Among Canadians, gambling is a widely accepted form of entertainment, much more than in other countries worldwide. Ever since the middle of the twentieth-century, gambling legislation in Canada has gotten more liberal. The past decade marked an era in which gaming authorities have opened websites to embrace gambling completely.
Entering the space and providing gambling services to Canadian citizens created a mutually beneficial relationship between the gambling industry and the country. The biggest market hails in the province of Ontario.
Online gambling services, such as online casinos and sportsbooks, are quickly rising in popularity. In big part thanks to the accessibility options, they grant their players. The ability to play whenever and wherever you want is an amazing perk, but not even the best gambling has to offer. Possibly the best perk available to gamblers is online casino and sportsbook bonuses, free perks that can grant a variety of rewards. Free spins in Canada are one of the most popular types of bonuses since they are very versatile, allowing players to earn funds completely for free while also effectively granting them a free trial.
History of Canadian gambling
To understand the current state of gambling in Canada and Ontario, it is important to touch up on the history of the industry. It is a fact that gambling is widely accepted in Canada with 60% of people participating in some form of gambling. Back in the 1970, many charitable organizations held gambling events to support different charities. Following this, many provincial governments saw gambling as a powerful tool to generate revenue and slowly started to embrace the industry. By the 1990’s many provinces including Ontario established land-based casinos and horse tracks on their territory.
From here, slow growth happened up until the acceptance of online gambling which marked a large boom within the industry. This was in 2009 but at the time Canada still didn’t provide any licenses for online operators, with the exception of state-run online casinos. These had fair odds and RTP but lacked some features the most popular services had. By 2016 almost all online casino services were allowed to operate within Canada and slowly integrated themselves. The only catch was that they had to be regulated by a governing force to ensure their validity. Which is a great perk for all gamblers.
Ontario vs U.S. Gambling market
Ontario operators took more than $4.1 billion CAD or $3.1 billion USD during this year’s first quarter, according to the first quarterly market report. The operators also held 4% in sports betting revenue. With these numbers, Ontario would be the fifth largest state in the US, so the market comparison has high expectations. Although, Ontario is still in its infancy compared to other regions so its figures are quite low for comparable and already-established states.
For example, Michigan operators generated $465.7 million USD during the second quarter with a significantly fewer population of around 10 million compared to Ontario’s 14.6 million. Other notable markets include New Jersey and Pennsylvania which generated over $500 million while having a lower populace.
As time goes on and the industry cements itself as a core part of Ontario, these numbers are sure to rise. Many experts anticipate large increases in popularity and the gross profits of the industry. This is the case especially as big names are starting to come and back up the industry as their ambassadors.