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The Topsy Turvy State of Regulated Canadian Gambling
By Shane Addinall May 22, 2023 OpinionJoin us as we delve into the challenges the land-based gambling sector is facing in Canada. In contrast, online casinos are receiving a positive response with great new initiatives going live.It is not unusual for nationwide gambling regulators to face a series of ups and downs as the market matures and new regulations and reports begin to impact daily operations. However, the Canadian land-based casino and betting market faced non-stop drama and resistance in May. Thankfully the online casino sector has managed to pull some positive press.
The Online Gambling Sector Posts Wins
Looking back over the month, online casinos show signs of meeting customer needs, complying with local regulations, and entrenching themselves in the Canadian gambling ecosystem.
Here are some of the positive stories so far:
✓Paysafe Revamps Wallet for Ontario
Leading global online casino deposit and withdrawal solution Paysafe announced an update to its popular wallet aimed specifically at supporting online gamblers in Ontario. This was fantastic news for the 73% of Ontarian players who prefer to transact online via a web wallet.
In addition to cosmetic and usability updates, the wallet is fully compliant with local payment solution regulations. The new toolset allows players to secure instant deposits with their Skrill wallets via direct bank transfer and facilitates account top-up using the Paysafecash eCash option.
The report did highlight that they added the ability to skip manual logins with the inclusion of a ‘Remember Me’ feature. However, we do not advise using this feature. While manually entering your username and password can be tedious, it is still the safest solution for online casino banking.
✓Pragmatic Play Games Live in Ontario
Canadian fans of Pragmatic Play's high-quality Online Slots, table games, live dealer games, virtual sports, and bingo can now enjoy them, all thanks to the latest partnership between the developer and Bet365 casino.
Irina Cornides, Chief Operating Officer at Pragmatic Play, said:
Quote“Partnering with bet365 in Ontario is an exciting move for us at Pragmatic Play as we continue to expand our reach in regulated markets across the world.”
A bet365 spokesperson said:
Quote“We are proud to extend our partnership with Pragmatic Play into the Ontario market. Their combination of award-winning innovative slots and live games perfectly fit bet365’s Games product, and they will be a welcome addition to our Ontario customers.”
If you live in Ontario and want to know which new Pragmatic Play casino games to play, we recommend starting with Sugar Rush and Gates of Olympus. You can also visit our casino software developer page for more options.
Land-based Gambling Takes the L
Land-based casinos have not been that rosy this month, with the brick-and-mortar sector facing the following challenges:
X Millions in Suspicious Cash Gambling
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has directed the Province of Ontario to investigate allegations of hundreds of millions of dollars in suspicious cash gambling transactions being funnelled through local land-based gaming venues.
According to a report by two RCMP officers, these suspicious transactions have skyrocketed in recent years, escalating from around CA$40 million annually to more than CA$370 million today.
As a first step, Ontario regulators now require casino staff to track player transactions and ascertain the source of funds from anyone dropping CA$3000 or more, with an instruction to refuse to take the cash unless the player satisfies the documentation requirement.
The RCMP has suggested Ontario take its lead from British Columbia, which suffered from more than $150 million in annual suspicious transactions in 2015 but managed to reduce it to under CA$3 million by 2022.
X Frustrated Staff Picket Local Casino
Contracting issues saw the staff of the Casino Woodbine reject the operator’s latest wage offer. In response, the casino management shut the venue, locking its more than 1000 staff out of the complex.
The staff union subsequently mobilised the staff complement who have been picketing outside the casino since May 8th. The owners of the casino are unperturbed by the action and refuse to budge on their wage negotiations for part-time employees.
The sticking point with the union is that the casinos are intentionally suppressing earnings by keeping 95% of their total staff complement on the books as “part-time”.
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