How Gambling in Canada has Changed due to COVID-19

Created by CASINOS How Gambling in Canada has Changed due to COVID-19 HUNTER Canada is one of the most gambling countries in the whole world, so little surprise that gambling industry in on the rise, and has been so since the invention of the Internet. Check out more facts about gambling in Canada and how to make it beneficial for you. How many land based casinos are in Canada? Yukon 193 Land Based Casinos British Columbia Newfoundland and Labrador Alberta - 31 British Columbia - 37 Manitoba Manitoba - 18 Alberta Quebec New Brunswick - 17 Prince Newfoundland and Labrador - 1 Saskatchewan Ontario Edward Nova Scotia - 29 Island Ontario - 36 Prince Edward Island - 2 New Nova Quebec - 10 Saskatchewan - 11 Yukon Territory - 1 Brunswick Scotia How Many Canadians Participate in Gambling per Year/Month 60% of gamblers 40% play for fun $100 per month Around 60% of all Canadians play on Around 40% gamblers play free Gamblers spend around $100 per a regular basis games online month, average, on gambling Source: ipsos.com How Much Money Do Casinos Make? $31 Billion $145 Million 10-15% Taxes paid by casinos per year per year The whole gaming industry earns Individual brick and mortar casinos Casino businesses pay 10-15% of their around $31 billion per year. earn around $145 million CAD. income to the government. Sources: fingerlakes1.com, netnewsledger.com, thelinkpaper.ca How Has Covid-19 Changed the Industry More people access online casinos rather Land based casinos consider cashless than land based ones. payments to their customers. Casinos will introduce temperature checks All customers and personnel are to wear for all visitors. masks. All surfaces are to be wiped between uses Plastic screens are normal to separate and on a regular basis. players in the casino areas. Disinfectants, wipes and other measures Chips and other elements needed in games will be cleaned after each night. will be available across casino floors. Most casinos will not work 24/7; they will Some casinos consider providing stylus close down for several hours in the pens, so that the customers would not morning to clean the whole house. need to touch anything. All Canada casinos have closed during the quarantine, but smaller casinos found out that reopening and allowing around 50 people to gamble due to the space available is not economically feasible. Around 12 casinos have closed without timeline to reopen in the nearest future. CLOSED While due to closed land based casinos, many gamblers relaxed and entertained themselves at online casinos, in fact lack of land based casinos in operation damages city finances, and leaves people without jobs. Sources: globalnews.ca, ctvnews.ca, cbc.ca Mental Health Issues Caused by Gambling During COVID-19 Pandemic Gambling entertainment itself can be addictive and cause mental health issues, including anxiety, stress, insomnia, social isolation, etc. COVID-19 100 pandemic, on the other hand, became the cause of increased anxiety, 80 stress, isolation, and decreased mental well-being all across the globe. 60 Those two factors combined together can cause a serious breakdown in mental health even in experienced and cool-headed gamblers. 40 46% 20 According to the pilot study by the Gambling Disorder and other 27% 19% 12% Behavioral Addictions Unit of the Department of Psychiatry at the University Hospital of Bellvitge (Barcelona, Spain), lockdown together with gambling addiction can lead to severe depression. 12% of gamblers are likely to suffer worsening of gambling habits; gambling becomes more compulsive, and takes more time 19% are likely to be comparatively restrained and able to control themselves (but additional social factors were not researched) 46% of gamblers will most likely show increased anxiety 27% of gamblers can face the risk of severe depressive conditions Source: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov What Gamblers Did After Offline Casinos Were Closed After land-based casino houses had to close down due to COVID-19 pandemic, regular offline gamblers had to find other ways to entertain themselves. According to the recent study, different substitution behaviors were demonstrated. 56.9% 11.2% 1.2% 15% The study shows that 56.9% of 11.2% reported change due to Only 1.2% reported increased 15% of all participants who gambling participants stated increased anxiety because of online gambling and substance have never gambled online that change in behavior, including behavioral and substance addictions, was the lockdown. abuse to fill the entertainment before reported they have and habit void after brick-and- migrated to online gambling mortar casinos closed. after land based casinos were caused by boredom, and closed. increased free time. Other participants could not report any clear motivation. Source: esf.io Changes In Online Gambling Trends and Behaviors As a Result of COVID-19 Pandemic According to a study that took place in Ontario, Canada, and included 2005 gamblers, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted not only casino operators. The study revealed changes and risks in behaviors, financial impacts, mental health concerns, and substance abuse. 76.7% 100 During the lockdown, 54% of Before the pandemic, 76.7% of participants gambled online. participants gambled mostly at land based casinos. During the lockdown, males were more likely to gamble online than females (55.3% and 44.1% 13.6% respectively). 100 47% reported issues with 43.6% did not demonstrate employment during, or because of 13.6% gambled both online and offline. the lockdown. serious symptoms of anxiety as a result of increased online gambling during the lockdown 9.7% Younger adults (12.8%) and adults (36.3%) were more likely to 30.7% had mild anxiety 100 symptoms gamble online than seniors (18.1%) 50% of participants reported household income negatively I 16.1% had moderate anxiety Only 9.7% gambled only online among all participants before the COVID-19 lockdown. impacted by the pandemic. 9.6% had severe anxiety Those gamblers who have typically punted at land based Population of participants without anxiety and depression casinos before the lockdown were less likely to play at online symptoms (40.4% and 40.2%) had decreased odds of casinos (61.6%). gambling online during the lockdown. Online-only gamblers and mix gamblers (16% and 22.4% respectively) had the same odds of gambling online during Population with moderate and severe symptoms of anxiety/ depression had nearly 9 times the odds of gambling. the pandemic as before lockdown. 65.6% of non-risk gamblers were gambling online during the 25.4% of participants reported loss of employment during the lockdown. lockdown, and 15.9% reported work hours reduced; both JOB groups had involved into high-risk online gambling more often than other groups. Source: link.springer.com The Benefits of Online Gambling During Pandemic you don't need to leave the house, be around other people, and take health risks in the crowd - you can play safely at home; you don't have to spend additional money and time travelling to the land based casino - you can access online casino site from your apartment, or your garden chair; you do not need to wear a mask, gloves, and wash everything you touch in the casino - these things are not needed for playing online; you do not handle chips, cards, or money which are definitely dirty - all things are digital, and you only tap on your phone or PC keyboard; it is a well-known fact that house edge has always been lower for online casinos, and they offer higher wins, statistically, to web gamblers; online casinos, in contrast to land based houses, are available 24/7 and do not close for cleaning hours; CASIN O S HUNTER Fair Use Statement: Please provide a link to the original page in case you want to share some of our content. 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