When most people think about North America, it is common to mentally go straight to the United States. Yet, there is much more to the continent than the U.S., and Canada is one of those locations. In fact, while the United States has had fairly stringent control over its online gambling scene in past years, Canada has been able to experience a more liberal approach for the most part. But how big exactly is the Canadian online casino market? Do many people like playing casino games in this vast North American country?
Well, it’s true that the number of people seeking out casino gameplay is on the rise. And this is a worldwide trend, with Canada not lagging behind in any way. And in fact, Canada is one of the largest gambling countries around the world, ranked as No. 8 as far as global gross gambling revenue is concerned. More recently, a large portion of that revenue has come from the online gambling scene. Despite the fact that iGaming is something relatively new to the market in Canada, it has seemingly taken over in numerous ways. So, let’s see exactly how big the online casino market is there.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Leads a Vast Change
It is easy to look at the coronavirus pandemic as being a complete negative in every sense. It has ground businesses to a halt, economies have shrunk around the world and people have suffered at its hands. While land-based casinos have been forced to close their doors for the most part, online casinos have flourished. Players had to stay at home during lockdowns, and even if they could have got out, the casinos would not have been accessible.
So, while remaining at home, players have been accessing online casinos and finding out that it provides an invigorating enough experience. Some of the top Canadian casinos have therefore been experiencing a boost in the number of people choosing to register for an account and play the games within their lobbies. Not that they weren’t specifically visited by gamers beforehand, but thanks to the pandemic, they grew significantly in popularity to bolster the online gaming market.
Today, over 70% of Canadians who participate in gambling do so online, and this puts the country in the top 10 brackets for the number of online gamblers around the world.
Statistics Surrounding Gambling in Canada
Gambling actually occurred in Canada prior to the arrival of European settlers. Back in those times, sticks and bones were used as gambling credit by indigenous people, with games like Slahal being common. Despite the fact that the original European settlers held gambling in low regard, this didn’t stop it from becoming highly popular within Canada, and of course, around the world.
Today, Canada has fully embraced gambling activity, presenting residents with some fantastic high-quality online casinos to access. And thanks to the advancement in technology, online gambling has risen to become a highly popular pastime. Figures suggest that almost 20 million Canadians participate in the activity, and the industry is responsible for providing the country with 135,000 full time jobs. This makes it worth over $15 billion.
The market size of Canada’s overall gambling sector has consistently increased overall since 2016, too. It reached a peak in 2019 of $14.72 billion; naturally, the pandemic saw it decline throughout 2020, but for 2021 so far, Canada’s residents have sent it into a resurgence.
Online Gaming Accounts for Largest Portion of Revenue
Specific figures surrounding the percentage of Canada’s online gaming revenue are difficult to estimate. Yet, it is likely that the vast majority of income from the gambling sector is generated by the online sphere. Doubtless, this is due to operators working alongside high-quality software providers, enabling them to include exciting online slot titles, compelling table games, entertaining live dealer options and more into their lobbies.
The fact that mobile casino gameplay is also supported within Canada adds even more appeal to the online casino sector. Because gamers can easily access the games that they like from wherever they are, they can have their favorite games at their fingertips at all times. Add the enjoyment factor of live casino games to this and everything is really firing on all cylinders for the Canadian gaming market when it comes to online casinos.
Popular games in the Canadian market include the aforementioned slot machines, as well as poker and roulette. Generally speaking, you will find at least two of these games and frequently all of them at Canadian gambling sites.
So, will the Canadian gaming sector remain at its peak in the future? Well, it would be silly to suggest that it won’t. Even the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t been enough to stop the online gaming scene from burgeoning. And with so many technological advancements over the years, and more on the way in the future, Canada is likely to maintain its vast online casino market for many years.
While land-based casinos may resume their popularity once the dangers of the pandemic have passed, this isn’t likely to affect the online casino sector. Because there are always new and innovative things happening in that world, players will likely keep coming back to experience them. And that will remain a highly positive factor for the Canadian market.
