Canada is the second-largest land area country in the world and has 38 million citizens as of 2022. The hobby market in the country is understandably a competitive one, with many people choosing to spend their free time online. Spending your leisure time enjoying your favorite casino game is one time-honored way to relax, but you should be aware that gambling is not legal everywhere in Canada. This means that while some activities are legal in some provinces, certain areas do not allow any of them at all. Let’s take a closer look at gambling in Canada and what restrictions you might face.
Gambling across Canada
Canada contains 10 provinces, each of which has its own gambling laws for both in-person and online activities.
Ontario
Ontario is the highest-population province in Canada, and more than 90% of its residents live within one hour of legal gambling establishments. This makes it easy for people to indulge in gambling activities, a fact that might explain the high percentage of gamblers in the province. Legal gambling in Ontario includes lotteries, casinos, sports betting, and slot machines, among others.
Quebec
Legal gambling is not a new concept to residents in Quebec. The province has offered legal gambling in one form or another since 1970, and the options for legal play have only increased in recent years. Quebec offers casinos, lotteries, sports betting, online gambling, and video lottery terminals, among others.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia isn’t a particularly large province in Canada, but its gambling industry is more than widespread. According to a survey conducted from 2021 to 2022, more than 65% of the province’s adults gambled at least once in the previous 12 months. Aside from Nova Scotia’s first online casino, which launched in 2022, several legal gambling options are available in the province, including online gambling, sports betting, and horse racing.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is another modest province in terms of population size. Despite this, it was the first province to reveal video lottery terminals in 1990 and has had legalized lottery gambling since 1976. Legal gambling in Nova Scotia includes casinos, horse racing, video lottery terminals, and more.
Manitoba
The province of Manitoba has legalized gambling. The Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba, established in 2014, oversees gambling activities in the province, though lotteries have been regulated since 1984. The province’s first casino, Casino at the Centre, was established the same year. Online gambling, video lottery terminals and horse racing, among others, are legal in Manitoba.
British Columbia
British Columbia has been a haven of legal gambling for more than three decades. In fact, it was one of the first provinces to act after the Criminal Code of Canada was changed in 1969 to allow provincial governments to determine the legality of gambling in their region. The province has continued to grow its industry, and today hosts a plethora of legal gambling activities such as horse racing, land-based casinos, online gambling and sports betting, among others.
Prince Edward Island
Despite comprising 231 small islands in addition to one major island, the province is the smallest in the country. Even so, its gambling industry has been a healthy and growing one since 1976, when the Prince Edward Island Lotteries Commission was created. Among the wide variety of legal gambling options in the province are casinos, horse racing, video lottery terminals and sports betting.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province in Canada. Despite its distance from the gambling hubs in other provinces, however, gambling is legal in the area with one notable exception: land-based casinos. First Nations tribes are able to open facilities, but that is where the exception ends. Legal gambling in the province consists of horse racing, lotteries, online gambling and sports betting, among other options.
Saskatchewan
Known as the sunniest area in Canada, Saskatchewan took its time in legalizing gambling. It wasn’t until 1985 that legislation began to favor games of chance. It wasn’t until 1995, in fact, that permanent land-based casinos would be allowed in the province. Saskatchewan also offers lotteries, sports betting, and online gambling, in addition to other options.
Alberta
The most populous of the Prairie Provinces, Alberta is no stranger to legal gambling. In fact, more than 4% of the province’s budget comes from gambling! Gambling has been legal in Alberta for many decades, with the first non-profit casino launched in 1975 and the first permanent and privately owned casino launching in 1980. Gambling options include casinos, lotteries, horse racing, and online gambling.
Gambling in ‘the North’
In addition to its 10 provinces, Canada contains three territories often referred to simply as ‘the North’. The three territories in the North include the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon, and while gambling is legal in some form in all three of them, the specific legal activities vary from region to region.
Yukon
Yukon is a small territory with around 34,000 residents. The following forms of gambling are available, and include one especially interesting entry:
- Charitable gambling
- Lottery
- Online gambling
- Sports betting
- Three-day casinos
Readers might not be familiar with three-day casinos, but the name gives quite a bit of its definition away. Yukon does not allow permanent casinos, but it does offer temporary gambling facilities for up to three consecutive days. The sole exception is Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall, which runs from May to September.
Nunavut
Nunavut is an even smaller territory than Yukon, with just 7,000 residents. Still, the region offers its residents multiple legal gambling options such as horse racing, lotteries, online gambling, private wagers, video slot terminals, and sports betting, among others.
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is the most populated territory. However, it does not offer much in the way of legal gambling activities to residents beyond the basics:
- Land-based casinos
- Lottery games
- Online gambling
- Sports betting
Are you interested in learning more about online gaming? If so, then stick around! We have a diverse assortment of articles published every day on our blog.
