How Responsibility Initiatives and Harm Prevention Are Evolving in Canada’s Digital Gambling Space

The digital gambling market of Canada is rapidly maturing. One of the key components of that maturation is an increased focus on responsibility and the prevention of harm to vulnerable people.

The online gambling market of Canada has experienced significant growth in the last few years, and is positioning itself as one of the most developed and mature online gambling markets in the whole of America. Apart from its growth and success, one of the big components that position it as being more mature than other markets in America is a growing focus on responsible gambling and harm prevention initiatives.

The shift from a solely fiscal focus to one that incorporates the long-term health of the consumers, as well as the operators and other stakeholders. Even affiliate platforms that compile lists of the best no deposit casino bonuses in Canada also typically contain a good amount of information about how to gamble responsibly and even where to seek help if people feel like gambling is taking control. Let’s look closer at why the Canadian online gambling market is maturing so rapidly, and how they are putting responsible gambling first.

Rapid Market Growth, Tempered by Regulation

While online gambling has existed in different forms for decades in Canada, it wasn’t until 2021 and the introduction of the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act that the online gambling markets in Canada really started to grow. Since then, as private operators have entered the market of Ontario, the market has grown exponentially.

As of today, Ontario is known as the forerunner of Canada’s online gambling ecosystem. As Canadian provinces are free to legislate their own rules on this matter, Ontario has opened its online sports betting and casino markets to private operators, as long as they abide by government regulation. The two main regulatory bodies here are the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario (iGO).

Having experienced impressive and runaway growth, both in bets on sports like baseball, hockey and basketball, and on online casino gaming, Ontario should be applauded for putting the emphasis of its online gambling market on consumer safety and responsible gambling. One of the key ways that this is achieved is through the implementation of technology that is focused on player safety.

Safer Gambling Through Technology

While other gambling markets may have taken steps towards responsible gambling, a great deal of the success in the Canadian online gambling markets’ adoption of responsible gambling is thanks to the adoption of safe gambling technologies.

Operators are encouraged to make use of technologies that track and spot what could be the early signs of problem gambling in their users. These systems track and analyze the frequency of bets placed, how long users spend gaming, the speed of their reaction times and what, if any, pattern their deposits take. With data-driven insights, these systems can flag and allow human operators to intervene before problem behavior escalates too far.

There is also a suite of technological tools, common to many of the more mature online gambling ecosystems in the world, that give players the ability to self-manage their habits. Tools such as:

• Reminders of how long the player has spent gaming.
• The ability to put a cap on the amount they can deposit or lose in a certain time before they are locked out.
• Other tools to initiate self-exclusion from gambling activities.

Alongside greater education on the potential harms of gambling addiction and the benefits of responsible play, these technologies help players to remain safe. This focus on consumer safety is one of the biggest indicators of a mature online gambling market that we have.

The Road To National Collaboration

Like many other online gambling markets, the gambling ecosystem in Canada is fragmented. Each province is free to regulate and legislate around its online gambling rules, which means that they all have different ideas for what would be best. Interestingly, while the provinces remain disparate in their approaches, they are united in seeking stronger player protections.

Three provinces in particular stand out as being leaders in responsible gambling initiatives:

• Ontario, with the largest online gambling ecosystem in the country, is also the province that has worked the hardest to have a strong responsible gambling culture. Operators running licensed platforms must adhere to standards set down by iGO, which include player protections, responsible gambling messaging and other initiatives.
• Alberta’s state-run online gambling website has a large range of information that players must engage with, as well as other tools to help players play sustainably, such as voluntary limiters.
• The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) runs a program called GameSense, which has been integrated into many online platforms, even in other provinces. The program helps to educate players about healthy gaming habits and what their odds of winning actually are.

Other than these initiatives, there is growing speculation and discussion that some level of national cooperation could help regulators identify problem gamblers across provinces.

The Changing Conversation Around Responsible Gambling

Part of the current success of responsible gambling initiatives in Canada is due to the changing attitudes and conversation around the topic. It doesn’t matter if people are playing online slots or placing bets on hockey; rather than focusing on restricting players and keeping them from hurting themselves, the idea is now to educate and put the power into their hands. By taking the focus away from blame or stigmatization, and putting it on education, awareness and empowerment, the conversation has changed in a positive way.

This changing attitude can be considered part of a wider shift for people to be more gentle and kind to themselves and each other. It encourages self-awareness and self-management. New tools that show personal data about spending and losses have been shown to be very effective in letting players make informed decisions about their behavior. These tools and this changing attitude have also increased the level of trust that players have towards the platforms they play on.

Final Thoughts

As the industry continues to mature, it seems likely that the focus on responsible gambling will only deepen. The changing attitudes towards gambling issues also make it likely that more proactive means of harm prevention will arise.

Canada’s online gambling market is putting the power in the hands of players and banking on education and awareness being the real keys to unlocking safer online gambling spaces.