The Legal Side of the Business?

Online gambling in Canada was banned until 2009. However, this has never stopped the population from playing online gambling games on various offshore sites. Back in 2006, as a result of research by the large United States investment bank Merrill Lynch, experts already expected that by 2015, the online gambling industry in the country would peak, with an annual income of up to $528 billion. Today there are many online gambling catalogues of the best online casinos Canada that are freely available to their visitors. And there is nothing preventing and limiting their work. 

Note that today, gambling activity is not prohibited at the legislative level. Any Canadian province has the right to license and regulate its own gambling servers. Online casinos are regulated by a special body in Canawag – the local gambling commission. Moreover, it is considered one of the most preferred regulators not only in Canada but worldwide. 

For example, British Columbia was the first province to open a site of this kind (casino). A year later, online poker games were launched there, and now they are already preparing for the release of a mobile casino.

Specifics of Online Gambling in Canada

There are a couple of things that distinguish online gambling in Canada:

• Young Canadian gamblers make rather high stakes in contrast to older people.
• In one of the Canadian provinces, Alberta, online gambling for young people was mentioned as legal in a report from the Commission on Drug Abuse and Alcoholism.
• According to the research data, young people in the Canadian provinces are fond of gambling already starting from 7-8 grades.
• Over the year, 41% of teenagers are registered on gambling sites in Alberta, and 78% of young players are reported in Manitoba.
• Since the end of the summer of 2004, Atlantic Lottery has allowed Internet gambling to the population of Atlantic Canada and Nova Scotia and participation in gambling bets from 19 years of age and older.
• In the province of Nova Scotia, only 1.6 percent of the local population played online casinos.
• It is known that 19% of gamblers are already between the ages of 15 and 17.
• 67 percent of the respondents are neutral towards online gambling in Canada, while the rest believe that such activities are harmless and will not harm anyone.

Another problem that has been causing concern for United States live casino operators in Macau is the ongoing battle between the US and China over trade and security policies. Macau is China-controlled, and many operators and industry officials were concerned that the friction between the two countries could deal yet another devastating blow to U.S. casino operators in Macau. 

The good news for these casino operators is that analysts and experts have said there should be no impact on the casinos. This will undoubtedly come as a huge relief for casino officials given the problems already experienced this year. 

Monitoring the Situation

According to reports, analysts with the brokerage firm, Sanford Bernstein, have been keeping a close eye on the situation. There has been a lot of turmoil between the two countries, and the battle they have been embroiled in has caused a huge amount of friction. With casino industry officials becoming increasingly concerned about the impact on their Macau operations, analysts decided to monitor the situation more closely.

A number of concerns had been raised by operators, and one of the key ones was over licensing in Macau. All six of the licenses that are active in the area are due to expire in 2022, and there is no guarantee that operators will automatically receive new licenses. A new tender process must be held in accordance with legal requirements in Macau, but there is little chance of existing operators losing their license.

The rift between the United States and China could change that situation, however. China could effectively try to get back at the United States by taking more control in Macau and demanding changes to the gaming laws in the area. These gaming laws are due to be amended next year, and understandably many operators were extremely worried about getting caught in the crossfire between America and China. 

Fortunately, officials from the brokerage firm are confident that this will not happen, which means that casino operators can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Analysts also believe that all of the existing operators will receive new concessions and that there will be no new entrants into the market. This came as additional good news for the U.S. operators that already have casinos in Macau.

At the present, the experts are confident that existing U.S. operators in Macau have little to worry about in this respect, unless the situation between US and China goes for the worse in future.

Still Some Concerns for Operators

While the news from Sanford Bernstein has provided some relief for U.S. Casino operators in the area, a few areas of concern have been highlighted by analysts. There could be changes to the gaming programme in Macau that could have an economic impact. This includes a change to gross gaming revenue, taxes on gaming profits, and taxes on dividends among other things. There are also concerns that any changes put into place could involve the mandating of upfront fees.

Ma’s similarities between blackjack and startups

Discussing his varied experience across the world of finances and business, Ma explains that the blackjack team and the essence of blackjack is very similar to that of committing to a startup. In the interview found here, he states: “the blackjack team was, in many ways, a startup.” Having started in blackjack and moved into establishing startups, Ma sees that coming through a startup demands the best out of you.

It shapes you into a great entrepreneur because the experience of being disciplined and needing to prioritize to survive becomes ingrained, which is exactly how the best blackjack players think about the table game. Having conquered the brain-straining game of blackjack as well as building and selling four startups, Ma has proven that there is a similar mindset that can be deployed in both spheres.

How blackjack trains good business practices

The game of blackjack has become heralded as the game of choice for intellects. The MIT Blackjack Team greatly helped to fuel this persona, with the group taking hundreds of thousands from casinos in Sin City. While anyone can play and win at blackjack, a strategy can be learned, which significantly helps to minimize the house edge. Basic Strategy is seen as the foundational knowledge of any top blackjack player, with further writings on probability in blackjack helping to further sway the game in the player’s favour.

The ability to attain skill and enhance your blackjack play is why the game is so coveted, and now there are even more blackjack variants on this page for enthusiasts to try their hand at. The likes of Blitz Blackjack, Vegas Strip Blackjack, and Single Deck Blackjack alter the optimum way to take on the classic table game. So, the player learns to apply a general theory of probability as well as how to adjust it to newly introduced variables. Couple this with the need to manage your bankroll, and you can see why Ma finds it so easy to apply blackjack skill to startups.

For all the skill in the world, randomness can still come to play

Everything about casino gaming is based on there being an element of unreadable randomness. The greatest blackjack players in the world will tell you that they’ve learned enough strategy to eliminate randomness as much as possible, but very few will discount its impact entirely. As the strategies are based on probability and not certainty, randomness will always have a role to play. Professor of civil engineering and failure analysis specialist Henry Petroski has likened the randomness in blackjack to trying to invest in innovative technologies.

As his quote noted here details, backing the success of any innovative technology comes with inherent uncertainties, much like the randomness presented by the dealing of the next card in blackjack. In terms of startups, this means always factoring in an additional element into risk assessment when planning and when pitching to potential investors. In blackjack, the element of randomness is what encourages top-tier players to remain disciplined when placing bets.

Given how the game is played, what’s required to play at the optimum level, and the ever-present aspect of randomness in play, there’s no wonder why blackjack legend Jeff Ma likens the card game to the business of startups.

The province gave the city new taxing authority in 2015, but negotiations have been ongoing since 2017.

Although several options for change were investigated Tuesday at a special meeting of council, municipal finance officials only made one recommendation on Tuesday.

The recommendation was to average commercial tax bills that increase more than five per cent over a three-year period to allow people time to adjust.

“Averaging applies to all business, small and large,” said Bruce Fisher, the municipality’s manager of tax policy.

Councillors liked to see the averaging policy, but wanted to see more.

“The recommendation to average is not enough, it’s not nearly enough,” said Coun. Shawn Cleary when asked.

Coun. Sam Austin asked finance officials for a followup report on his idea to combine a couple of options — tiered assessment rates along with the creation of five new commercial zones.

“It’d be like income tax, you don’t pay until a certain amount,” said Austin. “At a certain amount of income you’re paying a different percentage and the percentage goes up as the income goes up.”

“It’s the first chunk of assessment where you’d get the lowest bang for the buck.”

5 new commercial zones

The five new commercial zones would be high density, industrial, big box, small-medium enterprise and rural.

Austin’s motion was unanimously approved.

Halifax’s chief administrative officer warned councillors about creating an overly complex tax system.

“Keep in mind if you have five zones, you could end up with 30 different tax rates,” said Jacques Dubé.

Fisher noted the proposal on averaging may not work with Austin’s hybrid suggestion without further legislative changes approved by the province.

But the heads of two business districts are happy the tax reform conversation is continuing.

“If they leave it at three-year averaging, it really does nothing,” said Sue Uteck, the executive director of the Spring Garden Road Business Commission. “The current tax system is unsustainable.”

“We wanted to see more done,” said Paul MacKinnon, executive director of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission. “Where it’s going to go from here is a bit nebulous, but we’re pleased that council made that choice.”