How Much Money Do Canadians Spend on Gaming Monthly?

Gaming is one of the most popular pastimes in Canada, with people of all ages enjoying games on different platforms. In recent years, gaming has grown in popularity and has become a billion-dollar industry in Canada. In this blog post, we will explore how much money Canadians spend on gaming and gambling monthly, and what trends are shaping the industry in Canada.

Canadian Gamers and Gaming Habits

According to a study conducted by the NPD Group, 45% of Canadian gamers play online or mobile games every single day, which is higher than the global average of 39%. That's a lot of gaming! On average, Canadian gamers play 26 times a month, with each session lasting around two hours. These facts demonstrate that gaming is a significant part of Canadian culture, with people spending a considerable amount of time and money on gaming each month.

One interesting trend in Canadian gaming is the gender divide between different gaming platforms. Mobile gamers skew heavily female, with 71% of mobile gamers in Canada being women. On the other hand, PC/console players skew male, with 56% of PC/console players being men. PC and console players tend to go all in with an average of two hours per session, while mobile gamers usually stick around for an hour and a half.

This data shows that women are more likely to play games on their mobile devices, while men are more likely to play games on their PCs or consoles. It also highlights the different gaming habits between men and women, with men spending more time playing games than women.

Gaming Expenses in Canada

According to the same study by the NPD Group, Canadian gamers usually shell out $200 per year on buying full online games, while they spend $128 annually on purchasing in-game content.

This shows that Canadians prefer to purchase complete games rather than spend money on in-game items. The study had some interesting findings about where online gamers in Canada are living. Almost half of them (48%) are in urban areas, which is a whopping 15% more than their US counterparts. One of the reasons is that Canadians have freer access to online casinos instead of visiting land-based facilities.

Gambling and Gaming in Canada

Gambling is another very popular pastime in Canada, with a large number of electronic gaming machines and $10 deposit casinos operating across the country. According to national statistics, gambling generates about $13 billion in revenue a year in Canada.

There are 33,000 lottery vendors, 250 race tracks, 60 land-based casinos, and 25,000 more operators licensed to run bingos and other games.

On average, every Canadian household spends about $1,000 of its annual income on casinos.

Gambling appears to be most common among Canadians between the ages of 35 and 54. Those who fall within this age bracket are more likely to spend between $1 and $20 monthly on gambling, and they account for 45% of the entire population of gamblers.

In terms of income, households with a net income of $25,000 tend to spend little or nothing on gambling, while those earning between $25,000 and $55,000 are more likely to participate in gambling activities.

Surprisingly, those with incomes above $55,000 spend less on gambling.

Gender also plays a role in gambling habits in Canada, with more men participating in gambling than women. Women who spend between $1-20 on gambling are about 44%, as opposed to their male counterparts who are trailing at 41%. However, 18% of males spend between $20-100 on a regular basis.

Gambling Preferences Among Canadians

The national data shows that there is a notable variation in gambling preferences among Canadians that aligns with age, region, gender, and income level. Women, for instance, are slightly less likely than men to gamble at all, with only 57% of women participating in betting activities, compared to 63% of men.

Women are also more likely than men to gamble from their phones, and they tend to prefer playing scratch cards, lotteries, or bingo. Men, on the other hand, prefer slots, jackpots, or table games like poker.

Final Thoughts

Based on the data from national research, we can conclude that 60% of Canadians are gamblers, while 40% are not involved in gambling or any other related activities.

About 45% of gamblers spend between $1 and $20 of their monthly income on gambling, while 14% spend between $20.01 and $100. This shows that Canadians find gambling really affordable and approach it as a paid recreational activity.

Those who spend slightly over $100 per month on gambling account for just 3% of the total gambling population. There is no information on the correlation between spending and wins so we cannot make suggestions about whether those who spend more expect to win more.