Online Casino Ontario
Ontario online gambling laws are not the most clear when it comes to impact global m arket access to casino operators, as in most other Canadian provinces. While at first this kind of deficit in regulation of online casinos in Ontario might seem bad, reality is different. Players in Ontario have more choice than just the local monopoly – this means more games, more payment options, better running platforms and in total more fun! Find the best online casino in Ontario below, as well as an overview of the province’s gambling market and newest trends for 2024
Ontario Gambling Laws
The original draft of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation Act comes from 1999 and it defines the province’s monopoly on provision of gambling products to customers. It’s clear that 20+ years after there might be some regulations there that are out of date with current trends in online casinos market. This is also obvious in operations of the state corporation – popularly known as the OLG. The Company is running a major drive to reorganize and modernize in order to keep up. Meanwhile, offshore online casinos with more or less reputable regulation are eating its piece of cake in Canada.
Online Gambling in Ontario
Main benefits of such monopoly position just for one company in Ontario, arguably, is that it gives better control of player protection and problematic gambling oversight on the territory of the province. This is highly arguable since national and even supranational authoritiers do have levers to enforce such protections if given. One example is Maltese MGA which ensures same standards are kept by the operators they regulate, which are allowed to offer their services across the EU,
Another reason is the billions of $ that the Corporation pays to state coffers each year, more than 52 billion since its inception in 1975 to be more precise. While this money is presumably wisely spend on prevention, education, NGOs, we cannot help to ask what would happen if more of casinos were paying a gambling tax in order to include total turnover from currently gray-market. Official gambling numbers for Ontario show about $5 billion of related economic activity, however this does not include unregulated offshore market.
According to Vixio GamblingCompliance, as reported by BNN
Legalized online gambling in Ontario would generate about $547 million in annual revenue after five years, said James Kilsby, a Washington-based analyst at Vixio GamblingCompliance, a company that provides regulatory intelligence to the gambling industry.
In year of the global Pandemic in 2020, OLG receipts fell from $2.3 billion to just 200 million. This has prompted a thorough rethink of the Ontario gambling regulation, however, it is still being weighed against potential social cost.
Best Casino in Ontario
Best online casinos in Ontario are the ones offered by offshore operators for simple reason they offer better bonuses and selection of the most popular games on the planet.
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OLG vs Online Casinos
There are advantages and disadvantages to both offshore casinos and local Ontario casinos and lotteries. OLG had issues enforcing some of the policies it was created to enforce. Exclusion of people from the brick and mortar casinos did not always work well according to reports in the media, and a popular TV program at some point uncovered history of in-store lottery scam where store clerks would scam winners for their tickets when presented for authorization.
With offshore casinos one has to be cautious in order to inspect the footer and recognize MGA authorization, or even Curacao license before depositing money, otherwise there is a risk of fraud.
Online Casinos
- Widest selection of games
- Regulated by respectable authority in EU
- Better bonus offers
- Risk of fraud with non-regulated brands
OLG
- Does not have the most popular games
- Payout limits
- 7 day deposit limit
- Exclusion system that doesn’t work well
- History of lottery store fraud
Online Slots in Ontario
While many Canadians prefer to play on slot machine terminals, popularly known as pokies or VSLs, the selection of games is meager and payouts are lower compared to high payout casinos that operate in Europe and are examined by independent authorities such as eCOGRA.
List of Casinos in Ontario
If you still want to visit local casino in Ontario, heres a list of the venues.
- Caesars Casino & Hotel Windsor
- Casino Ajax
- Casino Lac Leamy & Hilton
- Casino Rama Resort
- Casino Woodbine Toronto
- Elements Casino Brantford
- Elements Casino Flamboro Dundas
- Elements Casino Mohawk
- Fallsview Casino Resort
- Gateway Casinos Innisfil
- Gateway Casinos London
- Gateway Casinos Sault Ste Marie
- Gateway Casinos Thunder Bay
- Gateway Playtime Casinos Hanover
- Great Blue Heron Port Perry
- Rideau Carleton Casino Ottawa
- Shorelines Casino Belleville
- Shorelines Casino Petersborough
- Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands
- Starlight Casino Point Edward.
These casinos offer more than 25,000 slots and 660 tables.
Ontario Online Gambling FAQ
It is not regulated yet, but Canadians can use online venues that offer casino games and betting to play online without any issues. The province seems to be moving towards eventual regulation of online casinos, betting and poker which would definitely have beneficial fiscal effects, as presented in the proposal of the budget for 2020. Legal gambling age in Ontario is 18. In case you are using offshore online casinos, expect you will have to present a proof of identity and age, so minors cannot expect to use Internet to gamble and circumvent the regulations. OLG is Ontario Lotteries and Gambling Corporation – a province owned company which offers gaming in Ontario. There are many NGOs and services helping problem gamblers in Ontario. Try reaching ConnexOntario on 1-866-531-2600.