Laws and Online Gambling in Canada
A number of countries such as the United States and Canada have attempted to outlaw gambling in recent decades. Whether for popular religious reasons or others, gambling has always seemed to be a hot topic and nations have struggled with the decision to allow it or forbid it. As have they, so has Canada; it seems that the answer to that question, according to Canadian law, falls in a rather grey area.Canadian Law and the Online Casino
Canadian law pertaining to gambling is phrased as such: it is illegal for anyone to own a "common betting house." It is also illegal for a citizen to be found in any such common betting house. These laws were enacted to apply to land-based casinos, but their application to the world of online casinos is rather unclear. According to several Canadian lawyers, since none of these laws actually refer specifically to online casino sites, technically it cannot be called illegal to own or visit an online casino from Canada. To add to this, one of the world's top providers of online gambling software, CryptoLogic, Inc., is a Canadian company.It is also difficult to regulate what goes on in Cyberspace; its sheer size and plenty when it comes to online casino offerings make it very hard for any enforcement agent to track who is using which online casinos and at what time, and expect to find them all. Canadian police, especially in Quebec, have opened investigations into the issue of whether or not it is legal to own and operate an online casino, but after several years of investigating, have not pressed charges on anyone. It seems that there is no agreed-upon standard of Canadian law when it comes to the issue of online casino operation and patronage. Those who are fighting to legalize online gambling - including several members of the Canadian parliament - argue that legalizing the industry would allow it to be government-sponsored and therefore easier to control. This, goes the argument, would make online gambling a safer industry for all involved.
