There’s absolutely no doubt that online gambling is one of the most popular forms of entertainment in various places in the world – and Canada has cottoned onto that. But the regulation across the country can still be confusing – what’s legal and in which provinces?

We’re going to take a look at iGaming & gambling regulations for the people who want to play at new online casinos in Canada and all of the games they have. We’ll also take a closer look at one of the latest provinces to change things: Ontario.

How Gambling works in Canada

It was just a few short months ago – April of 2022, that Ontario opened up its doors and let the big wide world of online casinos in. This big change in the legislation allows all of the businesses that offer online gambling to apply for a licence to operate there. This licence is handed out by the Liquor and Gaming Commission and is needed to legally offer gambling services in the province.

This was a huge deal for the whole of the iGaming and gambling industry – Canada has previously had an incredibly strict outlook on gambling regulation. The only way to get licensed in Canada was to have one issued by the province they wish to operate in, and any company wanting to do business there would have to stick to each province’s individual regulations.

These governing bodies don’t directly operate the casino, they only handle the licensing. It’s down to private companies to handle the online casino sites. Because each province is licensed differently, each one has its own licensing body that regulates everything gambling related within the confines of its jurisdiction.

The Case of Ontario

The government of Ontario commented back in 2020 that it had started making plans in creating a fully regulated iGaming and internet gambling sector and that regulating this would fall within the reach of its Gambling and Alcohol Commission. Registration for its iGaming Ontario program began at the end of 2021 and overseas online casino businesses could legally operate there from April 2022.

Thanks to these plans, gambling businesses from all over the world can offer their casino sites to the people of Ontario. In order to get a licence from iGaming Ontario, casino operators must be registered with the AGCO and then they can apply.

Introducing this new legislation could have a massive impact on the gambling industry, as it’s a whole new market to be established. Some of the biggest names in the gambling sector are jumping on this opportunity to offer their sites to this new and potentially lucrative market.

The Rest of Canada

Alberta is the only other province so far to allow third-party and overseas gambling companies in. All of the other states run on different legislation.

In most of the other provinces, gambling is run by governmental agencies, with incredibly strict regulations. It’s not just online casinos that are affected by these strict measures – sports betting is too. It was only recently that Canadians were able to place single-event bets – before a bill named Bill C-128 passed, all Canadians could only place parlay bets on more than one event.

The governmental agencies offer a range of different games and betting – from different lotteries to slot games and scratch cards. But due to their only being one place to play, there’s an extremely limited number of games on offer, with games from some of the big name developers such as Yggdrasil and NetEnt missing.

The Future of Online Gambling in Canada

You only need to look at other countries to try and see where the future of online casinos and betting lies with Canada. Other countries that are strict on gambling – such as America and India – are opening up their doors territory by territory and allowing third-party companies to offer their gambling-related services.

This has a number of advantages, including two big ones: A massive crackdown on illegal overseas gambling and also a big bump in gambling taxation revenue. This is what we can see from the two provinces of Canada that have opened up their doors so far – Alberta and Ontario. In just Ontario alone, gambling revenue is set to almost double from $1.6 billion to $2.3 billion in just a year!

It’s for these reasons and more it’s highly possible the rest of Canada will open up its doors to online casinos everywhere, ushering in a whole new era of Gambling regulation.

For years, decades even, the established iGaming industry predominantly founded in Europe has looked west to new markets and new opportunities. It wasn’t until 2018 that they were finally able to gain passage to the US, and in 2022, part of the coveted Canadian market finally opened its doors. As we reported at EuropeanGaming, the Canadian Gaming Association and Ontario government have been looking to regulate the online gambling space since at least 2019.

Not to undervalue the provinces of Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta – which have 2022 population estimates ranging from 4.5 million to 8.6 million – but Ontario is the big fish in Canada. Home to major metropolitan areas of Toronto and Ottawa, The Loyalist Province boasts some 15 million people. This is a major reason why massive brands from across the Atlantic that are already established in the likes of London, Guernsey, and Malta have leaped at the opportunity to offer iGaming in Ontario.

Now, two quarters into Ontario’s new iGaming market, it’s clear to see that brands have quickly found an audience and have done so by offering the best of what they have to offer. Furthermore, there’s even space to grow and connect more deeply with Canada’s betting population.

Ontario’s strong start and notable growth

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The regulated space of gambling in Ontario has long proven popular with residents. In 2020, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) reported that its returns grew from $1.7 billion in 2015 to just under $2.5 billion, with expectations of eclipsing $3 billion set for 2022/23. Key to this has been the lottery run by OLG, which saw $4 billion in sales from 2015 to 2020 across some 10,000 points of sale across the province.

On 4 April 2022, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) opened a new space for iGaming, with the transition period to being fully regulated ending on 31 October 2022. During this time, several major brands applied for and were granted licenses to operate within Ontario’s regulatory framework, including last year’s highest percentage owner of the market, Betway.

Leading up to the end of September, Ontario has had two quarters to record data. The first quarter, ending 30 June, saw CA$4.07 billion in wagers, which grew by 48.4 per cent to CA$6.04 billion, according to iGamingBusiness. In that time, revenue grew by 64.8 per cent, from CA$162 million to CA$267 million, aligning with a similar jump in operators from 18 to 21. Simply put, iGaming’s already big business in Ontario.

Instant competition by bringing their best

IMAGE SOURCE: Pixaaby

In decades gone by, we’ve seen some operators decide to tease their way into markets, offering a limited number of games and options to effectively show growth as the removed parts get added. This can also be caused by limiting regulations and licensing agreements, but with the Ontario iGaming market, platforms are bringing their best products, with Ontario and UK platforms being identical in some cases.

In the case of the online casino Betway offers, all of the slots, live casino, and sportsbook options are the same in the current .ca platform as they are in the .com version. The brand has brought all of the aspects that made it popular in the UK and across Europe, immediately helping to set a high standard for the nascent market. Just as you’ll find the hit game Dragon’s Cache, you’ll also be able to play the newer Amazon Kingdom.

These two games, in particular, demonstrate that the newest and most popular games are being offered in Ontario. SpinPlay Games, the creator of Dragon’s Cache, is one of the coveted studios now under the Microgaming umbrella, as is Amazon Kingdom from JustForTheWin. Throw into the mix the latest live casino games from Pragmatic Play, Authentic Gaming, OnAir, and Evolution Gaming, and you can see that Canadian players can enjoy all of the same high-tier content as those in much more established and even more populous markets.

Partnerships and ambassadorships for growth

IMAGE SOURCE: Pixabay

Since the US opened up to sports betting – as well as the total iGaming industry to a lesser degree – major brands have been making partnerships with sports leagues. Most pertinent to Canada, the new partnerships the NHL signed will have been noticed for US games, such as Betway becoming the official sports betting partner of the NHL. At the time, Ontario wasn’t up and running, but now, there may be space for a similar partnership. They’re also a key partner of the Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils.

So, there looks to be potential room for partnerships with teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators in the future, or even as the NHL’s official betting partner in Ontario. Also on the table is athlete ambassadorships. A tried-and-trusted tradition for many iGaming brands in Europe, the likes of cricketer Kevin Pietersen, footballer Roy Keane, jump jockey Katie Walsh, and actress Nargis Fakhri are all ambassadors in iGaming. Perhaps a Buds or Sens legend would be interested in an iGaming ambassadorship to raise brand prestige.

Ontario has proven to be a strong market for iGaming from the get-go, with there being plenty of opportunities for further integration in the future.

The new project casinozeus.net, created by gambling expert Olexiy Ivanov, is directed at users from Canada. All articles with reviews of various Internet sites on Casino Zeus are written in English. Gamblers can find a lot of useful information about playing at online casinos in Canada, find out about the main payment methods, review the ratings of the best sites and choose the best platform to play for real money. The author talks about the specifics of registration, shares a list of current bonuses and constantly updates information about new clubs.

How Can I Tell if a Canadian Casino Is Licensed?

Canada is known for its tolerant attitude in dealing with many matters, including gambling. The market was legalized in 1999, at which time a bill came into force, and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission was founded to oversee compliance with the established rules. As of today, there are 114 online casinos registered in Canada, one official betting house and eight slot machine rooms. 

There are four types of licences that can be obtained through the Gambling Commission:

• IGC — the first type of licence that allows you to register for hosting in Kahnawake; no action on another hosting system is permitted;
• Key Persons Licence — a licence for a key entity to carry out the management activities of the CPA licence holder;
• Inter-Jurisdictional Authorization — a type of secondary licence that allows you to organize gambling activities in Kahnawake territory;
• Client Provider Authorization — the licence proving the identity of the club owner who plans to provide services on the gambling market.

Olexiy Ivanov shared with our correspondent information about his new site, casinozeus.net, and shared his vision about the regulation of the gambling industry: “In the Canadian legislation, articles 201-206 prohibit gambling activities in the country, but smart entertainment organizers have carefully studied what is written and saw in article 204 that lotteries, horse races and betting are allowed as legal activities. Each province establishes its own regulations that allow the gambling industry to change and open new clubs without problems.”

What Are the Best Online Casinos in Canada?

Olexiy Ivanov has researched all the online casino sites in Canada and has highlighted the best ones that offer generous bonuses and quality software. Each operator pays out winnings in a timely manner and does not cheat users out of their money. Some of the best sites to play at are:

Criteria for Choosing Trusted Casino Sites in Canada

The Casino Zeus site offers a large number of reviews on Canadian online casinos. Olexiy Ivanov tells readers what criteria he looks for when writing his reviews:

• valid licence;
• reviews from real players and a positive reputation on sites such as Reddit and Trustpilot;
• quality software from trusted developers;
• wide range of games, including live dealer games and roulette;
• work of the support team and the promptness with which they deal with gamblers’ questions.

What Are the Most Popular Payment Methods at Casinos in Canada?

The currency in Canadian casinos is the Canadian dollar, so all payment transactions will be made in CAD. Players are advised to deposit via payment systems that support this currency. This will allow them to avoid additional conversion fees. The main payment methods of web casinos in Canada include:

• Visa and MasterCard bank cards;
• PayPal, Payeer, Instadebit, and Paysafecard e-wallets;
• Skrill, Neteller, and Bitcoin cryptocurrency wallets.

Rules for Playing Responsibly at Canadian Online Casinos

The situation in the gambling industry is quite complex, with many users being unable to control their own gambling habits. Because of this, more and more players are facing problems with gambling addiction. Olexiy Ivanov wrote in his article about how casinos fight gambling addiction. The basic rules of responsible gambling require operators to:

• control the registration procedure for new players in the casino, no one under the age of 18 is allowed to play;
• notify users of possible risks in the games;
• working with organizations such as GamStop, and GamblersAnonymous to help treat affected players;
• setting gambling limits.

What Are the Alternatives to Online Clubs?

Online users can also visit land-based venues in Canada and try their luck offline. The advantages of playing in land-based clubs are:

• total immersion in the world of gambling;
• option of betting in cash;
• opportunities to find new friends based on a shared interest.