The online gaming business is huge, far-reaching, and highly competitive. One of its branches, real money online gaming, is perhaps more competitive than all others since the gaming venues people can visit basically offer a similar content provided by the same pool of providers, so they have to outdo each other in other important aspects, like player benefits and security. The Canadian online gambling industry currently consists of three operators only that don't compete - they are all run by provincial lottery corporations, and only available in their respective provinces. They are not competing against each other but they still have a competition: thanks to an insufficient regulation, local players can visit and use offshore gaming venues to play their favorite games, even for real. And these competitors have a ton of advantages compared to what their local counterparts have to offer. So, let's take a look at what they should consider if they want to become competitive in this tough business and retain their local players in the long run.

Game variety

All online casinos Canada has to offer today have the same game library licensed by the same developer, IGT. On the international market, though, where the above-mentioned competitors operate, there are many other trusted and appreciated developers, like Microgaming, NetEnt or NextGen Gaming, often with award-winning content sought-after by players. The Royal Vegas Casino, one of the most used offshore gaming venue, has a massive library of games provided by industry veteran Microgaming, and Wintingo, one of its sister casinos, has a collection of games from multiple developers. Offshore operators offer their customers a superior variety of titles to play with, sometimes several times more games than either of the three legal Canadian options have to offer. To stay competitive, all local Canadian online casinos should diversify their game libraries to match their offshore competitors.

Availability

Smartphones have an ever-increasing role in our lives. We use them to communicate, to pay, to take pictures, to listen to music, and we also use them to play. Offshore casino operators have understood this fact, and they have gone where their customers are, putting an ever-increasing game library in their pockets. And this is one aspect where state-owned Canadian operators are also unable to compete. Loto Quebec's EspaceJeux is the only one currently offering mobile games to its players. The other two, BCLC's PlayNow and OLG's PlayOLG are currently without a mobile version, although the latter has promised to roll it out soon. They should make good on their promise or be left behind.

Bonuses and promotions

Online casinos rely on bonuses and other player benefits to attract new players. Not local Canadian operators, though - except for PlayOLG, that has a nice incentive for its new members. Bonuses are the marketing tools of choice for international casino operations, the ones players see first and often act as a decisive argument when choosing their preferred gaming venues. By offering an attractive bonus to match those available at offshore operators, local online casinos could retain more players and be more profitable in the long run.