Gambling has a long history in Canada, and finally after many years it is legal and falls under the jurisdiction of each province- not like here in Sarasota. When it comes to Casinos, Bingo and Lottery the laws are black and white although the other hand it is clear that the legislation has not yet caught up with the changing business environment and the increase of business conversion to online platforms.

Where once you could not legally gamble at all in Canada, you can now gamble in person, or online- it really is up to you. From Canadian slots to live poker, the internet has you covered.

Legality of Online Casinos in Canada

 As federal legislation is not explicit for these type of sites, it is a bit of gray area for the Canadian Provincial legal system. However, if one digs a bit deeper the picture gets more black and than grey.  First of all, as an individual you are doing nothing illegal when you place your bets online, the issue can potentially arise in terms of is the provider legally allowed to accept your bet? In the past, this caused a lot of confusion so now, in 2017, the provinces control and legislate for each area, with the exception of horse racing which is governed nationally. Nowadays, almost every province in Canada allows betting and the taking of online bets- meaning more fun for you guys!

 Online Casinos registered in Foreign Countries 

In most jurisdictions, the place of doing business is determined by the geographical location of the person who uses the services. The best example of this is the European Value Added Tax (sales tax) system, where the online merchants and service providers have to charge the Value Added Tax based on the physical location of the user of the service. As for Online Slots and Casinos, the location of the person could determine the place of doing business for the particular transaction, therefore the online casinos one could argue breaking the provincial gambling laws by taking the bets.

How likely is it to see law enforcement against Online Casinos?

Given the complexity of laws and the fact that international legal teams would have to be assembled, and clearly it would be a multimillion-dollar project to take up action against the online companies, it seems unlikely that legal action will ever be taken against casino providers. It is also worth pointing out that many casino sites are based in other countries and are accessed by Canadian citizens, which makes it very difficult to ban, or control.

When it comes to online betting and online casinos, we have come a long way. They have shed their slightly dubious reputation of the past, and now everyone uses them. As long as you are responsible for your betting and your behaviour and exercise control over your betting habits, you are not doing anyone any harm!

photos from Deposit photos