Is Stake Legal in Canada? Ontario & Alberta

Ontario’s iGaming Ontario directory doesn’t list Stake. In Alberta, a company called Stake Canada Ltd. is registered with the regulator, AGLC, but the Alberta iGaming Corporation’s list of registered sites shows no Stake website.

Canada has no single national online gambling licence. 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”. So whether a site is legal depends on your province, and on where you are physically standing when you play.

Stake by province at a glance

Ontario: not in the iGaming Ontario directory

Ontario’s regulated online market runs through iGaming Ontario (iGO). Its public directory, “What sites are regulated for play in Ontario?”, is the official list. When we checked on September 30, 2026, it showed 49 operators and 84 gaming websites and said the listing “is accurate as of 2026-09-01”. No operator or website named Stake was on it, either in the list of legal entities or in the site names.

iGO explains what being on the list means. A regulated operator has “successfully received a registration by the AGCO” and “has executed an operating agreement with iGO”. The directory page also lists the risks of an unregulated site in iGO’s own words, including that “payouts could be delayed or not given at all” and there is “no guarantee that deposits are securely stored”.

Every regulated site in Ontario shows the iGaming Ontario and BetGuard logos, and you must be 19 or older to play (iGO player FAQs).

Our Ontario licensed operators tracker keeps a copy of the whole directory, with an “Is this site licensed?” lookup.

Alberta: a registered company, but no listed site

Alberta’s regulated market opened on July 13, 2026 (AiGC news release). Two public bodies share the job. AiGC says “AGLC acts as the industry regulator handling operator and supplier background checks and compliance, while AiGC manages operator agreements” (AiGC FAQs). That’s why there are two lists to check.

List 1: AGLC’s gaming registrants. On 2026-09-30 the CSV export had this row:

List 2: AiGC’s registered iGaming sites. On 2026-09-30 the directory listed 34 sites. None of them was a Stake site.

AGLC publishes an expiry date but not a start date. Of the 42 iGaming – Operator rows on the register, 30 expire on July 13, 2027, a year after launch (one row has no expiry date). Stake Canada Ltd.’s September 24, 2027 date was the latest of any iGaming operator on the list when we checked.

What “registered” means, and what “listed” means

These are two different steps, and people confuse them.

• Registered (AGLC). The company has passed AGLC’s regulatory checks. AiGC says operators “must hold an active AGLC registration” to be eligible for the market.
• Listed (AiGC). The website has actually been approved to offer regulated gambling in Alberta. According to AiGC, every operator must get RG Check accreditation and connect to AGLC’s centralized self-exclusion “before signing an operating agreement with AiGC”. AiGC also says operators should expect “a review period of 3–4 months to finalize AGLC registration and execute the AiGC operating agreement.”

So a company on AGLC’s register is not necessarily running a regulated site. AiGC’s FAQs also say that unregulated operators awaiting approval “are permitted to continue marketing and registering new customer accounts”. If you see Stake advertising or offering sign-up in Alberta, that does not mean its betting is regulated or permitted there. Only a site on AiGC’s list is. The list you want as a player is AiGC’s Registered iGaming Sites. AiGC also says a regulated Alberta site shows the AiGC logo and the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) seal on its homepage.

Two other Alberta rules are worth knowing. You must be 18 or older, and you must be physically in Alberta to log in or place bets. AiGC also says approved operators are “not permitted to accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum for deposits or withdrawals” (AiGC FAQs).

See our Alberta registered operators tracker for the full register, matched against AiGC’s site list.

Other provinces and territories: the official provincial sites

Outside Ontario and Alberta, we found no public register of private online operators to check. The official online gambling sites are run by or for the provinces, and Stake is not one of them. Here is what each official source says.

• British Columbia. The B.C. government says “gambling is legal only when it’s run by the provincial government” and that “PlayNow.com is the only legal online gambling site in B.C.” You must be 19 or older (Gambling in B.C.).
• Quebec. Loto-Québec’s site lists its own online casino, live casino, poker, bingo and Mise-o-jeu+ sports betting (Loto-Québec). See our Quebec guide.
• Manitoba. “PlayNow is Manitoba’s official online gaming site, operated by Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries” (PlayNow Manitoba). See our Manitoba guide.
• Saskatchewan. “PlayNow is Saskatchewan’s official online gaming site, operated by Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority” (PlayNow Saskatchewan). See our Saskatchewan guide.
• Atlantic Canada. Atlantic Lottery says it “is owned by the four regional provincial governments” (About Atlantic Lottery). See our guides for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador.
• The territories. The Western Canada Lottery Corporation acts “as agent for its Members, the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba”, and “the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut participate as associate members” (About WCLC). Its Lotto Spot! app is “intended for residents of the Prairie Provinces and Territories aged 18 and older” (WCLC). We did not find a territorial source that covers online casino or sports betting. See our guides for Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

For the two regulated markets, see our Ontario guide and our Alberta guide.

What playing on an unregulated site means for you

If a site isn’t on your province’s official list, the protections that come with a regulated site don’t apply:

• No regulated-market complaint route. iGaming Ontario says it “has no legal relationship with unregulated igaming Operators” and can only help with disputes about regulated sites (iGO player support). In Alberta, AiGC’s independent dispute review is for disputes “with an approved operator” (AiGC FAQs).
• Provincial self-exclusion doesn’t reach it. BetGuard opts you out of “all regulated igaming websites in Ontario” (iGO FAQs). In Alberta, AGLC’s Centralized Self-Exclusion is honoured by “all registered iGaming sites” (AiGC). Neither covers a site outside the regulated market.
• No provincial guarantee on your money. In Alberta, AiGC says approved operators must keep player funds “in dedicated, secured Canadian-based trust accounts”. That rule applies to approved operators only.

More on this in our explainer: Are offshore gambling sites legal in Canada?

What changed recently

• July 13, 2026: Alberta’s regulated market launched with 22 approved registered sites (AiGC). AiGC says unregulated operators had to “cease all betting activities and return player balances by July 13, 2026” (AiGC FAQs).
• September 30, 2026: we checked iGaming Ontario’s directory, AGLC’s registrants CSV and AiGC’s site list for this page.

If a Stake site is added to AiGC’s list, we will update this page.

Practical next steps

• Check the official list, not the ads. In Ontario, use iGO’s directory. In Alberta, use AiGC’s registered sites. Everywhere else, use the official provincial site listed above.
• Take a break if you need one. In Ontario, BetGuard lets you opt out of all regulated online gambling (iGO). In Alberta, AGLC’s Centralized Self-Exclusion blocks you from all regulated Alberta iGaming sites and land-based casinos for a set period (AiGC FAQs).
• Get help. It is free and confidential:
  • Ontario: ConnexOntario, 1-866-531-2600, 24/7 by phone, email or chat (iGO).
  • Alberta: 211 Alberta. Call 211, text INFO to 211, or chat online, 24/7 (AiGC Get Help).
  • British Columbia: Gambling Support BC, 1-888-795-6111, toll-free 24/7 (Government of B.C.).
  • Quebec: Jeu : aide et référence, 1 800 461-0140 (Montreal area 514 527-0140), 24/7 (aidejeu.ca).
  • Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Atlantic Canada and the territories: the GameSense and support links on your provincial lottery site, and the help lines in our province guides linked above.

All sources listed on this page were accessed on September 30, 2026. This page reports what the official registers show. It is not legal advice and does not recommend any operator. We don’t link to Stake. Registers change, so check the date above and confirm on the official list.