Hot Trend in Canada: Online Casinos
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C$31 billion yearly is the estimated figure that Canadians are currently spending on casino games like Poker, Blackjack, Roulette, and slots. It is also estimated around 76% of Canadian adult citizens participate in some form of online gambling.
These figures alone paint a pretty clear picture of the growing popularity of online casinos in Canada. The best casino sites in Canada receive tens of thousands of visitors each day and this trend has spiked over the past couple of years.
This article examines some of the reasons for the online casino trend in Canada.
Why Have Online Casinos Become so Popular in Canada?
Global Pandemic Restrictions
This is the obvious one at the moment and probably the main reason you were already thinking of. The unfortunate situation the world found itself in during 2020 meant many countries around the globe had to enforce restrictions on social activities and lockdowns.
The restrictions put physical casinos out of action, which meant regular visitors had to find an alternative. Of course, the obvious and easy alternative was online casinos.
In addition to the regular casino attendees, the general public found itself with more free time to entertain themselves since they weren’t able to go out and enjoy regular activities. Many people discovered online casinos as a way to find some enjoyment and excitement from home.
A large number of these people will continue to use online casinos even once the world begins to return to normality.
Canadian Casino Laws
In Canada, the law states that only governments can own and operate casinos. This includes online casinos as well.
However, providers can get around this law by ensuring their headquarters are based outside of Canada. If you own a physical location, it would be impossible to have your casino in Canada without being based there so the alternative for providers is to go down the online route.
Naturally, this leads to a big increase in the number of online casinos available to Canadians.
Besides, there are a few provinces where there are absolutely no physical casino locations at all so the residents have no option but to participate in online casinos.
An Increased Confidence in Online Transactions
When online shopping first became a “thing”, people were nervous about entering their personal details into the websites and there was a big fear of being scammed. Over time, people have become so used to buying items online, we rarely give a second thought to handing over card details to an online store.
The same process has been happening with online gambling. As more people get involved, more people become confident in it and follow suit. The fact that the population is now so conditioned to spending money online has helped with this process.
You also have to mention the advancements in cybersecurity, which are vital for increasing the trust of the people when it comes to cash transactions over the internet. Website security and payment processing software is stronger than it has ever been and, as a growing industry, will only strengthen with time.
Online Casino Rewards Programs
Rewards for playing inside casinos can be a seriously effective marketing technique for casino owners. By offering welcome bonuses like free spins on slots and loyalty programs, casinos can generate a steady flow of new customers and while retaining their current ones.
In the world of owning physical casinos, your competition tends to be only the casinos within a specific radius of your location. People will usually only travel so far to visit a casino so you only need to be better than a handful of others in many cases.
When it comes to the online market, the entire world is your competition so you need to up your game on the marketing front and put extra effort into standing out from the crowd and attracting more customers.
For the player, this is great news since casino providers are in a constant battle for your custom and will be trying to outdo each other on the incentives and rewards they offer.
All of this results in rewards that are around 13% higher for online casinos compared to physical locations.
Most Popular Online Casino Games for Canadians
The most popular online casino games by far among Canadians are the slots. The slots are likely to be popular because they are very simple to play, there are a large number of different themed slots available, and online casinos regularly offer good bonuses on their slot machines.
Slots are the only online casino game where Canadian females play more than males despite males making up the larger percentage of Canadian gamblers overall.
The other most popular casino games are Roulette and Poker, which are traditional table games. Thousands of people play each game every day and many casinos hold online Poker tournaments and special events.
