Online gambling law in Canada, by province

Ask whether online gambling is allowed in Canada and the honest reply is a question back: where in Canada? Canada has no national gambling regulator. The federal Criminal Code sets the frame, and each province decides what happens inside it. This guide walks through that frame in plain words, as of November 2026.

This is general information, not legal advice. The law itself is on the Justice Laws Website, and your provincial gaming body has the final word on what it permits.

The federal rule: the Criminal Code, section 207

The Criminal Code treats gambling, betting and lotteries as offences, then carves out exceptions. The one that matters online is section 207(1)(a). It lets the government of a province, alone or with other provinces, conduct and manage a lottery scheme in that province under its own laws.

Section 207(4)(c) closes a door. Games run on or through a computer, video device or slot machine are kept out of the exceptions for charities, fairs and other licensees. In practice that means online casino games can only be offered by a province itself, or by private companies working under the province’s conduct and management.

So the federal question is settled once. Everything after that is a provincial question.

Who runs online gambling where

Most provinces chose a government monopoly: one official site, run by a Crown corporation. Two chose an open market with private operators under provincial oversight.

Province	Official online gambling	Model	Minimum age
British Columbia	PlayNow.com (BCLC)	Government monopoly	19
Manitoba	PlayNow.com (Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries)	Government monopoly	18
Saskatchewan	PlayNow.com (SIGA, managed by SaskGaming)	Government and First Nations monopoly	19
Quebec	Loto-Québec	Government monopoly	18
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador	Atlantic Lottery	Government monopoly	19
Ontario	iGaming Ontario operators plus OLG	Regulated open market	19
Alberta	Registered operators plus Play Alberta	Regulated open market	18

The territories run lotteries through the Western Canada Lottery Corporation and its agents; we found no territorial online casino. Rules change, so check your provincial body before relying on the table.

Ontario and Alberta: their own regulated markets

Ontario went first, on April 4, 2022. Each private operator registers with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and holds an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario, the body that conducts and manages online gaming for the province. Players must be 19 and physically in Ontario to place a bet. Every registered site carries the iGaming Ontario logo.

Alberta followed on July 13, 2026. The Alberta iGaming Corporation oversees the market and Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis is the regulator. Operators that had served Alberta without registration were expected to stop, with a grace period that ran until October 13, 2026. Play Alberta, the government site, continues alongside the registered brands.

That is why LocoBonus lists offers for players outside Ontario and Alberta only. In those two provinces the regulated market is the place to play, and its own directories show who is registered.

Offshore casinos and Kahnawake

Outside Ontario and Alberta, the provincial site is the only operator the province itself runs or authorises. Many offshore casinos still accept players from these provinces. They hold licences from bodies such as the Malta Gaming Authority, the Curaçao Gaming Authority or the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

The Kahnawake Gaming Commission is often misread. It licenses gaming within and from the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawà:ke, near Montreal, and has issued interactive gaming permits since 1999. It publishes a permit-holder list, runs a complaint route and offers self-exclusion across its permit holders. Its permit is not a provincial licence, though, and it does not place a site inside any province’s system.

What that means for you as a player:

• Provincial tools do not apply. Provincial self-exclusion, complaint routes and player protections cover provincial or registered sites, not offshore ones.
• The licence is your main safeguard. Check the regulator named in the casino’s footer against that regulator’s own register.
• Disputes go abroad. A complaint about an offshore site goes to the casino first, then to its foreign regulator.

We describe these sites as licensed outside Canada and name the regulator on every review. We never present them as a way around a provincial rule.

Provinces in motion

Gambling law in Canada keeps moving at provincial level. Ontario and Alberta changed their models within four years of each other, and the open-market debate continues elsewhere. As of November 2026, no other province has passed a law to open its online market. When that changes, the province’s own announcement is the source to read, not a casino banner.

Before you sign up anywhere

1. Know your province. In Ontario or Alberta, use the regulated market’s own directory.
2. Check the licence. Match the brand and web address against the regulator’s register.
3. Check the age. 19 in most provinces, 18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec.
4. Know who handles complaints. Offshore means a foreign regulator, not your province.
5. Know where help is. The Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines site lists free helplines for every province and territory.

Once you know where you stand, the Canadian bonus list shows what each offer actually asks of you, and the guide to tax on gambling winnings in Canada covers what happens when you win. Start from the Canada home page for everything else.