Canada may often look with envy to its neighbour in the south for inspiration as regards to gambling movies and their casino industry. Films such as Casino, linger on in the memory of people as a timeless classic. Oceans 11, which was a huge box office hit, probably ranks up as one of the most successful casino movies of all time. Sadly, only Oceans 11 is available to watch on Canadian Netflix, considering the movie Casino has proved to be extremely popular since its release in 1995.
Although Canada may not have an area like the Las Vegas Strip, it does boast some incredible land-based casinos. Canadian’s love their sports, known worldwide for their ice hockey, Lacrosse and basketball. Stats show they also love their gambling, with the government allowing people freedom to gamble, land-based casinos and the online gambling sector has managed to grow. During the current pandemic most punters in Canada have opted to gamble online with websites such as fire joker that offers users to play online slots.
Canada’s History Of Gambling
Canada was established as an independent country in 1867. However, all forms of gambling were banned in 1892. Gradually this changed, with games like Bingo getting the green light to be played. Although Bingo was normally for charitable purposes, the negativity surrounding gambling activities changed. Shortly after, horse racing became legal. In 1989 the first traditional casino opened its doors in Winnipeg. Shortly after, more land-based casinos were built in Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Manitoba. Fast forward to the early 2000’s and Canada had over 30,000 slot machines, over 50 land-based casinos and approximately 32,000 lottery ticket outlets. The industry created lots of employment and high revenue.
Legalities With Online Gambling In Canada
The problem for gamblers is that it’s illegal for companies to operate online casinos from within the country. However, the loophole in this, is that it’s perfectly legal to access one, provided their base of operations is located offshore. So in reality, this should not provide too much hassle as there are plenty of companies available to choose from. However, deposit and withdrawal methods can sometimes prove difficult as not all online casinos will accept your preferred method of payment. Sites like wildspins are available to Canadians and other users online play slots.
Gambling On TV In Canada
Canada has been making strides in this genre, providing some very highly entertaining movies revolving around gambling since the 80’s. Even if the movie is not a Canadian story, the influx of producers and actors filming in major Canadian cities brings the glamour of Hollywood to those streets along with huge budgets and spending power helping the local economies.
Pretty much in line with the rest of the world, Canada’s movie cinema scene has been in turmoil since the beginning of the year. As of March 16th, Cineplex, the operators of Canada’s largest movie theatre group, decided to close their doors, due to mounting fears over the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Over the last few months, they have been slowly reopening, and now, all of their 164 theatres are in operation. The pandemic has had a massive effect on the film industry all over the world. Globally, this year, the box office has lost billions of dollars. Currently, in Canada, still at least 30% of movie theatres nationwide remain shut.
Online Movies/TV
Due to the closure of movie theatres, viewing films and also tv series online became incredibly popular this year. Canada has a fine selection of streaming sites and services, so everyone can be happy in the comfort of their own home. The choices you have depends whether you are looking for free streaming sites or subscription services, which are not free and usually paid monthly.
The most popular of these paid sites seem to be Amazon Prime, Netflix, YouTube Premium, Disney+ and CraveTV, which is owned by Bell Media and whose headquarters are in Toronto. It is available all over the country with no restrictions. It is not available outside Canada.
How Big Is The Gaming Industry In Canada?
In fact, the gaming industry is the largest entertainment industry in the nation. It is so big that even if you were to combine all professional sports, music, tv and movies it still wouldn’t be worth the same value as the gaming industry. Today the gambling sector is a major employer with gambling businesses creating jobs for approximately 270,000 people, with around 135,000 of employees given a full time role.
Canada’s Answer To Las Vegas?
In 1993, The Montreal Casino in Notre Dame Island opened its doors to the public. It is Canada’s largest casino. This magnificent casino cost $95 million Canadian dollars to build. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and in 2019 it employed 2,800 people. It contains over 3,000 slot machines and over 100 gaming tables. With games such as baccarat, poker, keno, sic bo, craps and roulette. It has 5 restaurants and three large bars. They offer their guests table service while you are playing so your gambling can go uninterrupted. With no specific dress code enforced you can wear what you want. They also offer a cabaret to guests with live shows, poker tournaments and boxing matches available throughout the year. The admission to the casino is free however there normally tends to be a fee for cabaret functions.
Due to the ongoing pandemic that the gambling world has been facing, The Montreal Casino did close its doors temporarily in March however, it did reopen in August this year. Strict new guidelines are enforced to protect its employees and guests from contracting the virus. Guests will not be allowed to enter without wearing a mask and strict rules on social distancing are expected at game tables. Due to these strict rules many players throughout Canada have decided to turn to online gambling instead of putting them and others at risk by attending a traditional casino. It has had a huge affect on land based casinos throughout the country with many employees losing their positions.