History of gambling in Canada
Historically, revenue derived from lotteries has been used for the construction and/or renovation of buildings and roads throughout Canada. In 1783, Governor Haldimand financed the construction of a Montreal prison with the revenue derived from popular lottery.

Lotteries continued to occupy an important place in the lives of the Canadian population until 1857, the year of the adoption of the Lottery Act. This act stipulated that all types of gambling were to be prohibited in Canada. Although this law proscribed any form of participation in lottery activities, the Catholic Church successfully managed to get the permission to hold lottery activities for charity purposes. Then in 1969 the gambling prohibition was lifted as the House of Commons approved a law permitting lotteries.

Many lotteries soon arrived on the market and gambling expanded rapidly. New gambling activities appeared throughout Canada such as bingo, video lotteries and casinos.

Canada began opening government-owned casinos in the early 1990s and now has a number of resort casinos that attract tourists, as well as some smaller provincial casinos catering for the local population.