January 2011 and allows online gambling, but only under very strict conditions and surveillance. As of 2024, Belgium enforces a strict gambling regulatory framework managed by the Belgian Gaming Commission. Online operators must collaborate with land-based casinos to operate legally, and Belgium employs a “white list” for approved sites and a “black list” for unauthorized ones to control online gambling. The commission ensures operators comply with laws designed to balance gambling opportunities with the prevention of gambling-related issues. This framework covers both land-based and online gambling, with a focus on licensing, consumer protection, and responsible gambling practices. The Canadian criminal code states that only provincial governments and charitable organizations licensed by provincial governments may operate a casino in Canada. In 2010, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation launched Canada’s first legal online casino, PlayNow, which is available to residents of British Columbia, and later expanded to Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The province of Quebec operates the similar Espacejeux via Loto-Québec, while Ontario operates PlayOLG via Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). It also prohibits residents from participating in any lottery scheme, the game of chance, or gambling activity not licensed or operated by a provincial government. The Kahnawake First Nation in Quebec has operated its own gaming commission since 1996 under the Kahnawake Gaming Law. It has asserted jurisdiction to enact the law as part of Mohawk or “aboriginal rights” that have existed since time immemorial, most recently recognized and affirmed in subsection 35(1) of Canada’s Constitution Act, 1982. As of 2010, it had licensed and hosted nearly 350 gambling websites, and its activities had never been challenged under the laws of Canada or any other jurisdiction. In 2022 the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario allowed gaming providers to operate online casino australia gambling sites under a license with iGaming Ontario.
Vegas became an official city on June 1, 1911. The citizens voted in favor of incorporation (168 in favor to 57 not in favor). The city was officially incorporated. Gambling Was Illegal in Vegas? The governor was very much against gambling, so it was little surprise when it was criminalized in the territory. Gambling became illegal when James Nye (appointed by President Lincoln) became the Nevada Territory’s governor. But as soon as Nevada became an official state just a few years later in 1864, motions were made to make gambling legal again. Not only was gambling illegal, but there were harsh penalties for anyone involved in gaming. The motion failed to pass. However, the penalties for those caught involved with gambling were reduced. But after that time, no progress was made until 1909, when almost all types of gambling were banned again. A few years later in 1869, several types of gambling had become legal. Over the following years, the law slowly began to relax yet again on certain types of social gambling games and small coin slots. By the 1920s, Reno had become the capital of gaming in the state. But the fate of gambling as the main form of entertainment in Vegas was still up for debate. In 1919, there were licensed card rooms throughout the state. After Clark sold his share of the railroad to the Union Pacific Railroad in 1921, small ranches – sometimes doubling as badly disguised brothels – began to appear in the area.
Our self-induced television blackout has left us blissfully unaware of current events. Pokemon Go is a complete mystery; Hilary’s emails, evidently, have been laid to rest. “Can you imagine what the husbands would say if we’d been here yesterday? And there was a protest last night, we now learn, several hundred people jammed in the downtown park we’d just strolled through, marching to denounce the fatal police shootings of African-American men in Louisiana and Minnesota earlier this week. The next morning, we veto driving to Cleveland to tour the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Today’s a short day, five hours through Canada from our hotel in Windsor, the Ontario border town across the river from Detroit where we spent the night to stifle safety concerns and gun advice from the husbands. It’s on the “maybe” list anyway, and after Gary and Detroit, we aren’t up for another depressed city. I’m kicking myself for not including a day in Toronto, a city that fascinates me almost as much as Detroit-the yang to Detroit’s yin. With a double dose of Lakes Erie and Ontario today, we’ve now seen four out of five of the Great Lakes. I raise an eyebrow, unsure what she means. “You know, HOMES? The lakes spell out the word H-O-M-E-S, like we learned in grammar school? “I’m bummed we’re gonna miss the ‘S,’” Mel taps the map. “Huh,” I say. “I don’t remember that one.” There were four kids in my class in the three-room island schoolhouse I attended from grade three to eight and the school’s combination of old-fashioned and progressive studies included cursive, ocean ecology and good citizenship, but the fact that the Great Lakes spelled “homes” was not part of its eclectic curriculum.
