Toronto Mike

History of Gambling in Canada

Gambling participates in any game or activity in which you risk money or something valuable to win money. Check out CasinoBernie to play your favourite casino games.

Canadian gambling history

The games of chance and luck had been played for centuries. The first record of gambling in the country dates back to 1497 when John Cabot discovers some aboriginal tribes that liked playing games of chance and luck. Back then, the games that the aboriginal tribes played were still very primitive and can not be compared to want we have today.

A horse racing event in 1767 was the first official gambling event in Canada which took place in Quebec city. As time goes on, gambling took new forms, starting from the first horse clubs to online gambling and mobile casinos. The gambling history in Canada went through many difficulties and improvements, and regulations have helped build the state of the art technologies that we have in the gambling industry today.

With the emergence of smartphone devices, online gambling has grown rapidly than any other form of gambling in history, as there is no need to go to gambling venues before one can gamble. Today, gambling is one of the biggest branches of the entertainment industry, bringing in billions of dollars every year and attracting millions of people all over the country.

When gambling was banned in Canada

The Canadian gambling industry had its struggles because, in 1892, the government banned all gambling forms in the country as they were considered inappropriate. But the ban did not last long as the law was amended in 1900 to accommodate some form of gambling.

Raffles and Bingo were the first to allow, but exclusively for charities. Ten years later, people were permitted to bet on horse racing again, and in 1925, expositions and fairs got the right to host gambling events.

Gambling was very profitable, and the government amended the criminal code again in 1969 to allow both the federal and provincial authorities to organize lotteries as platforms for financing specific projects. For instance, in 1974, when residents organized a lottery event to raise funds for the Olympics.

Over the years, Canadian provinces have gotten more rights to organize gambling events, horse racing, casinos and video slot machines. Today, casinos can be found in every province in Canada.

Modern Gambling History in Canada

The contemporary history of gambling in Canada has links with both offline casinos and online gaming websites. In recent times, the Canadian casino industry is one of the richest in the world today, where thousands of outlets exist to entertain casino lovers. Canadian players like playing traditional casino games, such as Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat and Poker. But, when online casinos were introduced as virtual games, a lot of people like them. Nowadays, there are virtual venues where players can have access to a wider choice of titles.

History of offline casinos

The government enacted a new law in 1985 that moved gambling rights from the state to federal jurisdiction—this created room for many offline casinos worldwide. The new law encouraged casino owners to start their venues in several provinces in Canada.

Every province has its set of laws in regards to gambling. In some places, casinos are owned by the state, while they are privately owned in other places.

Online Gambling History in Canada

Online gambling began in Canada in 1996, where the first official digital gaming venue gave only a few digital casino games. This year is believed to be the beginning of online gambling because it is the year when many online casinos began. InterCasino, One of the first and most famous casinos in Canada, was launched in 1996, and the first-ever online gambling regulator was also launched in 1996.  At this time, offline casinos gaming activities were supervised and regulated by the Mohawk Territory Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

Initially, online gaming was a strange idea for many players, particularly when it came to casinos. Players had to get used to browsers opening instead of going into some of the famous offline casino venues.

As from the year 2000, there was a tremendous expansion in the online gaming industry. Many offline casino venues have started their online gaming platforms, making Canada one of the world's most profitable online gaming market.

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