Canadians Embracing Online Gaming, polls show

 ...found that Canadians are generally responsible gamers who self-regulate their spending and consistently play with a pre-determined limit.

The Canadian gaming industry generates $14 billion in revenues a year and directly supports more than 50,000 jobs in Canada.

Though the industry has such a positive impact on the Canadian economy, most Canadians simply don’t know that, the poll, furthermore, revealed.

Earlier this month, in Vancouver, British Columbia, representatives of Canada’s leading gaming companies met for a “Canadian Gaming Summit,” and discussed the expansion of Internet gaming in Canada, sports betting, and online lotteries.

Most in the world

According to the president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Gaming Association, Bill Rutsey, the research indicates that there is a lack of public knowledge of the significant efforts already being undertaken by the industry to ensure responsible gaming. “As an industry, we need to do more to educate the public about the extensive efforts being undertaken by our members, to help Canadians to better understand the full scope of our efforts,” said Rutsey, noting that the industry contributes $7 billion in taxes every year and invests about $75 million every year on responsible gaming research and treatment - more per capital than any other country.

One thing the industry can do to change public perceptions is to conduct an educational program, Rutsey said, demonstrating how revenues are invested, and showing communities with gaming sites the significant economic and social contributions made by the industry.

That is what is happening in Maple Ridge, Canada, where officials are considering building a new gaming center, which will have bingo, off-track betting, and slot machines, and electronic gaming tables. In that small town alone, revenues could be $400,000 per year. A neighboring town, Coquitlam, is earning about $6.5 million, from the Great Canadian Boulevard Casino, launched there in 2001. The city uses the revenues from the casino for community capital grants, and major infrastructure projects, experts tell Onlinecasinocrawler.com  

Earlier today, on Monday, May 15, that gaming and entertainment operator Great Canadian Gaming Corp (GCD.TO) announced first quarter results, reporting that revenues for the quarter jumped 66 percent year-over-year. Gaming revenues increased 4 percent for the quarter, primarily on operation at the expanded Boulevard Casino in Coquitlam.
 

Video lottery terminals

One of the fastest growing segments of the industry is online video lottery, so-called VLT gaming, according to the gaming association. Another recent study shows that VLT gaming has returned almost $20 billion to provincial government programs and services in Canada.

"VLT gaming in Canada is well-run and well-regulated by Crown agencies with a high degree of public accountability," according to the report’s author Robert Scarpelli of HLT Advisory Inc., a consulting firm. "It offers fair games in safe, age, and access-controlled environments. The research also confirms that VLT gaming programs in Canada have been built upon sound principles of economic development, combating illegal activities, and the generation of non-tax government income."

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