According to research 15% of the population is now engaged in online gambling, up from 5% in 2018.  That is a significant increase.

According to the report, some gamblers moved online as gambling establishments like casinos closed. There was also an increase in new online gamblers during the first year of the epidemic, with sports betting being a particularly popular option.

Sports betting was only minimal in Canada ten years ago. But now it has significantly increased.

The rise in sports betting is partially explained by changes to the law in Canada. It now permit bets on specific games and aspects of those games, such as a player’s performance.

Most respondents who were asked why they gambled online said it was to pass the time or have fun. Others said it was because they felt depressed and alone.

Advertising’s increasing prevalence was also a significant factor. 88% of internet gamblers saw commercials for online gambling, according to the survey. During the first year of the pandemic, the first-half of them reported seeing more online gambling commercials.

Another 20% of respondents claimed that throughout those 12 months, commercials had an impact on their gambling behaviors.

These figures don’t surprise Maison Jean Lapointe, a semi-private non-profit that provides addiction treatment, especially for gambling addiction.

They believe that since the pandemic began, the situation has altered significantly.  They claim that over 350 individuals (nine out of every ten patients there receiving therapy for gambling) suffer with online gambling.

People were at home throughout the epidemic and had no choice but to spend time online or in front of the television.

They were constantly exposed to commercials. These sell the idea that you can win money gambling, so it is alluring.

As of now, people can gamble whenever they want, which means temptation is never far away.

You can gamble whenever you want, without anyone knowing thanks to your phone and laptop. You don’t need to leave your house and as  it’s online, you don’t use physical currency. This makes it very simple to lose track of your spending.

More laws are needed to shield Quebec residents from the dangers of online gambling. An impartial regulator who can examine the impact is needed. Everytime a game is introduced, it should pass via the regulator to determine its risk to the populace.

Limiting the amount of adverts they are exposed to is a safeguard that should be used to protect gamblers who are losing control of their gaming addictions.

Canada could emulate Belgium, which earlier this month opted to forbid casino advertising across all media platforms.

The government needs to take action. There is a comparison between cannabis advertising limitations and potential curbs on casino promotion.

Advertisers are free to do whatever they want in Quebec. They don’t promote all forms of gambling, but they do promote a wide variety of games. On your smartphone you can play a game like Candy Crush and see and ad pop up.

Loto-Québec is an organization whoch should do more to limit the amount of gambling commercials that Quebecers see. 

It has previously said in a statement that it chose not to promote online gambling during the pandemic however. 

It claims to have taken steps to stop illicit television and sports advertising, and it is in discussions with the government concerning rules.

Loto-Québec has made steps to promote responsible gaming in its advertising and on its website, according to the Quebec Finance Ministry.

The state-owned company stated that it was continuing their efforts to prevent access to unlawful sites. They are seeking to reinforce the position of the business as the only responsible online gambling operator, and reduce the prominence of marketing. Federal law prohibits them from preventing access to unlicensed operators’ websites.

Loto-Québec has made steps to promote responsible gaming in its advertising and on its website, according to the Quebec Finance Ministry.

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In 2016, Adewale Rabiu and his family relocated to Ontario, Canada, achieving a lifelong dream of theirs to reside overseas. Rabiu upon arriving in Canada was able to land a job with Rogers as a senior business analyst. Despite his success in the telecoms sector, Rabiu’s primary love was entrepreneurship, and he yearned to launch his own company.

The Rabiu family rapidly discovered that, despite the sizeable expatriate population, there were no Nigerian bakeries in their new hometown. They particularly missed Agege bread, a giant rectangular loaf of soft, fluffy, elastic sweet white bread; that was produced and delivered in Lagos. It became clear that there was a chance they might build a successful company if they could corner the market for Agege bread.

Establishing the first bakery

Understanding the market’s size, distribution channels, and the most effective means of delivering the product to consumer was the first step for Rabiu; who had previously held jobs in sales and marketing.

He began talking to several local retailers that catered to the African and Caribbean community; in order to determine how many loaves they would purchase from the bakery.

Equipped with that knowledge, he next conducted more study on the procedures necessary to establish a firm in Ontario, including the necessary licences and registrations. The issue of money then arose.

Rabiu knew that he would not be able to get grants from the Government and didn’t want to take a bank loan so he raised capital from his own savings.

The firm was registered, space was rented, and equipment was bought once finance was in place. Rabiu took an annual leave in 2017 to return to Nigeria and study the Agege bread baking process. When he got back, the business started looking for bakers, but they had no luck.

Although everything was in place he struggled to find people to employ. As a temporary solution he taught his wife everything he knew about baking and they started the business together. Rabiu went on focus on his bakery full time in 2019.

A tiny batch of 14 loaves served as the Bakery’s first batch of commercially made bread in March 2018. With more batches being sent to more retailers as the days went on, the company’s presence naturally grew.

After operating for four months he finally found a professional baker that he trained in the Nigerian way of baking.

The Nigerian Baking Method

Agege bread can be purchased in Nigeria on the streets of Lagos; typically torn apart to scoop beans or soup.

Despite the bread’s popularity, the Bakery quickly found that consumers continued to choose to buy pre-sliced loaves from bigger supermarkets since they saved time and effort when packing lunches for school or the office. To meet this demand, the business started selling sliced Agege bread under the moniker Butterfilled. The original name was sometimes difficult to pronounce for potential buyers.

The bakery’s plans for growth

More than 300 Afro-Caribbean businesses statewide already sell the bread. More than 50 locations of major grocery chains, including No Frills, Real Canadian Superstores, and Loblaws, also sell it.

Canadian provinces like Quebec, New Brunswick, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and even Saskatchewan receive bread from the original bakery in Brampton, Ontario. In addition, Grey Matlock developed a second bakery in Calgary, Alberta, with distribution all the way to British Columbia.

Despite having two locations, the bakery realised that they needed to adopt an alternative to supply more clients. This is when they decided to expand by franchising the business.

Grey Matlock thus took the wise choice to grant franchise licenses to interested parties.

They are currently allowing those who would have been our competitors to develop our brand. In accordance of the license agreement, each of the four franchise sites in Ontario pay royalties to the business.

While the bakery’s best-selling item is still the original Agege bread, the Bakery has expanded its selection. This now includes additional bread and baked items, such as whole wheat bread and bread buns.

Rabiu has lofty ambitions. Questions from as far away as Australia have poured in thanks to a recent viral video. To compete with brands ( including Dempster’s and Wonder Bread), his major objective is to establish a national Canadian bread brand.

The following phase is to grow by opening franchisees in the US. The UK has shown some interest as well.

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