Canadians Love Casino Gambling
by Bodog Casino | Aug 30 2010
Canada has about a tenth of the population the United States has, and for that reason you won't find a lot of variety when it comes down to what they like.
First, Canadians love hockey. It can be NHL, it can be Junior World Championships, it can be the pickup game in the middle of the street, if there's a stick and a goalie involved they're participating in some capacity.
Second, Canadians love beer. We assume it's because it goes so well with hockey. Would beer exist up north without hockey? Wait, would hockey exist without beer? Swim that in your head for a while.
The third thing Canadians love, according to Statistics Canada, seems to be casino gambling. Yep, Canucks haven't been flying out to Las Vegas, Nevada either. Saskatchewan is the Canadian province that has been raking in the most gambling dough.
The Stats Canada report stated that residents of Saskatchewan spend more per household on gambling than people in any other province. A report released by the federal agency on Friday says the average Saskatchewan household spent $720 on gambling in 2008, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
Alberta was second, with $645, while Quebec spent the least, with $390.
The report also says Saskatchewan residents are more likely to gamble in casinos than people in other regions.
"The participation rate in Saskatchewan is 27 per cent of all households say they've visited or played a casino or VLT [video lottery terminal]," Statistics Canada spokeswoman Katherine Marshall said. "That's the highest rate in the country."
The knee jerk reaction explaining why Saskatchewan is grabbing plenty of casino customers is that other than gaming the only thing you can do in the province is check out a Roughriders game. But Marshall thinks it's because the province has such a healthy variety of gaming destinations. There are two casinos run by the provincial government and another six operated by the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority.
Ken Cheveldayoff, the minister who handles the Saskatchewan Gaming Corp., bragged that Saskatchewanians love gaming because their casinos are doing such a kick ass job.
"I would credit SIGA and [SGC] gaming with marketing very well, with providing an attractive and a positive entertainment experience for people," he said. "That's why they keep coming back, that's why they do well."
We suggest for the next Canadian casino someone open one that has beer kegs near slot machines and hockey rinks in the building. That triple threat would make a killing.
