Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Canada’s approach to online gambling is quite relaxed. It’s perfectly legal to spend real money gambling at online casinos, provided that the casino sites are provincially regulated and based outside of Canada. Millions of people across the country enjoy gambling over the internet and do so safely and responsibly.
Part of what makes online gambling appealing is that it can be budget-friendly. There are lots of minimum deposit casinos where you can start gambling with deposits of just CAD 10 or even CAD 5 at some sites. This is partly why online gambling revenue in Canada reached a record high in 2024.
Canada’s Online Gambling Revenue for 2024
The amount of revenue generated from online gambling in Canada in 2024 was CAD 2.4 billion. This figure surpassed expectations and shows that the country’s internet gambling market is on the rise. In recent years, the number of people gambling online throughout Canada has increased substantially. This is thanks in part to Ontario formally launching its open, fully regulated online gambling market in 2022.
What’s also helped to increase the revenue is that there are more online casinos accessible in Canada. The number of options for Canadians looking to gamble online for real money is steadily growing. This is no doubt great for fans of casino games and other types of gambling as it gives them more options and more ways to enjoy the hobby of gambling.
While internet gambling is controlled on a provincial or territorial level as opposed to a national one, generally speaking the laws have become more relaxed over the last decade or so. It’s never been outrightly illegal for Canadians to gamble online, but the laws haven’t always been the clearest. What’s been happening recently is that the country’s provinces and territories have been making more of an effort to properly regulate internet gambling.
Where Does Online Gambling in Canada Go From Here?
There’s every chance that in the near future, other provinces and territories will follow Ontario’s example and establish their own regulated markets. Doing this would almost certainly result in Canada’s online gambling revenue reaching record highs, greatly surpassing the CAD 2.4 billion from 2024.
Having said that, there will always be concerns about making internet-based gambling more accessible. As gambling revenue increases, so too will the number of people suffering from gambling-related harms. These can be short-term especially when people seek help early on. However, in quite a few cases they can last a long time and have a range of negative effects. The gambler’s personal relationships can be affected by problem gambling, as well as their mental and even physical health, their finances and their way of living.
This is why it’s important more than ever before that the industry continues to promote responsible gambling and put the safety and well-being of players first. Online gambling companies need to generate income to stay in business, but they also need to protect players to the best of their ability.
Online gambling in Canada is already a popular activity. The industry could experience key changes over the coming years that could generate further growth and make Canada a hotspot for internet casino companies.
Sources:
https://haligonia.ca/canadas-online-gambling-revenue-reaches-2-4-billion-in-2024-307391/