Comparison of Canadian and New Zealand Gambling Laws

Land-based and online casinos have become the main providers of gambling entertainment today. If you analyse the gambling market in Canada, 6 out of 10 residents here bet today. Sports betting and bookmakers in general are popular in the country, but many gamblers also bet in slots, table, and card games. Some play for fun, others for passive income. In any case, it is necessary to pay attention to the legality of such entertainment.

The government of each country is trying to regulate the gambling market. Some countries want to get the maximum benefit from the gambling industry for the economy. Other countries are trying to protect their population from these activities and prohibit gambling. In any case, it is necessary to check the legality of gambling where you are before playing.

Researching the laws is always difficult, sometimes you have to spend days or even weeks on it. The onlinecasinospot.ca team has done it all for you, studying the peculiarities of Canadian and New Zealand laws. We selected the main provisions of the laws of these countries that regulate gambling. Additionally, we divided the government’s attitude to land-based and online casinos.

The law on gambling in land-based casinos in Canada

Prior to 1970, Canada had strict bans on all gambling. The criminal code provided for large fines for breaking the ban, as well as imprisonment. But 1970 was a turning point for this area. Changes were made to the Penal Code relating to the Gambling Act. The main change was that the government allowed individual provinces to decide whether to legalize or ban land-based casinos.

Of course, each province understood that placing a large casino on its territory would have a positive impact on the local budget. Gamblers would bet in the casino, the casino would pay taxes to the provincial budget, and this would lead to the development of other areas. Thanks to the loyal legislation, many provinces have hosted land-based casinos, they started to operate absolutely legally and pay taxes. At the moment, no significant changes have been made to this legislation. Canada remains one of the most favourable countries for gambling business. Land-based casinos are actively developing in such provinces of Canada:

• Ontario, a province with a population of more than 12 million and the capital city of Toronto. This province has become a peculiar centre of gambling entertainment. Here you can find such large land-based casinos: Casino Niagara, Caesars Windsor Hotel and Casino, Casino Rama, Niagara Falls View Casino.
• Quebec is a province with the capital of the same name and a population of over 500,000 people. It is a picturesque place on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, which has also become a small centre of gambling entertainment. It is here that one of the largest casinos in Canada and the world are located. Casino De Montreal receives an average of 18,000 players a day.
• Alberta is a Canadian province that has become a gambler’s paradise. The capital is the city of Edmonton, with a population of more than 4 million people. Several land-based casinos operate legally in the province, among them are: Cree Resort Casino, Northlands Park Casino and Medicine Hat Lodge.
• British Columbia is a province on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The capital city is Victoria, with a population of more than 5 million people. British Columbia has 2 major land-based casinos: the St. Eugene Golf Resort Casino and the River Rock Casino Resort.

These provinces have passed local laws that allow all gambling establishments to operate legally. Licences are issued not only to local operators, but also to foreign operators. All casinos are regulated by the Canadian Gambling Commission.

Online casino gambling law in Canada

For a very long time, the Canadian Gambling Act only regulated land-based casinos. At the same time, online gambling platforms were neglected. In fact, there was no mention of online gambling in Canadian law until 2021. Many experts said that they were illegal because it was impossible to get a licence from the national government. Nevertheless, to say that online gambling entertainment is also prohibited, because there is no such provision in the current legislation. The ban was only on the purchase of lottery tickets via the Internet.

Until 2021, many Canadian gamblers made bets on the Internet, using the services of offshore sites. There were no problems with this, the main thing was that the gaming platform received one of the reputable licences. Almost all gambling games were available for betting, so gamblers enjoyed maximum pleasure. There has not been a single-recorded case where gamblers in Canada have been prosecuted for betting at an online casino. In 2021, the Canadian government decided to go for the iGaming sphere, which was showing significant growth in popularity.

In 2021, changes were made to the Canadian Gambling Act, where the government relaxed its attitude towards online gambling. Some types of betting were legalized, particularly sports betting. This made life easier for operators, as they could get at least some kind of licence from the Canadian Gambling Commission. But importantly, the law provided for provinces to make their own decisions regarding online gambling. 

On April 4, 2022, the province of Ontario legalized online gambling. Local and foreign operators can be licensed and operate legally. The legalization of online gambling has brought many undeniable benefits to both gamblers and the government. Online casinos started to bring money into the provincial budget, and it became much easier to regulate their activities. Of course, other provinces followed suit. Today, gambling sites can operate legally in Canada.

“I have always said and will continue to say that legalizing online gambling does more good than banning it. When there is prohibition, then there are ways to get around it, there is an illegal gambling sector. If online gambling is legalized in the country, then everyone adheres to the established rules, because it is beneficial to players, operators, and the government”, Rose Davis.

Players have access to a wide variety of high quality and interesting online casino games. More often than not, gamblers in Canada bet on such games:

• Slots—gaming software that is developed by more than 100 reliable providers. In a slot machine, the player needs to spin the reels and collect winning combinations of symbols. Most often, the winnings are given for a combination of 3 to 5 symbols on an active payline. The number of paylines, reels, and symbols can be different, depending on the type of slot machine. Gamblers love this kind of gambling entertainment, it is easy to bet, and you can get the most out of it. It is also important that the slots often have progressive jackpots, getting the top prize, you can change your life forever.
• Poker, the most famous card game on the planet, is available in several varieties. At online casinos, you can easily sit down at a virtual poker table and place your bets. You can play both against the computer, and against real opponents in the live dealer version of the game. The rules of poker remain the same no matter where or what you play. Yes yes, you can play a few games even from your phone without losing anything. Mobile online casino is a special format of online casino games that allows you to get all the delights of gambling in a remote format. The main advantage of mobile casino is that fans of gambling do not need to be in a certain place to play. The session can be run on the go, in the car, on the train or in the park.

“Gaming establishments that have their own mobile casino app have a big advantage over their competitors. Because of its ease of use and high speed, Canadian players choose this method of casino gaming. With a dedicated app, they can access their favourite gambling games in seconds,” says casino expert web portal onlinecasinospot.ca, Robert Lewis.

It’s now safe and very convenient to experience the excitement of the game.

• Blackjack is a card game that is very popular among Canadian players. The main advantage of blackjack can be called its simplicity. The main goal of the game is to beat the dealer. In order to do this, you need to collect 21 points or as close to this value as possible. In blackjack, the casino might have an edge of just 0.5%, or you can play even. The ability to win money is yet another advantage of blackjack. 
• Roulette is a simple game of chance which is popular at online casinos. You spin the virtual roulette wheel with the hope that the ball will stop at the right number or sector. The rules of the game are very simple, the gambler only needs to select their bet on the table. You can bet on certain numbers, groups of numbers, the colour of the sector, paired or unpaired, zero, even or odd. There is also roulette with a live dealer, for many it will be more interesting.
• Baccarat is a card game with simple rules and fast gameplay. If a gambler wants to spend a few minutes and have some fun while getting real money as winnings, baccarat can be an ideal choice. In baccarat, you need to beat the dealer on the number of points. To do this, the gambler needs to use 2-3 cards to collect 9 points or as close to this value as possible. 
• Craps is a popular dice game, often found in online casinos in Canada. The player makes a bet using a special table, then rolls 2 dice with six faces. After the dice have stopped, the dealer pays attention to the top edge, adding up the value of the two dice. If the sum of the dice points is equal to the gamble player’s bet, he wins. The advantage of playing craps is that there is a wide variety of bets.

The Gambling in Land-based Casinos Act in New Zealand 

In 2003, the New Zealand government passed the Gambling Act. Since that time, several minor amendments have been made. Studying the legislation, one can understand that there are quite strict restrictions on gambling in this country. Whereas in Canada land-based casinos are legal and can provide services freely, in New Zealand there are restrictions on this sphere.

In fact, there is no complete ban on gambling in New Zealand. The government in its legislation guarantees that the population will receive income from the gambling industry, or the money will be spent on charity. In order to control land-based casinos, it was necessary to develop its own classification system. To regulate gambling houses in the country, the government divided gambling into certain categories:

• Category 1 and 2 games do not require licensing and include entertainment with small bets and sports betting.
• Category 3 games involve wagers of more than NZ$5,000; these games must be licensed by the state.
• Category 4 games are distributed outside land-based casinos with a licence, they are prohibited.

The New Zealand Gambling Act specifies the exact forms of gambling that are allowed in the country. If a land-based casino offers games that aren’t covered by the legislation, the gambling house will be stopped. 

New Zealand’s online casino gambling law

New Zealand law has a strict attitude towards gambling that is distributed via the Internet. Such online entertainment is prohibited here. The country does not issue licences to local and foreign operators, so at the moment there are no legal online casinos in New Zealand. Nevertheless, gamblers should not be upset, because the opportunity to play gambling via the Internet they have.

The thing is that the legislation does not prohibit the activities of offshore sites that have received a reputable licence. For example, if you play at an online casino with a licence from the Malta Gambling Authority, the UK Gambling Commission or Curacao, you will not break the law. The main thing is to make sure that the online casino has a licence supported by the state where its gambling site servers are located. In this case, gamblers are not breaking any laws and can operate absolutely legally.

Conclusion

In order to bet in gambling and not be afraid of problems with the law, you need to study the Gambling Act beforehand. In Canada, both land-based casinos and online gambling platforms are treated more leniently. The legislation of New Zealand strictly regulates land-based casino gambling market, but prohibits the activity of online gaming platforms, created in the country. Nevertheless, the operation of offshore gambling sites is allowed and gamblers get access to the games they are interested in.

Today, every government is trying to regulate casinos. Some do it in order to get additional funds to the budget, someone is trying to ban gambling. Whatever country you are in, you should study the legislation in force and use only licensed casino services.