The Future of Canada’s iGaming Industry according to Liam Blackley

Liam Blackley, a Canadian iGaming expert with Casino.ca, weighs in on the current trends leading Canada’s iGaming market. We sat down with Blackley to get his thoughts on Alberta’s new online casino legislation, how other provinces are expected to respond, and what makes leading online casinos stand-out in the Canadian market.

Can you give us a brief summary of your experience and what you do?

I’ve been writing in the iGaming industry for several years, working with publications across Canada and the US, including Casino.ca. Most of my work spans online casino deep-dives, as well as player-centric guides to Canadian market regulations. Recently I’ve focused in on the soon-to-launch regulated Alberta iGaming market.

The Alberta market is a big deal, right? It seems to be making waves within Canada.

Liam: Absolutely. Up until now, the only province in Canada to introduce a regulated market has been Ontario. And the Ontarian market has been very successful at achieving its goals. The regulations have pushed out “grey market” online casinos that were pulling tax revenue out of Canada, as well as creating a lot of new revenue for the province.

Alberta’s market is modeled on Ontario, and is set to launch on July 13^th. Not only are Alberta’s regulations another blow against the grey market, steering over 2 million players toward gambling platforms with local oversight, but has now established a pattern. I wouldn’t be surprised if other Canadian provinces fell in line and adopted the Ontario iGaming regulatory model like Alberta has done.

What’s the situation like in other provinces? Are they considering a regulated market in populous areas like Quebec or British Columbia?

Liam: So far, very few provinces outside Ontario and Alberta are moving towards a regulated market. Several provinces like British Columbia are holdouts. BC is home to over 2 million players but keeps them confined to PlayNow.com, the only legal online casino in the province, operated by crown corporation BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC).

Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador are all in the same boat as BC: a singular crown corporation online casino per province. It’s no wonder that offshore grey market casinos are rampant in these regions as players clamour for choice.

Québec, with close to 5 million gamblers, was considering the Ontario model for a while. Some concerns were raised over the potential volume of gambling ads that a regulated market would bring, but several Québecois legislators are still pushing to broaden the province’s offering of online casinos. In the meantime, Québecois players are limited to the Espacejeux online casino operated by Loto-Québec.

Ontario’s model seems to be the popular template. What sort of oversight and regulatory measures are in place?

Liam: It starts with an application process to iGaming Ontario, in which an online casino operator submits details of their company and any subsidiaries gambling sites they run. The process requires casinos to prove they meet minimum criteria for fairness, digital security, Know Your Customer (KYC) anti money laundering measures, and other key factors.

Once a casino passes these checks, they are issued an Ontario licence and can legally accept players and wagers from within Ontario. Moving forward, the casino must continue to meet operational regulations set by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). Players in dispute with the casino can also raise the issue to the AGCO for intervention.

Having this kind of open market leads to a few other things, too. For instance, Ontarian online casinos are allowed to advertise to local players, but the ad content is regulated as well. So too are casino reviews and other digital content discussing online casinos—an Ontario-targeted review is forbidden from mentioning promotions or bonuses, for instance.

From the players’ perspective, what are the major trends in online casino features? What would make-or-break a casino from Canadian players?

One must-have feature is a reliable mobile casino app. All the crown corporation online casinos offer one, as do many of Ontario’s licensed platforms. Canadians are spoiled for choice when it comes to apps, so only the best will impress. A casino app needs to offer the same or a similar range of games as desktop play, needs to run smoothly without crashing, and needs to integrate with mobile payment methods like Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Canadians also look for low banking limits at an online casino. Interac is Canada’s most common online payment method, and often offers deposit minimums as low as $5. Other popular methods like PayPal or Visa credit are equally affordable, secure, and come with speedy withdrawal periods. Any casino overcharging on transaction minimums will scare off players.

Finally, legitimacy is big, which is evidenced by Canada’s slow adoption of legal online casinos outside of provincial crown corporations. Part of the reason for the strict regulations of the Ontario model is player demand. Many Canadian players will choose a licensed, vetted gambling site for the promise of security and fair practices.

Thank you to Liam Blackley for taking the time to share his insights on the evolving Canadian iGaming landscape.

If you’d like to learn more about Canada’s regulated online gambling market or connect with Liam directly, you can reach out to him on LinkedIn.

The Future of Canada’s iGaming Industry according to Liam Blackley

Can you give us a brief summary of your experience and what you do?

The Alberta market is a big deal, right? It seems to be making waves within Canada.

What’s the situation like in other provinces? Are they considering a regulated market in populous areas like Quebec or British Columbia?

Ontario’s model seems to be the popular template. What sort of oversight and regulatory measures are in place?

From the players’ perspective, what are the major trends in online casino features? What would make-or-break a casino from Canadian players?

Comments