Online casino gaming and online gambling are big in Canada but before we look more closely at just how big the market has become, we need some clarification on legal online gambling in the country. At the time of writing, it is illegal to operate an online casino in Canada. No company is allowed to base themselves in Canada and offer online casino gaming. However, there is nothing preventing Canadians from accessing offshore casino websites. In fact, it is perfectly legal for Canadians to play at online casinos based outside of Canada.
No Canadian citizen has ever been prosecuted for playing at an online casino and Canadians are not at any risk when playing online casino games for real money.
When analysing the size of the online casino market in Canada, we can begin by looking at the number of online casinos offering their services in the country. Many online casinos allow users to deposit and play games using Canadian Dollars and some of the biggest names in online casino gaming offer bonuses in local currency. Dunder is an online casino in Canada and a good example of a casino based outside the country offering a specific casino service for Canadian players. The online casino features more than 600 different games from top providers, a live dealer casino, mobile gaming, and a live chat support service for Canadians. However, if you look at the licensing details, the casino is licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority. If you look at the footer of most online casinos operating in Canada, they will be licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, United Kingdom Gambling Commission, Kahnawake Gaming Commission, or the government of Curacao.
In 2021, statistics showed over 70% of Canadians who participated in gambling did so online. In terms of the ratio of gamblers using websites as opposed to land-based casinos, that figure puts Canada firmly in the top ten of online gambling nations. The market size of gambling overall in Canada has risen since 2016 and in 2019 it was worth $14.72 billion. This figure dropped in 2020 due to the pandemic and the fact people could not visit land-based casinos but gambling in general saw a resurgence in 2021.
Although it is difficult to put an exact figure on it, the Canadian online casino market is now believed to be worth more than C$30 billion per annum.
Broadband speeds were once an issue in Canada, but this has been improving in recent years. Even those living in rural areas are getting good internet access and that is crucial for the online casino market. To put it simply, the more people who have access to online casino games, the more people are going to play. A report released by OpenSignal in February 2020 said Canada ranks 25th in terms of the mobile gaming experience. That places Canada in the ‘good’ category and with only four nations in the ‘excellent’ category, it is a sign Canada are on the up when it comes to internet connection and speeds. With access to good broadband connections, online casino games run smoothly and that is key to the increase in the number of people playing online casino games in Canada over recent years.
In 2020, the NPD group showed the number of people playing mobile games in 2020 went up by 2% in the United States and Canada. That may seem like a small amount, but revenues increased by 24% over the same period. Some of this money was spent playing online casino games and underlines how big the market is in Canada right now.
