Updated: December 22, 2023
This enduring working-class/farming community is now enjoying a quieter and more harmonious life, embracing the stable local economy and welcoming tourists from all over the globe: to ramble through the charming surroundings, or to delight in gastronomic tourism, or to gladly dive into entertainment (gambling including) at the Best Greater London, Ontario Casinos.
Welcome to London. Well, not the capital of England, but the city nested centrally between the 3 lakes – Lake Erie, Lake Huron, and Lake Ontario, in the middle of Upper Canada’s southwestern peninsula.
It is a city of province Ontario, formed and named in the last decade of the 18th century (1793) by the British Army general John Graves Simcoe after England’s capital. Initially, London was counted as a potential place to be the capital of Upper Canada, but eventually, Toronto was designated as such.
Many Canadian areas, counties, cities, and rivers in Ontario were dubbed with corresponding names of existing British places at the moment of historical settlement and colonization, and London is one of them.
London is often titled as the Forest City for being affluent of public parks, marshlands, woodlands, and agriculturally productive areas, while the River Thames dominates the regional geography.
Capsized ferry, collapsing public building floors, repeated devastating floods and tornados, the people in the region pulled through a lot of disasters in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century.
There a lot of pretty places to discern in this large urban Southwestern Ontario municipality. In the city of London self, one visitor should not miss:
All these places are charming destinations for your tours, trails, fair and fest experiences, and true showcases of London’s residents’ proud history and present life.
Stay with us to find out more about Gambling in Canada per city/state.
After 1855, when London received its city status, gambling houses started to emerge for people with enough leisure, naturally focused on poker, as the preferred pastime of white settlers in London. The underground gambling business felt great in the remoteness of the city, far from the capital and the governor-general. Later with the development of the infrastructure (regular transport and railway connection), the rules become tighter for the existing over 24 casinos, salons, and clubs in such a humble town.
In the first half of the 20th century, as in many other Canadian areas, in London too, casino operations were entirely illegal – an absolute realm for organized crime groups. This gradually began changing around 1970, when several specific gaming activities were made legal and accessible to the average folk.
Naturally, even this changed, when in 1985, all Canadian provincial governments were given the exclusive right to oversee the entire casino industry locally – licensing, conduct, and management of all gambling formats – for activities such as slots, charitable gaming, and lotteries.
Present-day legal places for games of chance and the available options are a result of continuing diversification over the decades. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLGC) oversees all the gambling processes in the province (London including).
Being a middle-size city with over 380 thousand, London offers limited opportunities for land-based casino entertainment.
Positioned in central London, inside the Old East Village area, Western Fair District contains 85 acres of facility space, parking, and green zones. It is the largest multipurpose complex in London, which functions as a year-round recreation and amusement destination. The entertainment venue includes spots for sports events/competitions/leagues, horse racing, gaming, dining, theatre/comedy/music, live entertainment, fairs/festivals/meetings, and more!
This is important information, as the Gateway Casino London is situated right in the Western Fair District.
It is owned and operated by Gateway Casinos & Entertainment Limited and is open throughout the year 24/7. Gateway Casino London features 755+ Slots; Poker tables, dice, Baccarat, and Craps tables; keno and bingo machines, and plenty of electronic table games – electronic Blackjack and electronic Roulette. In addition to this abundance, gambling enthusiasts can enjoy action-packed gaming at the live harness racing track, Simulcast racing, and off-track betting.
This is the second big legal casino establishment. Entrance to the gambling hall is allowed to persons over 19. Slot machines, raffles, and bingo at OLG are available 24 hours a day. Contrary to capital casinos, the dress code here is formal. The sizes of the bets are not limited. One can play poker for money privately or to take part in a tournament.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation OLG has a single shareholder – the Government of Ontario. Its Board of Directors reports to the Minister of Finance. Ontario’s initial lottery was set afloat in 1975. Since then, OLG has been offering public lottery and gaming entertainment that supports the province locally, giving back to the budget for the communities in this province.
There are no legal limitations for gambling at land-based houses in London. Everything is available and always open to the general public. The technical equipment in the casinos and the standard of service are at a reasonable and fair level.
Nowadays, with the rapidly evolving digital gambling market, players are provided myriad options for entertainment. And OLG is adapting to the gambling climate as well. It is improving, trying to render a world-class gaming experience for its clients.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation oversees licensing and manages several eBingo and casino websites. Along with land-based facilities, online lottery games, online bingo, and online slots generate the largest amount of gaming revenue for this province via the fully operating OLG website + mobile.
In the province of Ontario (the city of London including), virtual gambling is perfectly allowed.
So, those who don’t want to visit the brick establishment nearby have multiple alternatives. They can enjoy their favourite slots, or they can bet in a roulette/poker/blackjack from the comfort of their living room, using online Canadian sites or offshore casino websites.
Players can check the ‘Most trustworthy online casinos in Canada’ on our pages and have a good game at any of them. After all, each of these casinos offers games with RTP (Return to player) possibilities of over 96%. Enjoy!
Disclaimer
The details on our pages are offered as a universal advisor.
They should not be taken as official legal or tax source guidance.