Key takeaways
Online gambling is legal in Canada only where a provincial government runs it, or licenses a private operator to run it under the province's authority.
Ontario and Alberta are the only two jurisdictions that license private online casinos. Ontario opened its market on 4 April 2022 and Alberta on 13 July 2026.
Everywhere else the province's own corporation runs the only site it treats as legal: PlayNow in British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, lotoquebec.com in Quebec, and Atlantic Lottery across the four eastern provinces.
The legal gambling age is 19 in most of Canada and 18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec. Ontario uses 19 for online casino and sports betting, and 18 for lottery.
Paragraph 207(1)(a) of the Criminal Code lets a province conduct and manage a lottery scheme, and section 207(4) keeps games run through a computer out of the other permissions the section grants.
All 31 crypto casinos we review accept players in Canada, and none of them holds a licence from a Canadian provincial regulator.
Single-event sport betting became lawful for provinces on 27 August 2021, when the Criminal Code amendment in Bill C-218 came into force.
Online gambling is legal in Canada, but only where a provincial government runs it or licenses it. Paragraph 207(1)(a) of the Criminal Code allows the government of a province to conduct and manage a lottery scheme, and section 207(4) keeps games run through a computer out of the other permissions the section grants. Thirteen provinces and territories each decide what that looks like inside their own borders, which is why there is no single national answer.
In practice there are three models. Ontario and Alberta license private operators, who must register with the provincial regulator before they can take a bet. Everywhere else the province's own lottery corporation runs the only site the province treats as legal: PlayNow in British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, lotoquebec.com in Quebec, and Atlantic Lottery in the four eastern provinces.
Offshore sites sit outside all of it. None of the 31 crypto casinos we review holds a licence from a Canadian provincial regulator.
Is online gambling legal in Canada? Where each province stands
The table below sets out who is allowed to run online gambling in each province and territory, the legal gambling age, and whether private operators can be licensed there. Ages come from each jurisdiction's own published rules.
| Province or territory | Who runs regulated online gambling | Legal gambling age | Private licensed operators |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | iGaming Ontario with AGCO-registered operators, plus OLG.ca | 19 online casino and sports betting, 18 lottery | Yes, since 4 April 2022 |
| Alberta | Alberta iGaming Corporation with AGLC-registered operators, plus Play Alberta | 18 | Yes, since 13 July 2026 |
| British Columbia | British Columbia Lottery Corporation, PlayNow.com | 19 | No |
| Quebec | Loto-Québec, lotoquebec.com | 18 | No |
| Manitoba | Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, PlayNow.com | 18 | No |
| Saskatchewan | SaskGaming and SIGA, PlayNow.com | 19 | No |
| Nova Scotia | Atlantic Lottery, alc.ca | 19 | No |
| New Brunswick | Atlantic Lottery, alc.ca | 19 | No |
| Prince Edward Island | Atlantic Lottery, alc.ca | 19 | No |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Atlantic Lottery, alc.ca | 19 | No |
Is online gambling legal in Ontario, and what is the casino age?
Yes, and Ontario was the first province to do it, opening a licensed private market on 4 April 2022. An operator has to register with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and hold an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario before it can offer games. The AGCO describes the rule for betting sites as registration with it plus conduct and management by either iGaming Ontario or the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
Ontario splits the age rule by product. OLG's online terms state that "Individuals must be 19 years of age or older to visit casinos and slot facilities in Ontario, and to participate in online casino gaming and online sports betting in Ontario", and 18 or older for lottery, charitable gaming and in-store sports betting. So the casino age in Ontario is 19, on the floor and online.
Online gambling in Alberta: the second licensed market
Alberta's regulated market launched on 13 July 2026, making it the second province to license private online operators. The Alberta iGaming Corporation oversees the market and Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis is the regulator. The province's own site, Play Alberta, continues alongside the registered private operators.
The framework came from Bill 48, passed in spring 2025, which introduced the iGaming Alberta Act. Alberta's fact sheet says the legislation set "the minimum age to place bets online at 18 years" and required operators to integrate the province's centralised self-exclusion platform. Alberta also states that unregulated online gambling is already widely available in the province, with some providers offering limited or no player protection.
BC online gambling: PlayNow and nothing else
British Columbia licenses no private operators. The provincial government is unusually blunt about it: "The BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC) manages all commercial gambling, including casinos and online gambling, for the B.C. government", and "PlayNow.com is the only legal online gambling site in B.C."
The same government page sets the age: "You must be 19 years or older to gamble in B.C." Regulation sits with a separate provincial gambling control office rather than with BCLC, which keeps the operator and the regulator apart. For a player in British Columbia, every other site is outside that arrangement, including all 31 casinos we review.
Online gambling in Quebec: one state site, 18 and over
Quebec's online gambling runs through Loto-Québec, the state corporation that also operates the province's casinos and lotteries. Its platform markets itself as a 100% legal and local casino and sports betting website.
Age and residency are set in the site's own rules, at section 4.1 of the specific conditions of use, which limits registration to people who are "18 years of age or older" and "Residents of Québec". That makes Quebec one of three jurisdictions where the online gambling age is 18 rather than 19, alongside Alberta and Manitoba. No private operator is licensed to compete with it.
Online gambling in Manitoba: PlayNow, 18 and over
Manitoba uses the same PlayNow platform as British Columbia, under different ownership. The PlayNow Manitoba legal page states that the site is managed and operated by Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation within the province of Manitoba, through British Columbia Lottery Corporation as its service provider. The same page requires a player to be "at least 18 years of age".
The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba regulates it, and PlayNow presents itself as "Manitoba's own legal gambling site". Manitoba is one of the three jurisdictions with an 18 and over rule. There is no private licensed market here.
Online gambling in Saskatchewan: PlayNow, run by SIGA
Saskatchewan came late to this. The province announced the launch of PlayNow.com on 3 November 2022 and called it "the province's first legal, regulated online gaming platform".
The ownership is unusual. It is managed by SaskGaming, operated by the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority and regulated by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, and it is open to players "aged 19 years and older". PlayNow's own Saskatchewan pages call it "Saskatchewan's only legal online gaming website", and no private operator is licensed in the province.
Nova Scotia online gambling and the rest of Atlantic Canada
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador share one operator. Atlantic Lottery, owned by the four provincial governments, runs the region's only regulated online casino and sportsbook. It describes itself as the region's only lottery, online gaming and sports betting provider that is 100% legal and government regulated.
The age is 19 across all four provinces. Atlantic Lottery's own rule is that "You must be 19+ to purchase, play or redeem Atlantic Lottery products". Nova Scotia also puts it in law: the Atlantic Lottery Regulations under the province's Gaming Control Act say "A person must not sell a ticket to an individual who is under 19 years old", and apply the same bar to online games.
None of the four provinces licenses private operators.
The territories: lottery products, no provincial casino
Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have no online casino of their own. All three take part in the Western Canada Lottery Corporation as associate members, alongside Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, which are full members.
WCLC's legal notice names the only internet ticket sales it authorises: SubscriptionSpot.ca and the Lotto Spot! app, plus PlayNow.com in Manitoba and PlayAlberta.ca in Alberta. It then states that "WCLC does not sell any lottery tickets on the Internet and no one else is authorized or endorsed by WCLC to sell lottery tickets on the Internet". WCLC does not authorise sales to minors.
Online gambling laws in Canada: what the Criminal Code says
Gambling sits in sections 201 to 207 of the Criminal Code. The starting point is a prohibition, and section 207 then lists the exceptions. Paragraph 207(1)(a) permits "the government of a province, either alone or in conjunction with the government of another province, to conduct and manage a lottery scheme".
Section 207(4) is what makes online gambling different from a church raffle. It says that for the charity and fair permissions in paragraphs (1)(b) to (f), a lottery scheme does not include a game "operated on or through a computer, video device, slot machine or a dice game". That exclusion does not touch paragraph (1)(a).
A provincial government is therefore the only body the section allows to run a game through a computer, which is why every legal Canadian online casino is either a provincial site or a private operator working under a province's conduct and management.
Single-event sport betting is the one recent federal change. Bill C-218, the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, amended paragraph 207(4)(b), and the Department of Justice confirmed that the change came into force on 27 August 2021. Horse racing stayed with the federal government.
Is online betting legal in Canada for the person placing the bet?
Most offences in this part of the Criminal Code describe running, keeping, promoting or taking bets rather than placing them. Section 201 is about keeping a common gaming house or common betting house, and section 202 covers book-making, pool-selling and using a place to record bets. Section 207(3) creates an offence for anyone who does something for the purposes of a lottery scheme that the section does not authorise.
Two provisions do name the participant, and it is worth knowing they exist. Section 201(2) makes it a summary offence to be "found, without lawful excuse, in a common gaming house or common betting house". Section 206(4) says "Every one who buys, takes or receives a lot, ticket or other device mentioned in subsection (1) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction".
This article describes what those sections say and nothing more. It is not legal advice, and how any of it applies to a particular person is a question for a lawyer.
What this means for the crypto casinos we review
Every one of the 31 casinos we cover for Canada accepts Canadian players, and not one names a Canadian provincial regulator anywhere in its licensing statement. Fourteen name Curaçao, eleven name Anjouan, one names Tobique, one publishes a Costa Rican corporate registration in place of a gaming licence, and four name no gaming authority at all.
31 of 31
Casinos we review that accept players in Canada.
0 of 31
Holding a licence from a Canadian provincial regulator.
16 of 31
Whose licence sits in the weakest offshore band, tier 3B.
2 of 13
Provinces and territories that license private online casinos: Ontario and Alberta.
One brand shows the difference a provincial licence makes. Stake runs a separately registered Ontario site on its own domain, while the global site excludes Ontario players and carries a Curaçao licence instead. What each of these licences is actually worth, and why several of the numbers do not resolve to anything checkable, is set out in our licence reality check.
What an offshore site costs you in practice
The difference is not the seal on the footer. A provincially registered operator answers to a Canadian regulator with a complaints route and a centralised self-exclusion programme behind it. An offshore operator answers to a licensing authority on the other side of the world, and the escalation path ends at its own support desk.
That gap is the reason the licensing question matters at all, and it is worth stating in one line.
No Canadian regulator licenses any of the 31 casinos we review, so no Canadian regulator can act on your behalf.
Alberta's new market is the first real test of what happens next, because an operator serving Albertans now has to choose between registering, blocking the province or carrying on outside the system. We looked at what each of those routes means for a player holding a balance in our piece on Alberta's regulated market and the offshore casinos outside it.
If you are comparing sites, start with what each one publishes about paying money back out rather than with the badge on the footer. Our Canadian casino reviews record every licence claim, payout term and complaint figure we can check, and the current offers carry their wagering terms alongside them. If gambling has stopped being a choice, there are responsible gambling resources for Canadian players.
Frequently asked questions
Is online gambling illegal in Canada?
Not in itself. The Criminal Code prohibits gambling and then carves out exceptions, and paragraph 207(1)(a) lets the government of a province conduct and manage a lottery scheme. Section 207(4) removes games run through a computer from the other permissions in that section, so a provincial government is the only body allowed to run online gambling or to license someone else to run it. A site that holds no Canadian provincial permission is outside that framework.
Is gambling illegal in Canada?
No. Casinos, lotteries, charitable gaming, sports betting and online gambling all operate legally under provincial authority. What the Criminal Code prohibits, in sections 201 to 207, is running or promoting a gambling operation outside the permissions the Code grants. Each province decides which of those permitted forms it offers and who may offer them.
What online casinos are legal in Canada?
It depends on the province. In Ontario, a site is legal if it is registered with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and conducted and managed by iGaming Ontario or OLG. In Alberta, it must be registered with Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis and hold an agreement with the Alberta iGaming Corporation. In British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan the answer is PlayNow.com, in Quebec it is lotoquebec.com, and in the four Atlantic provinces it is Atlantic Lottery at alc.ca.
When was online gambling legalised in Canada?
There is no single date. The Criminal Code has long allowed a province to conduct and manage a lottery scheme, including one operated through a computer, so each province launched its own site on its own timetable. Two dates are firm: single-event sport betting became lawful for provinces on 27 August 2021, and Saskatchewan's PlayNow.com launched on 3 November 2022. Private licensed markets arrived later still, in Ontario on 4 April 2022 and in Alberta on 13 July 2026.
What is the casino age in Ontario?
- OLG's online terms state that you must be 19 or older to visit casinos and slot facilities in Ontario and to take part in online casino gaming and online sports betting. The age drops to 18 for lottery, charitable gaming and in-store sports betting, which is why the same player can buy a lottery ticket a year before they can open a casino account.
Is online gambling legal in Alberta?
Yes, on a site the province regulates. Alberta's regulated market launched on 13 July 2026, with the Alberta iGaming Corporation overseeing it and Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis acting as regulator. The iGaming Alberta Act set the minimum age to place bets online at 18. Play Alberta, the province's own site, runs alongside the registered private operators.
Can I be charged for playing at an offshore casino from Canada?
This guide describes the framework rather than giving legal advice, and that question is one for a lawyer. What the text says is that most offences in sections 201 to 207 of the Criminal Code describe keeping, running, promoting or taking bets. Two provisions do name the participant: section 201(2) makes it a summary offence to be found without lawful excuse in a common gaming house, and section 206(4) applies to a person who buys, takes or receives a lot, ticket or other device in a scheme caught by subsection (1).
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