How did Ontario Become Canada’s Main Entertainment Hub ahead of Quebec and British Columbia?

Canada is home to a booming entertainment industry, with online casino gambling acting as a huge contributor to that success. Ontario is one of the states that leads the way in this regard, and it has been the fastest-growing market since 2016. In recent years, the country’s most populous state has contributed more than 43 percent to the overall revenue from gambling. This thriving sector is just one of many strings in Canada’s bow when it comes to providing cutting-edge entertainment. The future certainly looks bright for Canada as an industry leader in entertainment.

Ontario’s Thriving Gambling Industry

The industry has ballooned massively in a short space of time, with the biggest moves happening in the last couple of decades. Online casinos that made themselves available in the early days were able to achieve great success. 888casino is a prime example of a behemoth site in Canada thanks to its longstanding presence in the country, and the fact that the casino has a reputation for its varied roulette options including Super Stakes Roulette and Immersive Roulette. Roulette is one of the most popular table games for Canadian players, and brands addressing preferences like this is part of the reason why the industry is thriving.

For many years, Ontario’s online gambling market was monopolized by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, but it was recently announced that the state will be opening the market to private operators in 2022. This move suggests that the state could become an even bigger player than before. Ontario was already an industry leader in Canada, but allowing fiercer competition between rival private companies will push the sector forward even more rapidly.

Online casinos have appealed to Canadian players’ interests well over the years, with an estimated 76 percent of people in the country interested in gambling games. Online casino operators tapped into this market by offering sprawling entertainment libraries packed full of diverse genres and titles. Now, players know that they can log on to an online casino and find everything from table games to slots. There are even live options that put players in touch with real-life dealers who operate games from within a studio.

Canada as an Entertainment Hub

The thriving gambling industry in Canada is just one element of an entertainment industry that many other countries around the world envy. Other offshoots of gaming in the North American country are buzzing as well. Indeed, some of the world’s best-known developers have their offices here. This is thanks to the government actively encouraging gaming businesses to operate here through tax breaks and other incentives.

Perhaps the best-known name to operate in Ontario is Ubisoft Toronto, one of many branches of the legendary studio. The most recent game it was responsible for was Far Cry 6, which was nominated for Best Action Game at The Game Awards 2021. Ubisoft Toronto also created popular hits like Watchdogs: Legion and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist. There’s also Rockstar Toronto, the company behind the hugely successful Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018.

There are plenty of other up-and-coming studios in Ontario, with many mobile game developers like Tiny Hearts and XMG Studio Inc. currently making waves. Across the country, some huge names at the pinnacle of the console industry standout. These include Eidos Montréal, EA Montréal, and Ubisoft Montreal. Because these brands are all achieving so much success, they inspire other developers and start-ups to set up shop in the flourishing gaming landscape in Canada.

Gaming is the standout offshoot of Canada’s entertainment industry, but the country is also trying to improve its television and film offerings. One of the largest production companies for television in the country is Pyramid Productions Inc., which produces more than 400 programs each year.

There are also numerous series from Canada that are gaining a lot of attention on streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu. Orphan Black and Project Blue Book are a couple of the most notable titles in recent years, but the biggest success story is Vikings. The series from Michael Hirst originally aired on the History Channel, which is a Canadian network.

A Bright Future

Canada is in a prime position to keep benefiting from the growth of global entertainment. The online casino industry is beginning to spread throughout Canada’s neighbor the USA now, and businesses in the country will be looking at the Canadian model for inspiration. Because Canadian casinos are already thriving, they’re also in a great position to jump on future tech developments like virtual and augmented reality.

There are already more than 100 companies in Canada that are developing content for AR and VR, with VR Vision in Toronto being one of the industry leaders. It was founded in 2017 and specializes in software development. Some other major players include Bit Space Development Ltd, MAMMOTH XR, and CADmechXR.

Canada has several key figures who are beginning to become more prominent in Hollywood, and these people will help draw more attention to the country’s own film industry in the years ahead. Denis Villeneuve is one director to watch out for, as he is overseeing the Dune series for Warner Bros. Pictures. The epic science fiction pictures are based on Frank Herbert’s famous novels. There were six main novels, along with various other works detailing the backstories of some of the heroes and houses within the universe.

Ontario is arguably leading the way in Canada when it comes to entertainment, because the gambling industry is the most lucrative sector. This success has helped to boost Canada’s prospects as a global hub for gaming, and the television and film sectors in the country look set to benefit from this as well. The future is looking extremely bright for entertainment in Canada.