Canada’s Casinos: Are They Still Fueling the Entertainment Economy and Boosting the Jobs Market?
Adapting after the pandemic, balancing online gaming, new venues, and the opportunities such as live casino bonuses - which are pretty exciting-dooweel to draw the attention of increasing online players.
Canada unveiled the world's biggest casino to date in summer. The aptly dubbed Great Canadian Casino Resort in Toronto houses 328,000 square ft of gambling and entertainment. In terms of games on hand, casino players have a choice of over 4,800 slot machines and 145 table games. The entertainment that that resort includes is a 5,000-seat entertainment venue designed for music, comedy and all other special events. It's quite clear this isn't just your ordinary casino complex-it's proof of confidence in the nation about casinos as profit-oriented entertainment venues. Yet the opening of this $1 billion resort is fraught with risks that have become particularly pressing now as COVID-19, inflation, and change in the preferences of different demographics have all combined to affect the viability of brick-and-mortar casinos.
The entertainment industry is still trying to put its post-pandemic house in order
Casinos, once thought to be recession-proof, are not drawing in profits anymore. People still come to the casinos, but not as many are gambling. This is one of the reasons a majority of Canadian casinos have been reporting declines in their year-on-year revenue. In some cases, people just cannot afford to go to a physical casino; the cost of getting there, the food, and the drinks, as well as all the other expenses that come up, add up. This has led to people opting in for online casinos rather than physical ones.
With online casinos, gamblers can chip away at a few rounds of blackjack and poker in the comforts of their home. So why should they bust an extra mile just to get to a physical casino, when online casinos have also been cut down on many costs, albeit often discounted or through a bonus? As noted by seasoned gambling copywriter Jamie Wright, online casino apps come with a whole range of depositing and withdrawal methods, including eWallets and cryptocurrencies. While some casinos across the U.S. and Canada already accept cryptocurrencies, not all of them do. Although they are immensely fantastic, online casinos outweigh traditional, in-person gambling establishments in many areas, creating less traffic on the latest match.
This is not to equate to any lesser importance of online casinos in the lexicon of Canadian gambling. The tax revenue garnered from online casinos is understandably massive. This setting is so ubiquitous now that around 3.2 million adults in Canada-this corresponds to 12 percent of the population-regularly play at online casinos. The federal government is expected to wring out anywhere from $450 million in tax revenues from online casinos. So, good measure brings all into account as physical casino figures may take a dip, but online figures also tend to spike up, balancing things so that the gambling sector does play a still prominent role for contribution to entertainment.
Thus, some synergy between both online and offline casinos is formed; in that regard, they should be seen as complementary rather than competitive. While land-based casinos are re-establishing their standing in the post-COVID world, online casinos will carry gambling forward in financial terms. At the same time, land-based casinos market the virtues of betting through the establishment of their online platforms. The aforementioned largest casino complex operator, Great Canadian Entertainment, has allowed gamers to play their favorite slots and table games on its online platform.
These online casinos provide an additional source of income for their country’s major casino complexes, allowing the physical venues to keep their doors open. They also help Canadian casinos maintain their large workforces. Across Great Canadian Entertainment's 25 gaming properties, around 7,000 people are employed. This figure does not pertain only to game room attendants. It caters to cage cashiers, security officers, surveillance operators, cleaners, dishwashers, financial managers, and business development coordinators, among others.
In addition, the domain of online gambling introduced a whole set of jobs that had never existed in North America during the height of its gaming establishment. Specifically, online casinos are in need of specialists in software development, artificial intelligence, machine learning, gaming device design,-cashier, and online services acts.
What do the numbers say?
In 2024, the online casino industry in Canada is anticipated to offer an impressive 25,000. That is a significant jump, when the online casino industry directly created only 15,000 jobs. Considering the total number of Canadians employed by casinos, this figure is marginal. Currently, the sector employs over 135,500 people, thereby standing as the largest entertainment labor market in Canada. GlassDoor reports that base salaries for casino sector employees can range from $40,000 to $72,000, suggesting that casinos in Canada are a cornerstone of the job market. In fact, this has justified the opening of new venues.
The casinos of Canada are one of the key employers in the country. As a result, there are makinNew Casino venues. Toronto is not a one-off huge complex; every single year, casinos are being announced, built, and extended. Recently, the SIGA had it declared they would invest millions into the upgrading of the Northern Lights Casino, setting an area of up to 31,000 square feet. Bear Hills Casino& Travel Resort opened earlier in Alberta, and Ace Casino Airport has opened beside Calgary Internation Airport.
One thing that is sure is that new casinos will sure keep on being developed, in turn ever sustaining the showbiz market and absorb more jobs for Canada.
