Is Online Gambling Legal in Canada?

This page explains the law in plain English. Then it goes through all 13 provinces and territories: who is in charge, which sites are legal, the minimum age, and whether private operators are allowed. Every row links to the official page we checked on September 30, 2026. We don’t recommend or link to any private gambling site.

What the law says: section 207 of the Criminal Code

Gambling is governed by the federal Criminal Code, which makes most gaming and betting an offence unless an exception applies. Section 207 sets out those exceptions. It opens: “Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Part relating to gaming and betting, it is lawful”. The key line is s. 207(1)(a). It says it is lawful:

“for the government of a province, either alone or in conjunction with the government of another province, to conduct and manage a lottery scheme in that province … in accordance with any law enacted by the legislature of that province”

“Lottery scheme” is a wide term. Section 207(4) defines it by reference to the games and schemes described in s. 206(1)(a) to (g), so it isn’t limited to lottery tickets. The same section lets charities, fairs and a few others run games under a provincial licence. But s. 207(4)(c) excludes anything “operated on or through a computer, video device, slot machine or a dice game” from those licensed routes.

What that means for online gambling: a website or app can only be legal if a provincial government conducts and manages it. Provinces do that in two ways:

• The province runs the site itself through its lottery corporation. BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces do this.
• A provincial agency conducts and manages a market of private operators that the regulator has registered. Ontario and Alberta do this, and each still has a government site as well.

Province-by-province: who regulates, who operates, what age

“Regulator and/or operator” names the body that regulates online gaming, the government body that runs or manages the site, or both, as each official source describes it; each entry says which role it plays. “Private operators allowed” means private companies can be registered to run their own online casino or sportsbook in the province. We checked every row against the linked official page on September 30, 2026.

For more detail on ages, including where lottery is 18 but casinos are 19, see our gambling age by province table.

Only Ontario and Alberta license private operators

Ontario. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) is the regulator. The AGCO says iGaming Ontario “is responsible for conducting and managing igaming when provided through private operators.” iGO notes that OLG.ca is run separately by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. To be legal in Ontario, a private operator needs an AGCO registration and an operating agreement with iGO. iGO’s directory lists 49 operators and 84 gaming websites in a listing it says is accurate as of September 1, 2026, marked “19+. Must be physically located in Ontario to play.” Our Ontario licensed operators tracker follows that list.

Alberta. AGLC says that “as of July 13, all operators must be registered with AGLC and have signed a commercial agreement with the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC).” AGLC is the regulator. AiGC “acts as the conduct and managing entity” for the private market, and its launch release says AiGC “will conduct and manage the commercial market” while AGLC regulates it. That conduct-and-manage role is what puts the market under s. 207(1)(a). According to AiGC, 22 registered sites were approved when the market launched on July 13, 2026. Play Alberta will keep running as the province’s own site alongside them. AiGC says you must be 18 or older to register, deposit or play. See our Alberta registered operators tracker.

Everywhere else, one government site. Here is how each province describes its own site:

• British Columbia: “PlayNow.com is the only legal online gambling site in B.C.,” according to the provincial government. BCLC runs it, and you must be 19.
• Quebec: “lotoquebec.com, is the only legal gaming website in Québec,” says Loto-Québec. Its conditions of use limit accounts to Quebec residents aged 18 or older, and when you log in you confirm you are “Physically in the province of Québec”.
• Manitoba: Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries calls PlayNow “Manitoba’s own legal gambling site”. The player agreement requires you to be 18, a Manitoba resident and in Manitoba when you play.
• Saskatchewan: in a February 2025 provincial government release, a Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan vice-president called PlayNow.com “the only legal online gaming platform in our province”. It launched on November 3, 2022. SIGA operates it, SLGA regulates it, and Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan (LGS), the Crown corporation that took over management of online gaming from SaskGaming, oversees the business side. The player agreement sets the age at 19.
• Atlantic Canada: Atlantic Lottery’s alc.ca serves Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. The Newfoundland and Labrador government calls it “the only regulated provider in the region”. alc.ca’s terms require you to be at least 19, a resident of Atlantic Canada and physically in Atlantic Canada.
• Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut: all three are associate members of the Western Canada Lottery Corporation (WCLC). Its Lotto Spot! app sells single-draw lottery tickets to people 18 and older who are inside the WCLC region. We found no online casino run by any of the three territories.

What “legal” means for players and for operators

The Criminal Code treats operators and players differently. Under s. 207(3), anyone who does something for a lottery scheme that s. 207 doesn’t authorize commits an offence:

• Operators: “the conduct, management or operation” of an unauthorized lottery scheme is an indictable offence with up to two years in prison, or a summary conviction offence (s. 207(3)(a)).
• Players: “participating in that lottery scheme” is an offence punishable on summary conviction (s. 207(3)(b)).

The Code doesn’t say how often players are prosecuted, and the provincial regulators’ published enforcement is aimed at operators and suppliers. For advice on your own situation, speak to a lawyer.

The more practical question is what protection you have. Manitoba’s regulator puts it plainly: “if a site isn’t regulated in Manitoba, the LGCA can’t make them follow Manitoba’s laws. That could mean trouble if a player were to have a problem with an unregulated site, such as not being paid out on a win.” Nova Scotia Gaming’s fact sheet says gambling “must be authorized by a province”. Our offshore gambling sites guide covers Kahnawà:ke-licensed and offshore sites in detail.

How to check a site in under a minute:

1. Find your province in the table above.
2. In Ontario, search iGO’s directory. In Alberta, check AiGC’s registered sites or AGLC’s list of registrants.
3. Anywhere else, the only legal online option is the government site named in the table. Any other casino site isn’t your province’s regulated option, whatever licence it shows.

Single-game sports betting: legal since August 27, 2021

Bill C-218, the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, rewrote s. 207(4)(b) so that a province, or a company it licenses, may offer betting “on a race — other than a horse-race — or fight, or on a single sport event or athletic contest” (Justice Laws). It received royal assent on June 29, 2021 (LEGISinfo), and a federal order set August 27, 2021 as the day it came into force (Order in Council P.C. 2021-0874). Horse racing stays under separate federal rules. Otherwise the usual s. 207 limits apply: single-game betting is legal only on your province’s own site or, in Ontario and Alberta, on a private sportsbook in the official list. Our sports betting explainer has the options in each province.

Kahnawà:ke and First Nations gaming

Many sites that accept Canadians say they are licensed by the Kahnawà:ke Gaming Commission (KGC), in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawà:ke just outside Montréal. The KGC was set up in 1996, has licensed online and land-based gaming from the territory since then, and says its jurisdiction “is an inherent Indigenous right and does not rely on the approval of any other jurisdiction” (KGC). The provinces rely on s. 207 instead, and neither Ontario nor Alberta treats a Kahnawà:ke permit as registration. When the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke challenged Ontario’s model in court, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed the application on May 13, 2024, finding iGaming Ontario’s model consistent with the Criminal Code (iGaming Ontario). In June 2026 the KGC and the Six Nations Gaming Commission signed an agreement on online and land-based gaming regulation (KGC).

First Nations also take part inside the provincial systems. In Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) runs PlayNow.com for the province, and its exclusive right now runs to September 2029. In Alberta, 2% of gross iGaming revenue is set aside for First Nations initiatives before the province and operators split the rest (Government of Alberta). Our offshore sites explainer covers what a Kahnawà:ke licence does and doesn’t give you as a player.

What changed recently

• August 31, 2026, Saskatchewan: the province and the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations extended SIGA’s exclusive right to run online gaming to September 2029.
• July 13, 2026, Alberta: the regulated private market opened. According to AiGC, 22 registered sites were approved at launch.
• May 14, 2026, Ontario: iGaming Ontario launched BetGuard. It lets people 19 and older opt out of every regulated Ontario gaming site through one portal.
• April 13, 2026, British Columbia: the modernized Gaming Control Act came into force. The Independent Gambling Control Office is now the regulator for all gambling in B.C., including BCLC’s operations.

Practical next steps

Taking a break. In Ontario, BetGuard blocks you from every regulated site at once. In Alberta, AGLC’s Self-Exclusion Program lets you exclude yourself from all registered iGaming sites, from land-based casinos, or both. PlayNow links to GameSense tools for managing your play, and alc.ca’s terms provide for a “Break in Play”.

Free, confidential help lines:

Every number above is checked against its official source in our help lines guide, which also covers services for families and debt advice.

Province pages

Each page covers the regulator, the legal site, the age rules, self-exclusion and local help in more depth:

• Ontario · Alberta · British Columbia · Quebec · Manitoba · Saskatchewan
• Nova Scotia · New Brunswick · Newfoundland and Labrador · Prince Edward Island
• Yukon · Northwest Territories · Nunavut

Related: Are offshore gambling sites legal in Canada? · Gambling age in Canada by province · Is sports betting legal in Canada?

This guide explains the law and what regulators have published. It is not legal advice. We don’t link to or recommend any private gambling site. Last reviewed September 30, 2026.