Is Sports Betting Legal in Canada?

We have scoured the betting sites in Canada, and read all there is to read about betting law in the country. We even got the help of a legal expert to help us with what everything meant when it comes to legality surrounding sports betting in Canada.

While we had a legal expert help us, nothing on this page can be treated as legal advice. We are not legal experts, so we encourage you to seek out a lawyer if you have any further questions surrounding gambling law in Canada.

Online and retail sports betting is legal in Ontario, and has been since the 4th of April 2022. Ontario was the first province to introduce single game betting through their Proline+ product, an arm of the Ontario Lottery Corporation (OLG), in August 2021.

Seven and a half months later, Ontario implemented a licensing system, that welcomed the commercial bookmakers like Bet365, Betway, and 888Sport to offer their operations legally in the province, after granting them operational licenses.

As it stands, there are 30 licensed betting sites in Ontario, with more entering every month. Ontario has also awarded licenses to a number of online casinos.

In Quebec, online and retail sports betting is legal through Lotto Quebec’s sports betting product known as Mis-o-jeu. Similar to Ontario, Quebec began offering single game betting on Mis-o-jeu soon after the passing of the safe and regulated sports betting act in August 2021.

Quebec's residents also have the option to bet on commercial offshore bookmakers if they so please. While these sportsbooks are not regulated in the provinces, users can choose from sportsbooks that carry international licenses, that accept Canadian players, and that offer their services in French language.

There have been no further updates surrounding the direction Quebec will take when it comes to developing licensing systems. For more information on betting sites in Quebec (in French), visit our sister site: lebonparisportif.com/ca.

Sports betting is legal in British Columbia through the British Colombia lottery corporation’s Play Now sportsbook. British Colombia was among the first provinces to legalize online single game sports betting through their provincially run sportsbook.

Betting on commercial offshore bookmakers is currently unregulated in British Columbia, however, betting on these bookmakers that carry licenses from international gambling bodies (such as Malta or Curaçao), is perfectly safe.

While unregulated, betting on these sportsbooks is not a criminal offence. The BC government has not yet released any statements about creating a legal framework for online gambling.

Sports betting is legal in Alberta through their Play Alberta sportsbook, the province’s only online gambling product. Single game sports betting was also launched in Alberta, which is now available on their provincially run online sportsbook.

Alberta was the 8th province in Canada to launch single game sports betting, making them slower on the uptake than many of the other provinces in the country.

While Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis has not released any official updates, there’s been a bit of talk surrounding the province’s desire to welcome offshore commercial sportsbooks, such as Pointsbet and Fanduel. The province offers commercial sportsbooks a desirable new market, as it’s home to over four million residents.

Much like the rest of the provinces in Canada, Manitoba also elected to legalize single game wagers through their government run Play Now Sportsbook. This option serves as the only regulated online sportsbook for Manitoba residents.

While this is the case, sports bettors can also make use of offshore commercial betting sites, as Manitoba is yet to prohibit the use of these sites. While unregulated, these operators accept players from Manitoba, and offer more options and value.

Liquor, Gaming, and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba is yet to announce any updates regarding how the province will approach the future of legal online sports betting.

Sports betting is legal in Saskatchewan through the province’s Play Now sportsbook. As it stands, users can also bet on offshore commercial bookmakers.

Saskatchewan is the only province aside from Ontario that has outlined a specific approach to the introduction of the safe and regulated sports betting act. The Saskatchewan liquor and gaming authority has pledged to design a top of the range online betting and casino product for users to enjoy, which will only be accessible to people within the province.

Based on this, Saskatchewan appears to approach the situation quite differently from Ontario. While Ontario looked to strive for variety and diversity, Saskatchewan is looking to plant all its sports betting eggs in one basket, which can lead to issues.

Recommended Saskatchewan Sportsbook: Sports Select

✅ Decent range of odds and options

✅ Regulated in Saskatchewan

✅ Built-in lottery and casino

Sports betting is legal in the North Western Territories at the Western Canada Lottery Corporation’s Sports Select Sportsbook. People living in the Northwestern Territories can also make use of offshore commercial bookmakers, even though they remain unregulated in the province.

The launch of single game sports betting on Sports Select came roughly two months after the implementation of the safe and regulated sports betting act, making it one of the last provinces to adopt the new legislation.

The North Western territories have not yet announced how they will move forward given the freedom afforded to them through the safe and regulated sports betting act.

Similar to the situation in the North Western Territories, legal single game sports betting arrived to Nunavut via the Western Lottery Corporation's Sports Select platform, on the 1st of November 2021.

Nunavut residents can also make use of offshore sportsbooks, as the use of these operators has not been prohibited in the province.

As it stands, no further updates have been made regarding whether Nunavut will welcome more sportsbooks into the province.

Much like Nunavut and the Northwestern Territories, Yukon launched a new and improved Sports Select platform on 1st Nov. 2021, providing the province with legal online single game sports betting.

Residents in Yukon are also able to access offshore bookmakers, as they remain unregulated, but not illegal to use throughout the province.

Sports betting is legal throughout the Atlantic region, although, some provinces in this area were more hesitant than others to introduce single game wagers in the province.

In each of these provinces, users can make use of the dedicated provincial sports betting product (Proline Atlantic), along with offshore commercial bookmakers.

Below, we explain the situation in each province in a little more detail.

As the above heading mentions, sports betting is indeed legal in Canada.

The situation is arguably the most clear in Ontario, where commercial sportsbooks need to be licensed in order to operate legally. The other alternative Ontario sports bettors have is the government run provincial sportsbook Proline+.

The rest of Canada's provinces have yet to set up the licensing framework that Ontario has. The passing of the safe and regulated sports betting act has meant that sports in the provinces and territories in Canada have been given the ability to regulate themselves.

As it stands, unregulated offshore bookmakers remain available throughout Canada (excluding Ontario), along with the given provincial sportsbook websites.

In the months to come, we expect more and more provinces to take action based on their ability to make decisions around sports betting legality.

Check out the legal betting sites in Canada (+ Ontario).

Check out the legal betting sites (Ontario only).