ABSTRACT
This chapter depicts a general portrait of the legislative and economic background in Canada, and then offers a comparative gender-based analysis of gambling patterns in Canada highlighting data from each of the country's ten provinces. It discusses then dig deeper into complex relationships between gender, gambling patterns, and gambling context. Gambling is regulated under federal law via provisions set by the Criminal Code of Canada that was adopted. Gambling was prohibited in Canada until 1969, after which lotteries and casinos began operating legally. Existing legislature provides provincial governments, within the limits of their territory, the authority to manage gambling ventures and provide licences to private operators of religious or charitable causes. The examination of gambling behaviors within Canada presented within this chapter reveals multiple significant gender differences in prevalence, game type, spending, and frequency. The chapter ends with an honest discussion of the state of women's gambling research within the Canadian context and future directions in need of particular attention.
