industry, but it also aims to be one of the best. Casino.org says it is there to make sure Canada’s online casinos live up to their promises.
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