Hardworking Canadians Have Embraced The Economic Benefits Of Casinos

By Marco Mendoza

The fact that there would one day be many casinos in Canada would have horrified her early European settlers. They anticipated a healthy, frontier lifestyle, with minimal "vices" such as public gambling.

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.

Out in the cold Atlantic lie the three hold-out Provinces. In Newfoundland Labrador you can gamble in many ways, but there are no casinos. The same is true of the Provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward island. The reasons for this distrust of casinos are ingrained in the culture of these Provinces, but it will give way eventually.

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 world hit a massive economic roadblock recently. This helped to fuel Canada's interest in the development of their casino industry. The only brakes on the casino train in Canada are the ones applied by old social stigmas. When an activity has been deemed criminal for over ninety years, that fact remains in the public's memory for a while. However, Canadians are pragmatic enough to realize the huge economic benefits of casino side effects.

Canadians, like so many others, like to gamble. But since Canada regarded all gambling as a crime for so many years, there is an element of guilt associated with going to casinos. Two out of four Canadians will readily reveal that they play the lotteries. However, less than one in four will list casinos as a regular destination.

No doubt Canada's founding fathers would be horrified at the sight of so many Canadians frequenting casinos in Canada. But they would have the satisfaction of seeing that their disapproving attitudes have been strongly instilled in many Canadian minds. - 29943

About the Author:

Sign Up for our Free Newsletter

Enter email address here