Gambling Age in Canada by Province

Canada has no national gambling age. Under section 207 of the Criminal Code, it is lawful “for the government of a province … to conduct and manage a lottery scheme in that province … in accordance with any law enacted by the legislature of that province.” So each province sets its own minimum age, and sometimes different ages for different products. On September 30, 2026 we checked the wording each regulator, lottery corporation or statute uses.

Gambling age by province and territory (2026)

“Online” means the province’s own legal site, or in Ontario and Alberta the regulated private market. “In person” covers casinos and lottery tickets bought in a store.

Province / territory	Online age	Casino (in person)	Lottery tickets	Official source
Alberta	18 (any regulated iGaming site)	18	18	AiGC FAQs; Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act ss. 1(1)(w), 37.1, 49.3; WCLC 18+ policy
British Columbia	19 (PlayNow.com)	19	19	Gambling in B.C.
Manitoba	18 (PlayNow Manitoba)	18	18	LGCC Act s. 98; Age of Majority Act s. 1; PlayNow MB FAQs
New Brunswick	19 (alc.ca)	19	19	alc.ca Terms of Service; ALC rule 6; Casino New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador	19 (alc.ca)	Unconfirmed: ask the venue or Atlantic Lottery	19	alc.ca Terms of Service; ALC rule 6
Northwest Territories	18 (lottery only, WCLC Lotto Spot! app)	19 (casino area of a licensed casino event)	18	WCLC Lotto Spot! app; NWT Lotteries Regulations s. 60
Nova Scotia	19 (alc.ca)	Unconfirmed (Casino Nova Scotia’s players’ club sign-up is 19+)	19	alc.ca Terms of Service; ALC rule 6; Casino Nova Scotia
Nunavut	18 (lottery only, WCLC Lotto Spot! app)	19 (licensed casino events, Lotteries Regulations s. 60)	18	WCLC 18+ policy; Nunavut Lotteries Regulations s. 60
Ontario	19 (iGaming Ontario sites and OLG.ca pay-to-play games); 18 for OLG.ca draw-based lottery	19	18	iGO Player FAQs; OLG
Prince Edward Island	19 (alc.ca)	Unconfirmed: ask the venue or Atlantic Lottery	19	Lotteries Commission Act s. 17; alc.ca Terms of Service
Quebec	18 (lotoquebec.com)	18 (Casino de Montréal; other Loto-Québec venues not checked)	18	Loto-Québec online conditions of use; Casino de Montréal
Saskatchewan	19 (PlayNow Saskatchewan casino and sports); 18 for WCLC draw tickets via the Lotto Spot! app	19	18	PlayNow SK FAQs; SIGA; WCLC 18+ policy; WCLC Lotto Spot! app
Yukon	18 (lottery only, WCLC Lotto Spot! app)	19 (licensed 3-day casino events)	18	WCLC Lotto Spot! app; Government of Yukon

“Unconfirmed” means we found no official source that states the in-person casino admission age. Prince Edward Island has land-based casino gaming, but the rules we read (ALC rule 6 and PEI’s Lotteries Commission Act, s. 17) cover lottery and pari-mutuel tickets, not casino entry. If you plan to visit a casino there, ask the venue or Atlantic Lottery before you go.

What the official wording says

Ontario: 19 for casinos and igaming, 18 for lottery

• Online (iGaming Ontario): “You must be 19 years of age or older to participate in all internet gaming products conducted and managed by iGaming Ontario” (iGO Player FAQs). You also have to be physically in Ontario to place a bet.
• OLG, in person: OLG’s website says “Lottery and charitable gaming products are only available to those persons 18 years of age and over, while casinos and slot facilities in Ontario are restricted to those persons 19 years of age and over” (OLG).
• OLG.ca, online: OLG’s player agreement text says a person registering “must be at least 18 years of age”, but players “must be at least 19 years of age to be eligible to play Pay-to-Play Games or Play-for-Free Games”. It also says “All Players who are at least 18 years of age are eligible to play Draw-Based Lottery Games Played Online” (same OLG page).

So yes, Ontario’s lottery age (18) is lower than its casino age (19).

Quebec: 18 online, for lottery and at Casino de Montréal

• Online: Loto-Québec’s online conditions say it offers online games to “Québec residents aged 18 or older.” To register you must be “18 years of age or older”, a resident of Québec, and not self-excluded from its casinos, gaming halls or website (conditions of use, ss. 2.1 and 4.1).
• Casinos: “guests must be 18 or older to be admitted to the casino, including to its bars, its restaurants and the Cabaret du Casino” (Casino de Montréal).
• Lottery: the online conditions above cover Loto-Québec’s lottery draw games sold on lotoquebec.com, so buying lottery online is 18+ (conditions of use, ss. 2.1 and 2.3). Loto-Québec’s websites also carry a site-wide header badge that reads “L’Age requis est de(EN) 18+” (Loto-Québec). We did not find a separate Loto-Québec rule for in-store ticket sales.
• Other venues: we checked Casino de Montréal only. We did not fetch admission rules for Loto-Québec’s other casinos or its gaming halls.

Alberta: 18, online and in person

• Online: “You must be 18 years of age or older to legally register, deposit funds, and play on any regulated iGaming site in Alberta” (AiGC FAQs).
• The law: Alberta’s Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act defines “minor” as “a person under the age of 18 years” (s. 1(1)(w)). It says “No minor may enter or be in a licensed facility” unless the facility licence allows minors (s. 37.1), and “No minor may enter or remain on an iGaming site or engage in any iGaming activity” (s. 49.3) (Act, Alberta King’s Printer).
• Lottery: WCLC’s policy is “that persons under the age of 18 years be refused the purchase or encashment of lottery tickets” (About WCLC).

Manitoba: 18, set by statute

• Section 98(1) of The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act says: “A minor must not participate in provincial gaming.” Section 98(2) makes Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, WCLC and licensed gaming operators, siteholders and lottery retailers responsible for keeping minors out (LGCC Act).
• The Age of Majority Act says every person “ceases to be a minor, on attaining the age of 18 years” (s. 1).
• PlayNow Manitoba requires account holders to be “18+ years of age”, Manitoba residents and located in Manitoba (PlayNow MB FAQs).

British Columbia: 19 for everything

The B.C. government says: “You must be 19 years or older to gamble in B.C. This includes casinos, lottery tickets, online gambling, and charitable events. People under 19 are not allowed to enter gambling venues or take part in any gambling.” It adds that “PlayNow.com is the only legal online gambling site in B.C.” (Gambling in B.C.).

Saskatchewan: 19 for casinos and PlayNow, 18 for lottery

• PlayNow Saskatchewan requires players to be a Saskatchewan resident, “19+ years of age” and located in Saskatchewan (PlayNow SK FAQs).
• SIGA, which runs PlayNow Saskatchewan, marks its casino sites “19+” (SIGA).
• Lottery tickets are sold by WCLC, whose policy refuses sales to people under 18 (About WCLC). WCLC also sells draw tickets online: “You are able to purchase mobile tickets for single draws with the Lotto Spot! app”, which “is intended for residents of the Prairie Provinces and Territories aged 18 and older” (Lotto Spot! app). So online lottery in Saskatchewan is 18+, while PlayNow Saskatchewan is 19+.

Atlantic Canada: 19 across all four provinces

Atlantic Lottery (ALC) runs lottery and online gaming for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

• Online: alc.ca’s Terms of Service say ALC offers online play to Atlantic Canada residents “who are 19 years of age or older”. To register you must be at least 19, a resident of Atlantic Canada and physically in Atlantic Canada (alc.ca Terms of Service, ss. 1.2 and 3.1).
• Lottery: ALC rule 6 prohibits selling tickets to, or buying them by, anyone under 19, and says “Prizes will not be paid to any individual under the age of nineteen (19) years” (ALC Rules and Regulations). In PEI, section 17 of the Lotteries Commission Act also makes it an offence to sell a lottery or pari-mutuel ticket to anyone under 19 (PEI Act).
• Casinos: Casino New Brunswick says you “must be 19 years of age or older to play” (casinonb.ca). Casino Nova Scotia’s players’ club says you “must be 19 years or older, show a piece of valid, government issued photo ID” to sign up (casinonovascotia.com). That is the age to join the club, not a stated admission age, so we list Nova Scotia’s casino age as unconfirmed. We found no official casino admission age for PEI or Newfoundland and Labrador.

Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut: 18 for lottery; 19 for casino events

• Lottery and online: the only official online product we found is WCLC’s Lotto Spot! app. WCLC says it “is intended for residents of the Prairie Provinces and Territories aged 18 and older” (Lotto Spot! app).
• Casino events: Yukon’s government says that at licensed 3-day casinos “Persons under 19 may not enter” (Government of Yukon). The NWT Lotteries Regulations say “No person under 19 years of age shall be permitted in the casino area” (s. 60) (NWT Justice). Nunavut’s Lotteries Regulations set the same 19 minimum for the casino area at licensed casino events (s. 60) and for poker-tournament areas (s. 63.8) (Nunavut Legislation). The official consolidation runs only to 2012; the two 2025 amendments deal with applications, fees and Chase the Ace raffles, not ages (details on our Nunavut page).

Does the lottery age differ from the casino age?

In some places, yes:

Where	Lottery	Casino	Why
Ontario	18	19	OLG sets lottery at 18 and casinos and slots at 19
Saskatchewan	18	19	Lottery is sold by WCLC (18+); PlayNow SK and SIGA casinos are 19+
Yukon, NWT	18	19	WCLC lottery is 18+; licensed casino events are 19+
Nunavut	18	19	WCLC lottery is 18+; licensed casino events are 19+ under the Lotteries Regulations (s. 60)
Everywhere else	Same as casino	Same as lottery	18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec; 19 in B.C. and New Brunswick (casino age unconfirmed in NS, PEI and NL)

The age that applies is the age for that product in the province you are in. An 18-year-old from Quebec cannot play at a casino in Ontario.

How sites and casinos check your age

• Online, before you can play. PlayNow Manitoba and PlayNow Saskatchewan send your details “electronically to one of Canada’s major credit bureaus”. This “verifies both age and residency” and does not check your credit history. If that fails, you may be asked for photo ID such as a driver’s licence or passport, plus a utility bill (PlayNow SK FAQs; PlayNow MB FAQs). Manitoba’s PlayNow says you must log in to use even its free-play demos, “to ensure that only players age 18 or older access our games” (PlayNow MB FAQs).
• Online, your location. PlayNow reads your IP address or location coordinates “when you log in and periodically while you are logged in” to make sure you are in the province (same FAQs). iGaming Ontario lets you log in from outside Ontario, but you cannot bet until you are back (iGO Player FAQs). AiGC says you must be physically in Alberta to log in or place bets (AiGC FAQs).
• Online, your documents. Loto-Québec asks for your full name, date of birth, address and identity documents. It says it verifies eligibility “directly or through a third party” (conditions of use, s. 5). ALC says that if you do not complete its registration and verification process, you get an “Unverified Account” (alc.ca Terms of Service, s. 3.1).
• In person. Casino de Montréal says “Anyone appearing to be under 25 years may be asked for government-issued photo ID”. It does not accept photocopies or photos of ID on your phone (Casino de Montréal). WCLC says lottery retailers may ask for proof of age if you appear to be under 25 (About WCLC). In PEI, the law says it is no defence for a seller that an under-19 buyer “appeared to be 19 years of age or older” (Lotteries Commission Act, s. 17(3)).

What changed recently

• July 13, 2026: Alberta’s regulated iGaming market launched (AiGC). The age for every regulated Alberta site is 18.
• September 30, 2026: we re-checked every source in the table for this page. We found no change to any province’s minimum age.

Practical next steps

• Use the legal site for your province. In B.C., PlayNow.com is the only legal online gambling site (Gov. of B.C.). In Ontario, check iGaming Ontario’s directory of regulated sites. In Alberta, check AiGC’s registered iGaming sites. Our province and territory pages go into more detail: Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
• Self-exclude if you need a break.
  • Ontario: BetGuard opts you out of all regulated online gambling in Ontario (iGO).
  • Alberta: AGLC’s centralized self-exclusion blocks all regulated iGaming sites and land-based casinos in the province (AiGC FAQs).
  • Saskatchewan and Manitoba: use Self-Exclusion under “My Account” on PlayNow. Both PlayNow FAQs say you cannot revoke your enrolment once you have made it (PlayNow SK FAQs; PlayNow MB FAQs).
  • Quebec: use “Break and self-exclusion” in your lotoquebec.com account (Loto-Québec).
• Get help. It is free and confidential:
  • Ontario: ConnexOntario, 1-866-531-2600 (OLG)
  • Quebec: Jeu : aide et référence (Gambling: Help and Referral), 1-800-461-0140 (Loto-Québec)
  • British Columbia: Gambling Support BC, 1-888-795-6111, toll-free 24/7 (Gov. of B.C.)
  • Alberta: 211 Alberta. Call 211, text INFO to 211, or chat online, 24/7 (AiGC Get Help). The Addiction Helpline, 1-866-332-2322, is also open 24/7 (WCLC)
  • Saskatchewan: Problem Gambling Help Line, 1-800-306-6789, 24 hours (WCLC; SIGA)
  • Manitoba: Problem Gambling Helpline, 1-800-463-1554, 24/7 (PlayNow MB)
  • New Brunswick: 1-866-355-5550, the province’s 24/7 addiction and mental health helpline (Government of New Brunswick). Nova Scotia: 1-888-429-8167 (Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line). Newfoundland and Labrador: 811. PEI: 1-855-255-4255 (Atlantic Lottery)
  • Yukon: 1-844-533-3030. Northwest Territories: 811 (press 1) or 1-844-259-1793 (GNWT Health and Social Services). Nunavut: Kamatsiaqtut Help Line, 1-800-265-3333, 24/7 (WCLC)

This page explains the rules in general terms. It is not legal advice and does not recommend any gambling site. Ages and rules can change, so check the date above and confirm with your province’s official source.