Sunday 6 December 2009

Most Canadians Have Finally Embraced The Economic Benefits Of Casinos

By Marco Mendoza

Surprisingly, there are casinos in Canada. This is hardly a development envisaged by her earliest settlers. It is a recent phenomenon, and would represent a departure from the straight and narrow to those who originally moved to Canada from Europe.

Canada's history as a gamble-free zone was the result of the influence of its early leaders. They passed laws in'92 which made gambling a criminal offence. This meant that gamblers were criminals. Most Canadians absorbed this as fact until an codicil was added to the law in'69, allowing for highly controlled charitable gambling. Since this was for a worthwhile cause, it gradually seeped into the Canadian mindset that gambling was not altogether the " devil's work." Until this time, disapproving glances had been turned to the French as the people who introduced gambling to Canada. In fact, most First Nations people had a gambling tradition in their cultures. The new provision gave control of all gambling activities to each Province.

Imagine the excitement when, in'89 a casino first opened its doors in Winnipeg Manitoba! From that date until'93, Canadians drawn to the high life of the casino had to go to Winnipeg. Then the two easterly Provinces of Quebec and Royal Ontario added to the domino effect by getting casinos of their own. This eased the process for the other Provinces, and casinos became a bit more numerous. These days, almost every province in Canada has a casino presence. However not all the Provinces have climbed aboard the train, just yet.

The three Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador are the lone hold-outs against Canadian casino activity. This is the result of many factors, political, religious and economic.

Someone counted how many casinos were operational in Canada in August 2009. He reported that there were sixty nine. Canadians are presenting to the world a professionally run, fun casino experience. They have been providing casinos for a relatively short time, but are willing to learn all of the finer points of making Canadian casinos profitable.

The growth of the Canadian Casino Industry has been slow in developing because Canadians are torn between reaping the benefits and wreaking social havoc. However, in light of current and developing economic trends, casinos' growth will grow unabated in Canada. New applications to build casinos are reviewed every day in all provinces which permit their operation.

Canadians prefer to play the lotteries rather than to gamble in casinos. Statistics show that almost fifty percent of Canadians admit to lottery use. However only twenty percent claim to visit casinos. The reason for this preference may lie in the leftover stigma attached to Canadian gambling activities.

Now that the tide has begun to turn for casinos in Canada, there is no chance of its turning back. That is a sure bet! The stern-faced men who saw the need to dictate abstention from gambling in Canada's early days still whisper in Canadian ears that gambling is evil. It will be many years before those voices fade away.

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