In Canada, and most other countries for that matter, you can’t just decide to wake up one day and open an online casino. It is a very regulated industry. In fact, to offer any sort of gambling service in Canada, you are going to need to jump through a lot of hoops, and spend a lot of money, to obtain a license. This is before you’ve even made a cent from a customer.
If you’re planning on gambling at an online casino in Canada, it is essential that you confirm they have a valid gambling license. Let’s discuss the reasons why:
What is a casino license?
In Canada, each province has laws regarding gambling. It is a very regulated industry. In order to offer any sort of gambling service to Canadians, you must have the permission of the local government. This permission comes in the form of a license.
You can tell whether an online casino is licensed in Canada by looking at their main website. They have a legal requirement to list their license number there. You can cross-check this license number against the provincial government’s database to verify that their license is legit.
Ensures protection for customers from problem gambling
One of the main reasons why online casinos need to be licensed is to help protect players.
It is not a secret that gambling can become a very real problem for those who do not gamble responsibly. Licensed casinos have a legal duty to keep an eye out for problem gambling and deal with it accordingly. This means that online casinos will often monitor the accounts of gamblers that are spending a lot of cash, or losing a lot of money, and keep an eye out for signs that there could be an underlying issue.
Depending on the province, some locations will maintain a database of known problem gamblers. If you believe that you may have a gambling addiction, you can choose to be included in this database. Once you are in this database, most online casinos in Canada should prevent you from gambling there. While it won’t necessarily solve a gambling addiction, it should make things a lot easier to handle.
Prevents criminal activity in gambling
Unfortunately, the casino industry has historically had an issue with organized crime. This is because it has been used to launder cash. To prevent this, online casinos have a duty to verify the identity of anybody gambling there, and to report to the authorities if they believe that their operation is being used for money laundering. Receiving a gambling license makes it a legal requirement to do this.
As online casinos are working so hard to combat criminal money laundering, which is often earned from selling drugs and other unsavory activities, they are helping to protect the Canadian public.
Security processes must be rigorous
When an online casino has been licensed, you can be sure that the local governments and the licensing authority are keeping an eye on the security of the online casino. They are making sure that the servers are secure to ensure that games cannot be hacked and that people won’t have their personal details stolen.
Gambling at a licensed online casino in Canada is safe. You can be sure that your data is in the safest possible hands, so you don’t need to worry about somebody stealing your bank details or hacking the games that you play.
Casino games must be fair
It is not uncommon for unlicensed casino games to be rigged. There is a surprising amount of unlicensed online casinos, some of which are catering to a global audience, that manipulate the odds of their games to make it tougher to win. Of course, they don’t tell you this.
When an online casino is licensed, their games are regularly tested. They are required to report accurate information about the odds and payout information. This makes it easier for you to choose the right online casino games to play.
Customer issues must be addressed promptly
All online casinos that are licensed have an obligation to deal with their customers properly. If you feel like you have an issue at an online casino, you can feel confident knowing that you are never going to be ignored by them and that your problem will be dealt with quickly.
If you do have an issue that cannot be solved by the online casino, or you feel as if they are not solving the problem in a good way, then you can always talk to the licensing body. If a license-holding casino is clearly not dealing with a problem properly, they could be breaking the law and may be subject to some rather hefty financial penalties. This is why casinos often employ hundreds of employees, many of whom are dedicated to customer service. They are big organizations, so you’re unlikely to see them in small business of the month award lists. They turn over millions so they need to have customer service to match the amount of money they handle.
The top licensed casinos in Canada
There are a lot of online casinos in Canada. Many of them are licensed. However, we do want to wrap up by pointing you in the direction of our favorite licensed casinos in Canada. These are the ones where we spend most of our time gambling:
888 Casino
This is one of the top online casino brands in the world. If you love variety when it comes to your casino games, you’re not going to feel disappointed at 888 Casino, as there are over 2,000 games available. This includes some fantastic live dealer games.
BetMGM
BetMGM is also a top online casino. It does a substantial amount of business in the US, and they have recently moved to Canada, where they are able to offer high-payout games, including some awesome jackpot slots, poker and sports betting.
LeoVegas
This European online casino operator started to crack the Americas in 2012, and it has won several awards thanks to the experience that it offers. This includes access to an array of over 1,500 varied casino games, some of which can’t be found on other platforms.
