The covered potential of the Canadian gambling market
The commercial gambling market in Canada has been growing at a faster rate than the world average. The gambling business in this country is already worth well over $12 billion, but projections expect it to increase well beyond that in the next decade.
The federal government gave it a big boost last year by adopting a famous Bill C-218. It’s a genuine game-changer that will make a strong impact on all types of the fast payout casinoand
the Canadian gambling market in general.
That’s why we want to explain what makes the new law so incredibly important. In this post, we will present you with the covered potential of the Canadian gambling market.
The current state of gambling in Canada
The Canadian gambling industry is governed by provincial rather than federal laws. However, there were many restrictions and even outright bans on various types of gambling in most parts of Canada.
The situation started to change some years ago when British Columbia proposed a new Gaming Control Act with a legal age limit for players, as well as limits on the bet amounts they could make. Ontario was not far behind and soon introduced similar legislation, but with stricter age limits and bigger bet amounts.
Gambling is currently illegal in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
The impact of Bill C-218
In summer 2021, the federal government of Canada adopted Bill C-218. The new law changes Canadian federal laws with regard to online provincially regulated sports betting, in addition to all kinds of other types of gambling that are currently legal in Canada.
The Bill makes it “lawful for the government of a province, or a person or entity licensed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council of that province, to conduct and manage a lottery scheme in the province that involves betting on a race — other than a horse race — or fight, or on a single sports event or athletic contest”.
What does it mean?
To put it simply, it means that every person or company can now apply for a license from their provincial government to offer any kind of legal gambling in Canada. The new law makes it lawful for licensed entities to provide users with sports betting and gambling offers.
The only type of sports betting that the government does not allow is the one that focuses on horse racing events. But that’s just a speck of the overall betting market, so it can’t have a major influence on the decision and the market as a whole.
Therefore, it is fair to conclude that Bill C-218 creates preconditions for the drastic growth of the gambling market in Canada.
Canada becomes a lucrative opportunity for casino operators
The law will affect not only the entire gambling industry in Canada but also every single company that offers any type of service linked to sports betting and/or online casinos. It matters because it gives them access to a new market that was previously closed for legal reasons.
At this point, it is impossible to estimate the growth potential of the Canadian gambling market, but one thing is for sure – it will give a big boost to gambling providers all over the country.
The decision to allow provinces the legalization of online casino games and sports betting means a new market opportunity for these types of entertainment. Thanks to the new law, it is expected that online casinos will become much more popular in Canada in the near future.
The market is currently under-served
Even though online gambling was formally illegal in Canada, the market was actually quite big. International offshore providers were the main reason for that since they enabled Canadian players to gamble around the clock without limits.
The Canadian government has long been aware of this issue. That is exactly why they introduced a law that would allow them to provide people with local access to both online casinos and sports betting.
It remains to be seen if the new legislation will also affect the business efforts of international companies. Will they continue operating their brands in Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec without further changes?
Regardless of the outcome, it is clear that the Canadian gambling market has been under-served for years already. Now it has a chance to become much bigger and more profitable in the near future.
The potential is almost limitless.
It’s possible that some companies might be reluctant to go online with their services, mostly because they want to check the moves of provincial authorities. But they shouldn’t be worried about anything because Canada is not the first country that legalized gambling on its territory.
There are already several examples of countries that changed their legislation in order to legalize the gambling market. Canadian authorities will surely use the lessons other countries learned, thus making it easier for local providers to adjust to the new rules and regulations.
One thing is for sure – this opportunity should not be missed because it can create thousands of gambling fanatics overnight. All things considered, it is expected that online casinos and sports betting will flourish in Canada in the very near future.
The bottom line
The decision to legalize online casinos and sports betting in Canada is a bold move designed to make this industry more profitable. Canadian authorities simply saw that the market was not being used correctly due to the restrictions in place, so they decided to fix this problem once and for all.
This means that recreational players will have access to a huge variety of betting options. It also means that local providers can go global with their services, creating the potential for Canadian online casinos to become much more profitable in the near future.
The decision will bring positive changes for everyone involved, so the only thing left is to sit and watch the rise of the Canadian gambling market.
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