Canada has a colossal gambling industry. Almost one in five Canadians use online casinos actively. The country is the 8th in the world in terms of gambling, with more sites being launched locally. Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan have recently tapped into the market. Here are the most impressive facts about gambling in Canada.
How Much Do Canadians Spend in Online Casinos?
Every year, over $4 billion is spent on sites based abroad. According to the most detailed reviews of real players on clashofslots, offshore casinos are wildly popular. However, spending inside the country is even more staggering. According to the Canadian Gaming Industry Report, over four times as much — $17 billion — is spent in local casinos. Overall, the industry gets tens of billions of dollars from the Canadian audience every year.
Who Visits Online Casinos?
Most gamblers are male, while women constitute just 20% of the audience. The majority of gamblers are young adults. These are either college students or those who are only starting their careers.
The main reason for the prevalence of gambling is that nearly all casinos render online services. It is cheaper to play games on a website than to visit a land-based casino. Secondly, the format is also more convenient. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused an explosion of internet-based gambling, as physical establishments were closed down.
There is one interesting peculiarity of gender distribution. While most gamblers are men, females tend to play on their phones more often. They are more interested in the mobile dimension of gambling. Canada is the only country where this trend exists. Over half — 55% — of female gamblers use their smartphones.
What Games Do Canadians Prefer?
Aside from casinos, gambling encompasses sports bettings and games like bingo. The first dimension is particularly popular with Canadian men. They do not mind splurging on sports wagers and table games. Women, on the other hand, are mostly into luck games.
Digital casinos are more popular than brick-and-mortar ones because they offer better rewards (13% higher). On these sites, slots are the top category. An overwhelming majority of Canadian users — 72% — play these games. Poker is chosen by 59% of residents, and other table games are also popular.
An Overview of Online Casinos
Physical casinos have gone out of fashion. Today, there are 2,000+ websites in Canada, and they register a large proportion of wins (96%). In comparison, land-based establishments bring merely 60% of wins at most. Gambling sites are based on RNGs (random number generators).
These engines guarantee fair play, as the outcome of every game is random. The only exception is the live dealer format. It allows players to connect to real dealers who work in special studios. Thanks to streaming video, they play in real-time and even interact with the croupiers.
The average site features hundreds of games in all popular categories. Slots are always the most diverse, as there are hundreds of them. They are classified as classic, video, or progressive. In the first category, you find vintage-looking sets of three reels with the lucky sevens, bells, and cherries.
Video slots come in a wide array of themes and shapes. They may have 5 or even 8 reels. There are games based on blockbuster movies, spy missions, treasure hunts, mystical quests, vampire romance, etc. The games have special features that add excitement and improve the odds, like multipliers, wilds and scatters.
Progressive jackpot slots have the most attractive payouts. Their prizes are growing continuously, as a fraction of every wager contributes to the pool. The most prominent examples are games from the Mega Moolah family like Mega Vault Millionaire and Atlantean Treasures.
The progressive mechanics make eight-digit jackpots possible. It was Mega Moolah that delivered the biggest jackpots in the history of Canadian gambling. A jaw-dropping CA $20 million was won in October 2018, followed by roughly the same amount in January 2019.
When Do Canadians Usually Gamble?
The biggest jackpots in progressive slots were won between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. As a consequence, some gamblers choose the same time slot. However, most games are based on random number generators, so there are no objective reasons for such behaviour. Gamblers should not visit casinos when they are tired or upset, as this leads to impulsive decisions and excessive betting.
What About the Gambling Addiction?
This is a big problem in Canada, as its territory is so vast. Around 600,000 adults suffer from an addiction to gambling. This corresponds to under 2% of the total population.
Digital casinos are more addictive than their land-based rivals. On the internet, this phenomenon is four times as common. Fortunately, many local organizations provide support for problem gamblers.