From Online-Casinos.com – Canada and the United States of America are different in so many ways but are also share many common elements. They have different government styles with the Canadian parliamentary system modeled after the British and the American political system which has a President and a House of Representatives in Washington.
Canada has one tenth of the population at 31 million but a little more land than the States. The US has many differing laws in various states similar to Canada which has different laws in their various provinces.
The laws pertaining to online gambling and online poker are governed by the provincial parliaments similar to those legislated in the individual states in the USA. In Canada there is some confusion as to whether online poker is legal to play or not. Canadians are playing at a wide variety of offshore online poker sites without any fear of repercussions from the Canadian government. Offshore online gambling operators are not permitted to set up online gambling sites in Canada, except in partnership with provincial governments and offshore sites are not under the jurisdiction of the Canadian federal government.
Aboriginal First Nations organizations such as the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake in the province of Quebec regulates a large number of online gambling sites through the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. The Commission’s right to do so has been upheld, with no other jurisdiction challenging their rights. Provincial governments in Canada have decided to offer regulated online poker to Canadian players for so called safety reasons and of course the tax advantages gained. Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba and soon Ontario offer regulated online poker for real money while other provinces are still considering the move.
