Online Gambling in Canada is still in its Infancy

iGaming North America conference was held from May 2-4 at the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. During the conference VP of the Canadian Gaming Association, Paul Burns, spoke about steady the growth of gambling in Canada. "In Canada we may approach things a little differently than Americans, but that’s not to say the issues with vague Canadian gambling laws don’t exist,” Burns said.

Burns noted that the industry is fairly young in Canada and there is a lot of uncertainty as to how land-based and online casinos in Canada should be regulated. He commented: “There is a lot of money at stake and all the provinces want a piece of the action as the online industry evolves. But because the provinces are pretty much free to deal with the issues in any ways that best suits them, there is not likely to be one policy governing gambling in Canada.”

The lack of consensus between the different Canadian political parties in terms of gambling regulations is causing a steady increase in illegal gambling activity and a lack of extra tax money in the government’s coffers. Burns called for unanimous action of different provinces to pressure the newly elected government to come up with more concrete and reasonable gambling laws.

He said: “Everyone knows the technology exists to make it safe from problem gamblers, from children, and how to make sure players are not getting cheated, and not cheating the companies. But like the United States, Canada has a hole in its framework and we need to come together to figure out what’s right, especially when it comes to the online gambling sites in Canada.”