Gambling was originally present in Canada amongst native people, quickly becoming cemented into the cultural history of the country. The earliest recognised game that involved a fairly primitive form of gambling – although not with money – was Slahal. This was a traditional stick game, using two different kinds of sticks that were split between the two teams, as well as ten scoring sticks. The sticks were exchanged in the place of currency, with the team with the most scoring sticks ending as the winner. What’s more, Slahal is still alive today and features regularly in traditional festivals across the country, for example, at Vancouver’s Summer Live festival.
Card games have remained the most popular forms of gambling, whether it’s Poker or Blackjack. During the Klondike Gold Rush, the game of Faro had a big boom in North America, but left Canada when the gold rush subsided, although arguably the love for card games remained.
Read on as we talk regulations, the move online and beyond.
Regulations
The Canadian Criminal Code was enacted in 1892, dictating laws and deciding what kind of behaviours would be permitted across the country. In terms of gambling, the Code tolerates it, but only under certain conditions. An amendment was made in 1910 that allowed occasional games of chance where the profits would be used for charitable events and activities. As well as this, games were also sometimes permitted at agricultural fairs and exhibitions.
These laws around gambling remained relatively unchanged until the 1970s, where it was decided that individual provinces would have the authority to license and regulate gambling for themselves.
In particular, Quebec, Ontario and Alberta have created their own corporations and commissions to regulate casino gameplay. The latter operates as the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) commission, working to regulate the selling and consumption of alcoholic beverages, recreational cannabis use, and gambling. The policies and rules that the AGLC put in place went on to maintain the fairness and security of all gambling activities, whilst also working to maximise the financial return and potential benefits of gaming.
Going online
The AGLC have taken things one step further, and even gone on to create their very own regulated online casino. The site was developed in 2020 and is called Play Alberta, in which all money that’s made by the site is then funnelled back into the community via Alberta’s General Revenue Fund.
This way of regulating casino gaming helps keep the pastime safe and fair – but how? Well, this site in particular works alongside GameSense to keep all players well-informed before placing their bets, and within their set budget.
Sports betting
As well as casino gaming, Play Alberta has also begun to offer sports betting, which has arguably become equally as popular amongst Canadian gamers. This has been a long journey for the nation, with the federal government only granting provinces the right to legalise single-game wagering in 2021.
The province of Ontario has had a long history of pushing for sports betting to come into fruition, so they are expected to be the first to incorporate sports into the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) gaming laws.
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With the annual betting habits of Canadians already estimated to surpass a value of US$10 billion – you can only imagine how the industry will grow with singular sports betting also entering the market! What sports will you be looking to bet on first?
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