Canadian Players Barred From Some Online Gambling Sites

Several top online casinos have decided to no longer take bet from Canadian gamblers this week, suddenly and unexpectedly pulling out of the Canadian market. The real mystery, however, has been exactly why they decided to do so.

Several different major casinos made the decision known to their players this week with little warning, including Bwin. However, the announcements did not state exactly why Canadian players were suddenly being barred; instead, they only made vague references to new regulations that nobody seems to be able to identify.

Besides Bwin, other sites affected by the Boss Media decision include Casino Club and Paddy Poker. Casino Club’s communication to its players gave the most complete picture of what happened.

“We regret to inform you that due to the new regulations of the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Loto-Quebec and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, online gaming products in Canada are prohibited,” said the email. “Unfortunately we are required to add Canada to our list of excluded countries…players from Canada will no longer be permitted to play at Casino Club starting September 24th, 2010.”

However, the key to the mystery may be in exactly how far this ban extends. At most sites, Canadian players were only banned from downloadable versions of the client software, but were welcomed to continue using the instant, no-download casinos offered by these sites. The downloadable clients from these sites are all powered by Boss Media, which suggests that Boss Media may be the ones pulling out of Canada, rather than the sites themselves.

This has led some to speculate that Boss Media may be looking to gain a license to operate online gambling sites in Canada if and when nationwide regulations on Internet gaming come into effect.

There is also the possibility that Boss Media may approach provincial governments individually. Already, several Canadian provinces have created regulated markets for online gambling. British Columbia was the first to do so, and an online casino run by the B.C. Lottery Corporation has already launched. Quebec and Ontario have already begun regulating online gambling, and a handful of other provinces have been debating the issue.