7 reasons for the popularity of online casinos in Canada
In 2015, a lucky Canadian made headlines after winning C$7.5M from an online jackpot. It was the biggest casino jackpot ever won in Canada at the time. At least five Canucks have won C$1M or more in the five years since, including a record-breaking C$11.6M triumph.
Interestingly, none of Canada’s casino winners pay taxes for their wins. And no, they don’t get into trouble with the Canadian government. So, does that mean online gambling is legal? Is that the reason why there’s a spike in online casinos that accept Canadians?
Legal grey area
A legal grey area implies the law isn’t clear about the legality of online casinos. And for that reason, Canadians can join offshore casinos without breaking local laws. It also means operators can’t start online casinos on Canadian soil because the law doesn’t allow it.
Although the national government doesn’t license online casinos, provinces do it. From Quebec and Ontario to BC and Vancouver, nearly all provinces permit some form of online gambling. The only places where online casinos aren’t allowed are the Maritime Provinces.
In other words, Canadian can gamble at province-owned online casinos. Or they can join offshore casinos for a larger variety of games, bigger bonuses and quicker payouts.
Mobile casinos
Over 90% of Canadians own mobile devices. They are cheap, convenient, portable and efficient for communication and browsing the Internet. Mobile devices also make it extremely easy to access online casinos—because they’re a click away.
Five years ago, online casinos would provide android and iOS apps to enable mobile gaming. But these days, installing an app is no longer necessary. Instead, they design their websites to run smoothly on mobile browsers.
There’s almost no difference between mobile and desktop casinos. You get the same level of services. If an operator has a site that loads fast on computers, it will also load fast on iPhones. If it’s well-organized, you’ll have the same experience on your mobile device.
Free spins and bonuses
Think about it. You’ve never played casino games. But you know people play and win cash all the time. Wouldn’t you give it a shot if a casino invited you to play for free? Most people would. And they’re constantly looking for sweet bonuses to keep playing.
The best quality casinos Canada provide a variety of bonuses. There’s no deposit free spins: You get these rewards for doing nothing more than signing up an account. Then there are deposit-based offers—you receive a bonus equals 100% of your first deposit.
And there are more rewards based on deposits and how often you play. For example, some sites give you loyalty points you can redeem later. Others provide a cashback for your losses or a luxurious trip if you’re a high roller.
Progressive Slots
Canadians love slots and jackpots. These slots have fans all over the world. But Canucks take their love for slots to a whole new level. In the past five years, Canadians have been playing and winning jackpot games left, right and centre.
There’s the huge C$7.5M triumph we talked about earlier. Then there’s Marcus Goodwin, a mobile player that presently holds the record for the biggest casino win in Canada at C$11.6M. A Michael Jackson fan is also part of the Canadian casino millionaire’s club after she won C$1.8M at a game based on the king of pop.
In other words, a significant portion of Canadians don’t join online casinos for sheer entertainment alone. They play to win money—lots and lots of money. Of course, slots are games of chance, so not everyone gets to win.
Zero taxes
With zero taxes on casino wins, Canada makes a good case for being the best country for gamblers. Well, the British might disagree. They don’t pay taxes on their wins either. Online gambling is legal nationally and there are lots of online casinos.
All the same, you don’t pay taxes when you win money playing online slots or table games in Canada. It doesn’t matter how much you win. You could win C$100 or C$11M. If you’re Canadian, the government lets you keep all your wins.
Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for most countries. Take the US as an example. States dictate how much tax you pay on casino wins. Some states charge 10%. Others charge as much as 30% of your online casino profits.
Lots of accepted payment options
One of the reasons offshore casinos never succeeded in the US is that most payment methods there would reject deposits to gambling businesses. The situation is changing now that more states are permitting online gambling.
But it’s not a problem Canadians have had to deal with. Most Canucks can deposit and withdraw money from their favourite payment methods hassle-free. From e-wallets like PayPal and Skrill to debit cards and bank payments, there are numerous ways to fund casino accounts.
The best part is that casinos also make things easy for Canadians. You only need C$10 to experience slots or poker. And the money reflects in your account instantly when you use a credit card or e-wallet.
Casinos also process profits fast, at least the best operators. They clear payments to e-wallets within hours. Credit and debit card payments take a couple of days while bank payments take a week or less.
Casinos are safer
When you think about it, casinos are safer now than they were twenty years ago. Back then, most of them were unlicensed and unregulated. They also lacked the data protection technology we have today.
As such, most people didn’t feel confident to play casino games online for a long time. But now, they have little or no reasons to fear. For starters, most casinos that accept Canadians are licensed in the UK or Malta.
They also hold advanced security measures like SSL encryption and strong data privacy laws. What’s more, they work with safe payment companies and provide fair games. So, when you play at a reliable site, you can be assured that your money and data is safe. Also, you’ll be playing fair games.
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