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What Does Gambling Bring to the Canadian Economy?

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Canada may not quite be the world power of its neighbour to the south but its economy is by no means insubstantial.

With a GDP of almost $2.1 trillion a year it stands as the ninth largest in the world, positioned between Russia, another close neighbour, and Italy.

Key sectors include mining, manufacturing and service industries. In recent years technology has also started to play a more significant part, boosted by government aid for start-ups.

There’s another booming area of business that crosses over several sectors and, in doing so, gambling competes with several other entertainment sectors.

The size of the industry

In 2021 the size of the Canadian gambling industry was $12.54 billion and it is currently showing an annual growth rate of around 12%. This puts it on a par with the film and television industry in the country, however this is not currently showing anything like the same rate of growth.

So we can expect to see an increasing gulf grow between these two very different kinds of entertainment going forward.

The growth of the industry can be put down to the fact that individual provinces are gradually starting to permit more and more gaming options under their control. In addition, the growth of online casinos and other forms of betting are also having a significant effect.

So who’s playing?

Looking into the figures, it throws up some very interesting insights. For example, it’s estimated that around 19 million adults in Canada participate in some form of gambling each year.

Looking at the gender split, men are marginally more likely to gamble than women with the respective percentages being 68.8% and 60.4%.

In terms of the minimum permitted age for gambling, the general rule across the country is that all players must be at least 19. However, as provinces are allowed to set their own limits over the activity in their particular region, this is 18 in Manitoba, Quebec and Alberta.

Digging a little deeper into the demographics, it’s households with higher levels of disposable income who tend to participate the most. However, there may be a few warning signs that the increasing interest rates and the rising cost of living may soon put more of a squeeze on this group.

The games people play

In common with most countries where betting is legal, it’s lotteries that are the big money-spinners in Canada. These are run by two organisations that cover the country, the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation and the Western Canada Lottery Corporation. Not only do the lotteries offer players the chance to win life-changing sums, they also raise around $1.25 billion a year in revenue for the government.

As already mentioned, online casinos and other forms of activity including poker games are also becoming more and more popular. As a result, an increasing number of major global operators are now offering their services to the Canadian market.

But perhaps the biggest change of all in recent years has been the 2021 ruling allowing betting on single sporting events. Canadians are very keen on sports whether it’s hockey, horse racing or football so now that many provinces are starting to permit sports gambling, rapid growth is anticipated.

Employment

Gambling also contributes greatly to the Canadian economy in a number of less direct ways beyond raising taxes and contributing to the GDP. One of these is in providing direct employment to an estimated 182,500 Canadians. What’s more, these are relatively well-paid jobs in the main with an average income of around $65,000 a year.

In total this amounts to a very considerable $11.9 billion in labour income.

This figure rises even further when you also start to take into account the many ancillary industries that also serve the gambling sector.

These are exceptionally wide ranging and include businesses across numerous specialisms. Examples include printing companies such as Nanoptix Inc. of New Brunswick who produce lottery tickets and the work apparel company Unisync Corp. which supplies uniforms for many of the 8000+ employees working in brick and mortar casinos.

Casinos themselves, and there are over 100 across the country, also provide business opportunities for everyone from food and produce suppliers to the energy companies that power them.

So, as you can see, gambling in its many forms has a very important role to play across the whole Canadian company.

As we move forward, this role is set to become even more significant offering revenue-raising opportunities for the government and employment opportunities for working Canadians.

Much will be fuelled by advances in technology and we can expect to see the online casino and sportsbook sector continue to grow and make ever-greater contributions to the economy.

And it’s also the fans of gambling who will also enjoy all of the benefits that this ever-widening choice will bring them.

 

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Sure-Fire Hacks to Streamline the Process of Writing a Thesis Paper

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Encountering the term “thesis paper” has conjured up thoughts of panic and dread among university students for innumerable decades. How much research will be required? What about citations? Does the tone of voice matter? What about the difficulty of the material itself? These are some of the many questions which will need to be addressed.

So, it’s not a great surprise that theses and term papers can become overwhelming on occasion. Are there any ways in which you can lessen the burden? This article will examine some unique tips and tricks so that you can keep your head above water during the process.

Giving Your Efforts a Touch of Physicality

The majority of Canadian universities have become fully integrated within the digital domain. This approach offers a number of conveniences, and many feel that the trend will continue to gain momentum. However, the ability to create a physical thesis is worth its weight in gold.

Online printing portals including BachelorPrint offer a host of dedicated solutions that can be accessed with the click of a button. We are not only referring to the physical production of documents in this sense. There is plenty of additional information associated with the writing process, details on how to proofread a document, and users can even access a smart plagiarism checker. Always leverage these opportunities whenever possible.

Examine Your Current Skill Set

We often take the ability to write for granted. Still, this trait will provide a host of benefits throughout our lives. The only possible issue is that your talents might not be up to par. After all, not everyone boasts the skills of a professional. This is why it could be a good idea to upload a rough draft into an online portal that will rate the quality of the material. These systems may also offer suggestions and tips that can be used to improve the existing text. Why work hard when you can instead work smart?

The Dangers of Procrastination

Some of us may hesitate to initiate the writing process, as we are fearful of the challenges that will naturally accompany the task at hand. This is a sure-fire way to make things more difficult than they have to be. Try to avoid falling into the trap of procrastination. If you put things off until the very last minute, you might become even more disheartened. As the expression goes, strike while the iron is hot.

Consider Collaboration

Writing an essay, thesis, or term paper does not necessarily have to represent a solitary process. It is often a good idea to collaborate with your peers; especially if they have something to actively contribute. Friends and colleagues can represent powerful sources of inspiration, and they can offer additional support when the going gets tough.

The bottom line is that there is no “secret” to writing a quality thesis paper, nor will one approach represent a universal solution. Adopting a flexible mindset, and leveraging the tools at your disposal, is nonetheless the first step towards ultimate success.

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5 things to keep in mind before playing at an online casino

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Playing at an online casino can look straightforward, but there are some things to consider before just
jumping on the first site you see. The online casino industry is huge, and in 2023, it was worth around
USD17 billion globally—with the number is set to rise year-on-year.

Players can get lucky by finding the right site on the first attempt, but often, the best practice is to take
some time to look around for the right platform that fits your needs. But why not just pick one at random and roll with it?

Players look for different experiences, and the same site isn’t going to suit everyone. Some may seek out
the highest payout online casinos, others could be more interested in social casinos, and the choice for
another player may simply be based on the VIP club rewards.

There are many considerations to make before playing at an online casino site, and here, we’ll explore
the five key things to keep in mind before doing so.

Licensing and regulation

The initial thing to consider is security, which means checking to see if a site is regulated by a reputable
authority. The ideal situation is to find a site that is licensed by a leading governing body to operate within your geographic location.

It’s not always easy to find a “local” casino that’s based in the state where you are. Hundreds of
thousands of players face this issue, which is why they instead look for offshore platforms that will give
them access.

This is OK, as long as the gambling license is from a reputable body like the Malta Gaming Authority or
the Curaçao Gaming Control Board because that still means that they are audited to ensure they meet
things like fair play conditions of the license.

But it’s easy to find just as many unlicensed casino platforms that don’t offer any kind of player protection. This is a complicated area, but one worth checking. A good source for reputable online casinos to play at is honest casino reviews, where the information is curated by experts.

Verification of account

It’s very quick and easy to set up an online gambling account—something that shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes to do, in fact. Personal data is entered, a rudimentary check is done on those details, and your account is open.

In most cases, you can deposit straight away and start spinning the reels on the slot machines or visiting
live dealer tables. Everything is then typically fine until the point where you want to make your first
withdrawal. If the account hasn’t been verified, you could find yourself running into delays.

Verification of the account means supplying the operator with corroborating documents to match the
information used to open the account. This is commonly referred to as KYC (know your customer), where the operator performs what is essentially a security check on the details, which helps in the fight against fraud and money laundering.

In many instances, online casino platforms will give a certain amount of time to get the verification
completed before they suspend or close the account. This can feel like a frustrating extra step,
particularly as it can typically take up to 48 hours for verification to be completed, so it’s worth doing as
soon as you have opened the account to get it out of the way.

Is the right payment method available?

Online casinos accept many different payment methods, but that doesn’t mean every one of them
accepts all the options. There are platforms where the number is certainly a lot more limited, and not all
sites accept cryptocurrency, for example.

Pick the preferred payment method you want to use and base your search for a casino site on that. It’s
very unusual for any online casino to charge deposit fees, but they do appear a little more frequently for
withdrawals.

The amount of such a charge could be linked to the payment method that is used, and minimal
withdrawal amounts often vary between different payment options too. It’s just worth getting the overall picture ahead of time so that you can securely use your preferred payment option.

How can customer support be contacted?

While you may never need to call upon customer support, it is worth finding out about operating hours
and how they can be contacted. The most common method of support is through a live chat, but not all
online casinos have that available 24/7.

The presence of AI is firmly with us all now, and with some regional governments welcoming the growth of the technology, it’s only going to increase. Already, a lot of initial customer support contact at online casinos is with a chatbot.

The ideal situation is to have access to customer telephone support because that is a direct line to help,
but that’s not particularly common anymore. It’s worth putting a support email address into your address book for quick future reference, and after a live chat session has closed, download the transcript for your records if you are in a dispute or have a complaint.

There are also risks involved with gambling, which is something else that should be noted before playing at an online casino. Be prepared for the losses, because they will happen. To help customers play responsibly, there are features like deposit limits and bet limits that can be set up to help manage the financial risk of playing.

Variety of Games

The variety of games is another important aspect to consider before playing. Maybe one slot machine
immediately caught your eye, but beyond that, you find the rest of the options for the style of game that
you want are all too limited.

There are certainly enough online casino sites out there to ensure you do not need to be limited in terms
of game variety. This could filter out into other gaming options as well, like scratch cards, bingo, and
crash games.

Take some time to look around and explore, and if you can’t quite get the game coverage that you need,
there is nothing wrong with registering with more than one casino, as long as it’s financially viable.

In conclusion

At the end of the day, it is putting all the components together to end up at the best possible playing
platform for you. It’s about finding the balance, but certainly, the top consideration to make before playing is to select a licensed and regulated casino.

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