What are the Legal and Regulatory Aspects of Online Casinos in Canada
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Online gambling keeps growing globally thanks to the popularity of handheld devices. More and more people are using their smartphones and tablets to game online. The same applies to Canada, where more people are using online casinos to have fun. However, the legal landscape is largely unregulated. In this article, we’re going to go over the legal landscape of online casinos in Canada. Without further ado, let’s get started.
What is the Current Legal Landscape of Online Casinos in Canada?
The way things currently stand, the only regulated province in Canada is Ontario. All the other provinces have unregulated online casino laws. That means that players can have fun at any offshore casino. That includes brands that hold licences from Kahnawake, Canada. Technically speaking, all native land is considered a separate territory, not belonging to Canada. As such, Canadian law jurisdiction doesn’t apply to it. That’s why operators are free to operate retail and online casinos if the gambling site’s servers are located on native land. Therefore, all brands with the Kahnawake licensing are available to Canadian players.
Essentially, all offshore gambling is not punishable by law in Canada. That means that all Canadians can open accounts at offshore casinos and can legally gamble. Furthermore, any winnings are not taxable. However, as this is causing a low of Canadian money to flow to other countries, Canada has started making a shift to regulated online gambling.
The first province that has fully regulated online casinos and sports betting is Ontario. There are already dozens of operators that hold the Ontario Gambling Commission License and are fully legal to operate in the province. What does this mean for the average player? Well, it ensures fair play, meaning that there is no fraud. Additionally, all payouts are guaranteed, as the Commission oversees all the operations. Players are still tax-free, and the most important part is that it’s causing a boost to the Canadian economy, but we’ll explore this more later in the article.
Will Other Provinces Follow Ontario?
Now the question remains, Will other provinces follow what Ontario did? Given that Canada is looking to create a safe online gambling economy, it’s safe to assume that Ontario was a test for the whole country. So far, the results have been positive, as the province has taken more control of where the gambling money is going.
It’s likely that other provinces will follow the same pattern and regulate online gambling. Besides helping boost the economy, it also keeps players safe as they know that they’ll be playing at secure and verified gambling brands.
What Does This Mean for the Canadian Economy?
Online gambling in Canada keeps growing. This is not a surprise, as the situation is the same in other countries in the world. That’s why the country is doing its best to regulate online gambling quickly. It helps boost the local economy in several ways:
- Tax boosts local government – While players are not taxed, the operators are. They have a fixed percentage of revenue that they have to pay to the province’s government. On top of that, there are also licensing costs that operators have to pay. Last but not least, they also pay towards helping people with gambling problems. All this ensures that the country has another source of income, making it possible to invest in the local economy.
- More jobs – Online casinos are easy to run, but they do require a team of people working to operate them. Besides online casinos, more retail casinos will keep opening, resulting in more workplaces.
- Tourism growth – Like in the US, Canadian retail casinos are as flashy as they can get. This is great for tourists who live visiting casino resorts and exploring the Canadian wilderness.
Conclusion
The way things currently are, online gambling remains heavily unregulated in Canada. However, since Ontario was such a big success, it’s safe to assume that other provinces will regulate online gambling. It will help with its growth, but it will additionally help grow the economy of the country. So we can expect the legislation to change in the future, leading to a complete regulation of gambling across all Canadian provinces.
