Online Gambling in Canada
Unlike its southern neighbor, Canada places no restrictions on its residents’ ability to gamble online. In fact, in many respects, Canada may be considered to be at the forefront of the online gambling industry’s genesis.
A number of the major online casino software developers, including Cryptologic were borne in Canada – as was well-known payment processor NeTeller. Canada is also home to the Mohawk Indian Jurisdiction of Kahnawake which was one of the first and still now most prolific licensors of online casino and sports betting outfits. Over 300 operators serve their product from Kahnawake today. Canada is also home to well known industry watchdog and lobby group the Interactive Gaming Council.
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. On August 10 2010 the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation announced plans to launch an online casino of their own by 2012 and Quebec is tipped to soon follow suit.
Playnow.com is only open to residents of British Columbia and initially did not offer live dealers. This changed in February 2018, when Evolution Gaming launched a Vancouver based dealer studio in partnership with BCLC.
As an English speaking, I-gaming friendly country with above average per-capita income levels and extensive internet penetration, it is no surprise to find Canada at the top of most online casinos’ target markets…and their offerings are tailored accordingly.
[Update October 2021]
With the October 2020 launch of PlayAlberta, adult residents of all 5 of Canada’s largest provinces (by population) are able access to a government owned and regulated online casino. That’s approximately 90% of Canada’s population.
Players from Ontario (Olg.ca), Quebec (Espacejeux.com), British Columbia (Playnow.com), Alberta (Playalberta.ca) and Manitoba (also Playnow.com) can play at their respective government run sites.
Further, all of these properties offer live casino games powered by Evolution including tables streamed from Evolution’s Vancouver dealer studio.
Best live casino for Canadian players
In addition to the above provincial government owned casinos, the following offshore providers offer some live game variety. That is, games from providers other than just Evolution.
 Casinos |
 Player access |
 Banking |
 Toll free support |
 Local language |
 Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Read review | Visit |
No restrictions | No deposit restrictions Maintain account in CAD |
Yes | Yes | Multiple providers and many games to choose from |
 Read review | Visit |
No restrictions | No deposit restrictions Maintain account in USD |
No | YES | Multiple providers and many games to choose from |
