Welcome to , home to the largest Canadian online poker directory and news site. Here you’ll find the resources you need to fully engage in the online poker community and keep up to date with all the latest news in the poker industry. With an emphasis on news that affects Canadian poker players and sites that cater specifically to gamblers in Canada, this site provides a unique source of reliable information that can’t be accessed anywhere else on the web. For the first time, all information pertinent to Canadian poker players has been filtered, analyzed, and gathered in one location for your convenience. Check back often for constant updates so you can stay on top of your online poker game.
There has never been a better time for Canadians to take their love of poker online. With so many sites striving to offer players in Canada the best online poker experience, there are a lot of options to choose from and just about anyone is sure to find exactly what he or she is looking for. Whether you’re excited to try out your favorite variety of poker at an online casino or take a look at something completely different, you’re sure to be satisfied by what the online poker community has to offer. More and more online casinos are offering the ability to make deposits (and withdrawals) in Canadian dollars, making your online gambling experience seamless and smooth without the need to constantly calculate exchange rates in the middle of a game. In that respect, playing online poker doesn’t have to be any different than playing at a traditional local casino or at a friend’s home on Friday night.
Why Canadians love online poker
While certain aspects of online poker will feel the same as playing anywhere else in Canada, plenty of other things about the experience can be as new and exciting as you want them to be. When you play poker online, it’s possible to try out any number of casinos in a single evening, and you only have to stay as long as you feel like it – when you’re playing online, there’s no need to persevere through a boring game if you’re not in the mood. With a click of your mouse, you can be somewhere new without worrying about how far you need to drive or whether or not you’ll need to get a hotel. Instead of limiting yourself to playing poker in the rare instances when several of your friends are simultaneously free and energetic enough to be up for a game, try playing online poker when you’re in the mood for a game but too tired or too busy to make time for a big event. Online poker makes it possible to enjoy the game completely at your convenience regardless of what else is going on in your life or anyone else’s.
Rather than spend your next free evening wondering what there is to do or wishing your friends were able to get away from work or other commitments in order to play some poker, take your free time into your own hands and check out what online casinos have to offer. You may even find that you enjoy playing online poker as much as – or even more than – poker in real life. You may discover new varieties of the game that could enhance your next real life poker night, adding a new dimension to the game that you never knew was missing. Online poker doesn’t have to replace spending time playing poker with your buddies or at your local Canadian casino, but it can be a valuable supplement to your hobby by providing convenient, stress-free entertainment on demand from the comfort of home.
In short, yes! But gambling has a long and volatile history in Canada as well as the rest of the world. The first law enacted in Canada to address gambling in any form, be it betting on a poker game or wagering on sports, appeared in 1892. Following the standard English common law, the original Canadian gambling laws restricted the act but didn’t ban it outright. Multiple amendments were added over the years, but the law itself remained relatively intact until 1970, when significant reform to the Criminal Code allowed Canadian provinces to have authority, with minor exceptions, over licensing and regulating gambling.
These changes permitted the creation and cultivation of Canada’s vast gambling industry. Winnipeg is the location of Canada’s first casino, which opened in 1989, followed by another casino in Montreal in 1993. Several other provinces followed suit. While gambling is legal at casinos and approved locations in Canada, it is still by and large illegal to gamble for profit outside of these locations. However, while online casinos are not allowed to legally operate from within Canada at this time, it is still very much legal for Canadians to play online poker, wager money, and enjoy casino games at online casinos that are operated abroad.
So if you are living in Canada and are worried about breaking gambling laws by playing in an online poker tournament or practicing a new variety of poker in an online poker room, rest easy. There is absolutely nothing illegal going on and you can enjoy your game of poker in good conscience.