Partially due to the changed legislation regarding online casinos, the online gaming community in Canada has experienced astonishing growth over the last few years.
The article explores how and why Canada is experiencing such rapid growth in the online gaming market, focusing specifically on online casinos due to the relatively smaller market for other online games. It considers Canada as a whole, rather than individual provinces, due to the limited availability of region-specific statistics.
The current market
The market in Canada is expected to be worth $4.19B USD as of 2024. User penetration is reported to be 35.6%, which means over 35% of the Canadian market has gambled online within the last year. However, do bear in mind that this is not explicitly gaming online at casinos. It also includes sports books, which is another form of online gaming.
While the Canadian online gaming market isn’t the largest globally, it has nonetheless introduced a new revenue stream to the country—one that didn’t exist previously. The current market is supporting thousands of jobs, not just direct jobs in the online gaming sector, but also work in and other related areas. Within just a few short years, the Canadian economy has come to rely heavily on online gaming.
Why the online gaming market has grown in popularity
This leads to the question: Why has the Canadian online gaming market managed to reach these levels? Many of these reasons will likely extend to other forms of online gaming too.
Change in laws
As with most countries around the world, Canada has started to become more open to online gambling, particularly over the last couple of years.
The federal government has given the provinces free reign to design their own online gaming legislation, as well as determine whether people should be allowed to gamble there. Most provinces have introduced legislation, primarily by establishing gambling authorities that oversee the licensing of online casinos. Many provinces started to introduce their legislation around 2022, so here in 2024, we are just beginning to see the full effects.
Online gaming is now legal in every province, but do bear in mind that Saskatchewan does not have a licensing authority. The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority has operated PlayNow in the province since 2022.
Opening the market has benefitted Canadian gaming. Technically, it was legal to gamble offshore in the past, albeit at your peril. Now, you can gamble at Canadian companies, which feels safer. The market has improved and the country benefits from the tax revenue.
Canadian online casinos
As a result, online gaming in Canada is now safer than before. As previously stated, people could technically gamble online before, but only at foreign sites. While there are plenty of legitimate online casinos operating overseas, it was just a touch too much for the average gambler. Many didn't know which ones to trust.
Now that most of the provinces have a gambling authority providing licensing to online casinos within Canada, there is more trust and people feel more comfortable.
More marketing
The online gaming industry has one of the highest levels of market penetration. Many people may love to gamble, but this level of penetration is likely due to increased marketing in the industry. Every casino wants a slice of that pie, and they are willing to spend the big marketing budgets to grab it. We see advertising in many places, albeit not as heavily as in other countries, and online casinos are willing to throw out a ton of bonuses to entice gamblers too.
More options
There are now more options than ever for gambling, with an abundance of online casinos and games available. This trend extends beyond casinos to online gaming in general, where countless games compete for attention. Whatever specific type of game a player seeks, they’re likely to find it with ease.
This isn't likely to change anytime soon either. Across the entire online gaming spectrum, we have hundreds of options launching each year. People will always find something new to keep them occupied.
It helps that these games have become far more accessible too. You no longer need a big, beefy computer to dabble in online gaming. You can do it all from the palm of your hand.
What the future looks like for online gaming in Canada
Stats are a bit limited when it comes to the future growth of the Canadian market, mostly because the market is fresh. It can be tough to come up with a viable prediction model. However, the outlook does seem positive.
Between 2024 and 2029, the market is expected to grow by about 6.39%, with some predicting that the market could be worth as much as $4.19B USD in 2024. This could be a conservative estimate too. Just a few years ago, people were predicting the market in 2024 would be worth $2.5B USD. It has ended up being much more.
According to current estimates, there are expected to be 33.9 million online casino gamblers in Canada by 2029, and the number for online gaming overall may be even higher. These projections depend on the stability of existing legislation in Canada, as any significant changes, particularly tighter regulations, could impact market dynamics. For now, the online gaming market in Canada is thriving and shows signs of continued growth.
DISCLAIMER: The information presented on this page/site is intended for entertainment purposes only. Please be aware that gambling entails inherent risks, and it's crucial to acknowledge this when utilizing online gambling platforms.
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