Gambling History

There is some evidence that gambling games were an accepted part of pre-contact native culture in North America and other parts of the world.

However, modern versions of gambling appears to have arrived in Canada with European settlers who brought with them their gambling traditions including horse races, lotteries and card playing for money.

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Prohibition… Legalization… Prohibition… Legalization…

The early heyday of legalized gambling in Canada came to a close around the mid 1800’s due to scandals, corruption and fraud which discouraged governments from authorizing gambling activities.

Gambling was prohibited for a short period of time until the popularity and legalization of gambling occurred once again before the end of the1800’s.

When the Criminal Code of Canada was enacted in 1892, gambling was prohibited once again until Amendments to the Criminal Code in the early 1900’s slowly permitted increasing access to gambling.

In 1954, public hearings in Canada found that there was wide public support for legalized gambling. In 1969, The Criminal Code was amended to legalize gambling and give the provinces the authority to operate lotteries and casinos, or to license charitable or religious organizations to do so.

Since 1969, legalized and regulated gambling has continued to grow in popularity in Canada and around the world.