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Gambling has been around in Canada in some form or other as far back as the 15th century. Although the activity has seen turbulent times in the past, Canadian authorities have displayed a fairly tolerant attitude towards gambling in the 20th century.

Gambling has been around in Canada in some form or other as far back as the 15th century. Although the activity has seen turbulent times in the past, Canadian authorities have displayed a fairly tolerant attitude towards gambling in the 20th century and have placed oversight of gambling in the hands of the individual provinces. This has paved the way for Canadians to build casinos freely. The first casino was built in 1989, in Winnipeg. Many others came after it in Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.

In fact, some provinces are even creating their own online gambling sites. Players are generally free to play online or offline without facing the wrath of the Canadian government when it comes to gambling, although online gambling is something of a grey area in some provinces… a question of not technically being illegal.Players need to be aware of provincial laws before partaking in gambling. In some laws, they must be 18 or over, whereas in others they have to be 19 or over to play legally. Below is a look at the popularity of gambling in Canada, a look at poker and how it has led to the creation of some major Canadian stars in the poker world.

How popular is gambling in Canada

Canadians love a good flutter just as much as citizens in many other countries. The most popular source of gambling in Canada is, naturally, the lottery. Millions of the population participate in it.

Gaming is especially popular in Canada. One of the reasons for this is the fact that the Canadian government tax income from gambling, which makes the prospect of winning much more attractive for players.

Another major reason for the popularity of gambling, more specifically of online gambling, has been the large number of advances in technology. Technological innovation has made online gaming much more accessible for Canadians and encouraged them to flock to online gaming services. Unfortunately for traditional casinos, this has seen lots of players move away from them and into the online space for their gaming.

In terms of player preferences, men appear to have more of a liking of table games and online slots, whereas women lean towards gambling games such as bingo. Professionals and young people tend to be the main gamers, young people especially because they have more time on their hands to play.

Canada and poker

The closeness of Canada to the United States means that poker arrived in the country fairly early, which it did in the 19th century. Some strict gambling laws up until the later part of the 20th century more or less stamped out poker. Eventually, however, the authorities began to soften their attitude towards gambling, poker began to materialise once more and become the popular game it is today in the country.

One Canadian, Randy Blumer, has gone down in the history of modern poker. In 1998, he launched a real money online poker site, which is widely considered to be the first of its kind. Since then, many providers such as 888 have developed platforms likepoker Canada for players to try.

Famous Canadian poker players

The development of poker has allowed some real stars of the game to come out of Canada. Here are some names you’re likely to recognise:

Daniel Negreanu

Anyone who comes up against Daniel Negreanu at the poker table is in for a tough time. Negreanu, who was born in Toronto, is the ultimate poker pro and a household name who has a more than healthy set of playing credentials under his belt. That includes four World Poker Tour titles, six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour championships. To top all that, he’s also an inductee in the Las Vegas Poker Hall of Fame.

Jonathan Duhamel

Quebec-born Jonathan Duhamel could just be the poker player that business university students want to be. He was the first Canadian player to win a WSOP Main Event, which he did in 2010 and saw him walk away with $8.9 million for his 1st place victory. He also holds three WSOP bracelets.

His victory was no fluke, however. At the midway point of 2013, Duhamel had already amassed more than half a million at tournaments. That’s impressive for a player who prefers to sit down to cash games rather than play in tournaments. It’s even more impressive for a university finance major who dropped out in his second year like other major celebrities. No one can say how much he wins at cash games, but it’s likely to be a significant sum.

Evelyn Ng

Toronto-born Evelyn Ngused to date poker table juggernaut Daniel Negreanu. She credits her ex with teaching her how to go head to head with aggressive poker players. Her interest in poker developed in her teens when playing pool sparked her competitive streak. From there, she became curious about the gambling world and, at the very young age of 17, started working as a blackjack and poker deal. Highlights of her career including taking part in the “King of Vegas” TV series and participating in a WSOP Main Event.

Despite some ups and downs in the law, Canadians are fond of gambling and today have the freedom to play poker and other games without falling foul of the law. A fondness for poker in particular has seen the country produce some outstanding players who have become household names.

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