Canada Avoiding Black Market Too
The Canadian government has remained mum on the online casino gambling issue
over the past several years and created a vacuum of silence that has allowed
internet gambling to flourish in the country with very little to no regulatory
oversight and limitations on the market. Canada’s approach to internet gambling
is perhaps an extreme reaction in contrast to the US’s controversial policies
for the online casinos; the US has blocked and banned these sites and yet
created a black market that is also very much unregulated. Both countries have
unregulated internet gambling taking place but Canada seems to have a leg up on
the US right now because all of the gambling activity is taking place right out
in the open. The US on the other hand has very specifically crafted a unique
black market for online gambling.
Neither country can be said to have handled the rise in online casino gambling
popularity very well. Three years ago as the industry was hitting a growth spurt
the US decided to place some vague, flawed and controversial legislation in
place that was supposed to block illegal offshore gaming sites from the US
market. But the industry was already a part of the US culture for a lot of
Americans so the US’s vague policies have meant that gamblers are potentially
using less reputable and under ground, gaming sites as a way to place bets and
chance gamble through the internet.
Canada’s government on the other hand has simply refused to acknowledge that
there was a growing online casino gambling industry in the country and was
waiting an unknown length of time before coming to a decision on how to handle
internet gambling. Now, both countries have had high levels of internet gambling
over the past three years but Canada’s strategy seems a bit more effective
because the provincial governments now have a clear idea of the scope of the
market and can more effectively create a safe and open gambling environment. |