With Canada being made up of several provinces, it means the residents of this country have multiple laws and orders of legislation that they must abide by. This includes adherence to three levels of government which is the Federal, Provincial and municipal levels. When it comes to gambling laws the ones that will be the most important are those that are put in place by the Provincial government. This means the laws for gambling in one province may be different from those found in another province.
Opportunities
Canadians have some great opportunities to be able to enjoy gambling activities. There are several brick-and-mortar gambling establishments that can be found in many of the provinces. Then there are online opportunities where they can log onto sites like https://unibetbetting.com/ca/ where they can enjoy a selection of games. It hasn’t always been this way though.
Gambling History
Dating back prior to 1970, the majority of gambling activities in Canada were considered to be illegal and under the control of organized crime. During this period, the majority of gambling activities were deemed illegal. Then dramatic changes took place in 1985. It was at this time that the individual provinces were given the authority to oversee gambling activities on their own level. This included gambling activities such as slot playing along with lotteries and gaming charities. Over time, each province has created its own sets of rules for gambling activities as they pertain to their province. There is still legislation that has enacted gambling laws that are outlined in the Criminal Code of Canada which is the laws of the federal government.
Legal Gambling
The laws that are in place in the criminal code were deemed as serious offences as of 2010. In order for gambling to be legal in Canada, it has to be licenced or government-run on either the Federal level or the Provincial level.
The gambling industry encompasses many different types of gambling which include brick-and-mortar casinos, online gambling, bingos, raffles and lotteries.
When it comes to the online gambling industry the laws are not quite as clear in Canada compared to the other entities. Basically Canada will allow online gambling but to be technically considered as legal, the gambling entity must be licenced or owned by the province it is taking place in. However, there are numerous offshore sites that offer their gambling services to Canadians and no aggressive action on behalf of the Canadian government has been taken against them. Although there have been a few exceptions to this where the Canadian government did go after a few online gambling entities.
Provincial Gambling
There are ten provinces within Canada and three territories. Visitors or residents of any of these provinces that want to enjoy different forms of gambling must be aware of the specific gambling laws put in place by the Province, as well as Federal laws.
Ontario
Out of all the provinces, Ontario has the largest population so looking at their gambling activities and laws is often something other provinces do.
The Casinos
In Ontario, there is a good number of land-based casinos that can be owned by private entities or run by the government.
Slot Playing
There are often small slot games situated in other types of gambling entities like at race tracks or bingo halls.
Horse Racing
This is considered as a form of gambling and that which allows betting comes under the gambling laws of the respective provinces.
Sports Betting
For sports bettors, they can make use of the Pro-line service.
Lotteries
These are under the control of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
Charities
Under this category are the raffles and bingo halls. These have to be licenced through the OLG.