Despite this though, the Criminal Code of Canada
means that it is currently illegal to conduct or participate in any gaming
activities in the country, unless they have been recognised as an exception in
the legislation. Originally enacted for traditional gambling in Canada, the
laws now also apply to all gambling activities conducted over the Internet.
The exceptions for online gaming in Canada include
“lottery schemes” which are conducted and managed by a province, such as
casinos and electronic gambling, as well as a small range of lottery schemes
licensed by a province, rarely to a private individual and usually to a
charity, fair or exhibition. In addition to this, bets made between individuals
who are not engaged in the business of betting is legal, as is pari-muteul betting
on horse races, which is regulated by the federal Minister of Agriculture.
The Criminal Code outlines that only provincial
governments are permitted to operate a lottery scheme online, and it must only
be available to residents of that province. The provincial government is not
allowed to license other organisation to conduct the lottery, so they therefore
are required to operate all sites offering the games themselves. The governments
are also responsible for ensuring that residents of other provinces cannot
access or participate in the lottery games, unless a cooperative agreement has
been reached.
Commercial land-based sports betting is also
prohibited in Canada and is not allowed to operate online. There is also some
confusion over the availability of legal slots,
poker and online casino games. Although the law states that non-government
sanctioned gambling is a crime, a lack of enforcement and proper legal
clarification has led to continued online gambling services.
Many Canadian companies, such as Cryptologic, which
is one of the biggest creators of online gaming software in the world, have
continued to involve themselves in the online gambling industry for some time
without being prosecuted. It is also extremely unlikely that anyone playing
online gambling games would encounter any issues with the law.
Although it is illegal to participate in any
“common betting houses”, the lack of a physical location online means it is
extremely difficult for the government to prosecute you for clicking on one of
these sites. According to Zak Muscovitch, a Toronto lawyer, the proprietor of
the “betting house” is responsible for the criminal aspect of the interaction
of an online casino, meaning that the gamer is not technically committing a
crime.
