The question of online gambling in Canada is complicated at best. The country does not regulate online gambling in a way similar to European countries, but doesn't have such a strict legal status as the US either. It is somewhere in the legal limbo, with operators not allowed to offer their services to locals, but locals being free to use the services offered by offshore operators. Online gambling inside the country is a state monopoly - most provinces keep this business to themselves, with state-run lottery corporations operating online gambling services in the country.

Still, instead of keeping their money inside their country, many Canadians prefer to use offshore destinations. Let's take a look at what more these outsiders offer compared to local gaming operations.

Game variety

Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario have launched their own online gambling websites: EspaceJeux, PlayNow and PlayOLG. The first two offer poker and sports betting aside from casino services, while PlayOLG is still in the planning phase for these.

PlayOLG has over 80 casino games players can choose from. PlayNow has almost 200 (it was the first one to be launched), while EspaceJeux has a little over 100 titles to choose from. All three casinos use games provided by IGT, one of the largest casino software developers of the world.

It seems a lot, doesn't it? Well, let's take a look at what the competition offers.

The Vegas Palms Canadian online casino also has a single software provider: Isle of Man based developer Microgaming. But its game library is amazing: over 300 games available for browser play, and more than 600 in its downloadable software suite. To make things more attractive, the Vegas Palms has a mobile casino with more than 100 games in it.

Other operators which accept Canadian players have game libraries even larger, some over 1,000 games in their collection.

Winner: offshore.

Security

EspaceJeux, PlayNow and PlayOLG are run by the state, so they are as secure as they can be. They conform with laws regulating data protection, problem gambling and anything else you can think of.

But so is the Vegas Palms. It has a license issued by the authorities of Malta (the European Union), known as one of the strictest and most restricting ones of the world. Besides, it undergoes regular audits by an independent industry body to assure its fairness and safety.

This one is a tie.

Bonuses

Bonuses and promotions are the best way to attract new players to casinos. PlayOLG seems to have understood that, offering new players a 200% match on their first deposits (alas, it's for Ontario residents only). PlayNow has settled for a $100 welcome bonus, while EspaceJeux doesn't appear to offer any of those.

Now let's take a peek at the Vegas Palms: it also offers its players a 200% bonus, up to $100, but throws in 3x50 free spins to sweeten the deal. And this is just one online casino - other operators offer even more.

Winner: offshore.

Taking a look at all the differences above, it is now obvious why state-run operators are losing. Their game variety is low compared to offshore operators, and their bonuses are not as attractive. Online gambling is a very competitive business having the legal "upper hand" is seldom enough for a company to stay afloat.