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Casinos and video lottery terminals (VLTs) are the latest gambling craze for Canadians, who have traditionally bet their money on lotteries since they were introduced some 30 years ago.
The first full-scale casino in Canada opened in Winnipeg in 1989. Since then, more than 50 permanent casinos have been built in all provinces except Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
In Alberta, casinos are licensed and run by charity groups or exhibition associations. In Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec, Crown corporations operate the casinos. Private operators run Ontario casinos. In some provinces, proceeds are shared with First Nations groups that operate on-reserve casinos.
In 1998, over three quarter of Canadians gambled at casinos, put money into
VLTs and slot machines, played bingo, bet on horses or bought lottery tickets.
Revenues generated by non-charity gambling reached $7.4 billion that year, a
leap of 170% from 1992.