70% of Canadian Gamers are Playing Online Games: here’s why they are the most popular genre

The gaming industry is a massive one with a global following. Its total value is estimated to be around $164 billion. What might surprise some people though, is that Canada accounts for quite a bit of that revenue. The country is responsible for around $4.5 billion of the worldwide take.

That is dwarfed by the US gaming revenues, but it still shows that there is a significant Canadian market for games – and that demand is growing bigger with each passing year. One gaming option is more popular than any other in Canada though – online gaming. This article will explore the reasons for that.

The Available Gaming Options

The main gaming options that are available to people in 2024 are: online (using a PC, tablet, or mobile device) and consoles. Online gaming is the biggest by far in Canada, although split across the three different devices. The number of Canadian gamers who favor a PC is 36.1%, while 52.3% play on mobile devices. A further 24.7% choose to play online using a tablet.

The percentage that prefers using a console to playing games online is just 35.5%. So online gaming is clearly dominant in Canada and there is more than one reason for that. To begin with, it is a lot more convenient. Games can be played online from any location that has an internet connection, whereas console gaming has to be done in the home.

The second reason is that online gaming provides choices that are not available on consoles. All of the big console gaming genres and titles can be enjoyed on a PC too, but the same is not true in reverse. The clearest example of that is real-money gaming.

Types of Games

To fully understand why online gaming is the most popular in Canada, we need to look at the biggest types of games in that country.

Casino Games

These games have a large Canadian fan base - particularly slots. Here we can see the best casino games according to www.casino.org, and it is clear that many of them are slot games. What attracts people in Canada to casinos is the unique excitement that they offer. Of course, every type of game is exciting to some degree, but casino gaming is in a league of its own.

That is because the player is putting real money on the line when they play. It adds an extra frisson to the experience. Another key aspect of casino gaming is that it is online only. While casino simulations are available for game consoles, they do not involve actual cash. If people in Canada want to play slots and similar games for real, they must do so online.

Word and Puzzle Games

This is a genre that also enjoys considerable popularity among Canadian gamers. Research has found that 37% of adults and 24% of teenagers favor word and puzzle games. They are games that are perfectly suited to being played on mobile devices. That is something they have in common with slot games and it has a lot to do with why gamers in Canada like them.

All of the available profiles of game fans in that country show that playing online using a mobile is the top method. Some examples of the sorts of word and puzzle games that people are playing online using a phone include Wordle and Candy Crush Saga.

Adventure and Action Games

Adventure and action games are genres that are available as online and console games. Playing them online gives people much greater flexibility as to their gaming location though. These genres are particularly popular with teenage Canadians. 33% favor them, whereas for adults the figure is 24%.

One reason for that could be that playing games of these types online has become a competitive activity. Events known as e-sports tournaments see teams battle against each other in competitive gaming formats. They attract large audiences and usually involve adventure games like League of Legends. A lot of young Canadian gamers are keen to break into the e-sports world too and playing these games online regularly is part of that ambition.

The Current and Future Trends

It is clear that the current trend is towards mobile gaming. That is leading online casinos to invest ever more money into their mobile sites and apps. Given the portability of mobile phones, that rising popularity is liable to continue. Playing online games that way is especially popular among women, so the future should see a higher number of female gamers.

Online gaming is the most popular method in Canada because it is more convenient than using a console. It also lets people try things like real money casino gaming.