Online Gambling in Canada
Background
Canada places far fewer restrictions on residents’ ability to gamble online than its Southern neighbour. In many respects, Canada may be considered at the forefront of the online gambling industry’s genesis.
A number of the major online casino software developers, including Cryptologic were born in Canada – as was well-known payment processor NeTeller. Canada is also home to the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake which was one of the first licensing jurisdictions for online casino and sports betting operators.
In July 2010 an online casino owned and operated by British Columbian Crown corporation, the BCLC was launched. Security vulnerabilities identified shortly after launch meant the site was taken down and unavailable for some time but that’s another story altogether. Playnow.com became North America’s first state or provincial government owned/operated online casino.
Playnow.com was initially only open to residents of British Columbia and did not offer live dealers. This changed in February 2018 when Evolution Gaming launched a Vancouver based dealer studio in partnership with BCLC making live games available to customers. Through agreements with other provinces (eg Manitoba, Saskatchewan) Playnow.com is also available outside BC.
Other Canadian provinces have since opened their own iGaming operations. With the October 2020 launch of PlayAlberta, adult residents of all 5 of Canada’s largest provinces (by population), representing 90% of Canada’s population were able to access a government owned and regulated online casinos.
Players from Ontario (Olg.ca), Quebec (Espacejeux.com), British Columbia (Playnow.com), Alberta (Playalberta.ca) and Manitoba (also Playnow.com) can all play at their respective government run sites.
Dealing live blackjack in Evolution’s Vancouver studio
By 2024, Saskatchewan (via Playnow.com) and the Atlantic Provinces (via an Evolution/Alc.ca partnership) had also joined the party.
Further, all of these properties offer live casino games powered by Evolution including tables streamed from Evolution’s Vancouver dealer studio.
Provinces opening to private operators
In 2022, Ontario invited private operators to join their local market, giving players in the province more regulated online gambling options.
There is a generally accepted recognition in other provinces that a majority of players bet with unlicensed offshore operators rather than the government-run sites. There are few restrictions placed on Canadians accessing unlicensed sites, and they offer more variety and more competitive betting odds. But this has implications on lost gaming tax revenues as well as limited oversight of player protections.
Debate continues in these provinces on the merits of following Ontario’s open market approach.
In March 2025, Alberta became the latest province to take steps to opening their market, with lawmakers introducing Bill 48, the iGaming Alberta Act. If passed it would create a new Crown corporation called Alberta iGaming Corporation, responsible for licensing and regulation of private operators.
Current regulations
Canada’s online gambling landscape is governed by both federal and provincial laws. While the federal government regulates certain aspects of gambling, each province has the autonomy to develop and enforce its own rules for online gambling.
This results in a patchwork of regulations that vary significantly across the country. Generally, provinces offer legal online gambling through government-operated websites, though private operators can also participate it certain provinces, most notably Ontario. Here’s the provincial level snapshot.
Best live casinos for Canadian players
In addition to the above government owned casinos, a growing list of international brands, all with a comprehensive live games offering, have gained licenses to operate in Ontario. Players outside Ontario are restricted to provincial government owned casinos.
