Canada Gets Set for Online Gambling Crackdown

The Canadian government is undertaking a crackdown on online gambling sites that target Canadian customers. The new move seeks to cut down on money laundering and terrorist financing.

In general, Canadian gambling laws appear to be rather liberal when compared to the ones in the US, but it looks like maple country will be toughening up where online gambling is concerned.

The new 2014 Budget contains a promise to strengthen the country’s policies on money laundering and anti-terrorist financing, by cracking down on online gambling sites in Canada and virtual currencies like Bitcoin.

So far, the specifics haven’t been publicized, but it does look like the Canadian government are keen to have online casinos undertake the same level of record keeping and transaction reporting like their land-based fellows.

Canada gets ready for a crackdown on online gambling in a bid to cap money laundering and terrorist financing

What is unclear is whether the proposed changes will only apply to the online operations of the local lottery or whether it will also extend to internationally licensed gambling sites with Canadian customers.

The changes could lead to restrictions being placed on international firms that promote their free-play sites in Canada.

No matter which direction the proposed law change will go, one thing that’s for sure is that online firms that have not shuttered their Canada facing operations could come under more pressure from their shareholders to pull out of the country rather than face legal action.