What Are The Online Regulations Surrounding Online Casinos In Canada?
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Similar to land based casinos, the rules and regulations surrounding online casinos varies from country to country. As you cross the border from one country to the next, you should not assume the laws regarding online casinos will be the same.
Interestingly, at the time of writing, over 30 different countries in the world have a total ban on online casinos. Other countries where online casinos are legal, such as the United Kingdom, must be licensed and regulated by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. Either an online casino is licensed and available in the UK or it is not, there is no grey area. However, the same cannot be said about Canada and the online regulations surrounding online casinos in Canada are a little different.
The online casinos regulations in Canada have long been more lenient than south of the border but there is not a single, overriding law or jurisdiction for online casino gaming as there is in the UK. There is no law in Canada to prevent online casinos from operating in the country and that includes a live casino in Canada. However, any online casino service made available in Canada must be licensed or owned by a provincial government to operate legally and provide users with a safety net should anything go wrong.
Although a sportsbook and not a casino, you only have to look at the example of Platinum Sports Book in 2013 to understand what happens if you do not obtain a license from a provincial government. Ontario authorities seized over $2 million in funds from the users of Platinum Sports Book and 19 people were charged.
Looking more closely at the regulations surrounding online casinos in Canada, each of the 10 provinces have their own laws. This can lead to some confusion, so it is best to look up the laws for the province of your choice before you begin playing to ensure you stay safe when gambling online.
Taking Quebec as an example, residents can play at any online casino website that is happy to accept them. This may change in the future as the government have been looking at the possibility of blocking online casinos that are not licensed by Loto-Quebec. However, the government-owned Espacejeux is available and this online casino offers a good range of games that can be played without breaking the law.
Moving to Nova Scotia and there are no legal requirements in place for online casino access. Residents are free to play at the online casino of their choice, including offshore casinos but do so at their own risk. Enter British Columbia and the regulations change again as the only legal online gambling website is PlayNow. This is owned by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and offers a range of online casino games for residents.
So, from the few examples above, you can see how the online casino world in Canada can be a little confusing. Each province is responsible for their own regulations and you are advised to check the laws of your province carefully before playing.
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