A lot of Canadians gamble; roughly half of the population partook in some gambling activities in 2023. Now, while there are some regions in which gambling is either illegal or under some sort of soft prohibition, Canada is not one of those places. In Canada, provinces have much higher regulatory authority, and the popular pushback is really not that high.
With that in mind, and without further ado, here’s all you need to know about Canada’s gambling laws in 2024.
1. What constitutes gambling in Canada?
Before we can even start to unpack this question, it’s important that we give a clear definition of gambling as defined by Canadian law. In order to qualify, an activity needs to have three elements:
- The player has to bet money or money’s worth on the outcome of an event.
- There has to be an element of chance on whether the event is outside the control of the player.
- There has to be an opportunity for the player to win the prize.
This is also what constitutes a difference between betting and gambling. For instance, you could place a bet on your next hand in darts, but since this is clearly not outside of your control, it’s, technically, not gambling. On the other hand, the outcome of a hand in roulette is clearly out of your control.
2. Is online gambling legal in Canada?
Online gambling is not illegal in Canada; however, you’re obliged to do so at an establishment owned or licensed by a provincial government. So, all you need to do is find an online casino that fits this description.
Canadian companies are prohibited from providing online gambling to Canadians; however, overseas companies have no such restrictions.
The most important thing to remember is that these gambling laws are mostly decentralized, which means that provinces have a lot of autonomy to locally govern online gambling.
This is a smart legal and economic strategy, that’s the opposite of what some other countries and states are doing. In some other regions, they allow gambling as long as the casino is not hosted within the country. This way, they don’t reduce the number of players, they facilitate the rate at which the money is leaving state/province/country.
3. Provincial rules and regulations
As we’ve already mentioned, provinces make their own decisions regarding gambling. So:
- Alberta: Individuals older than 18 are allowed to partake in gambling, and online gambling is legal through a government-regulated site.
- British Columbia: The rules on online gambling depend on local (provincial) authorities, and the legal gambling age is 19.
- Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Labrador: The legal gambling age is 19, and online gambling is not that well regulated, which means that it falls under the “grey market.”
- Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan: These provinces have states that cater to their residents. In other words, all residents over 19 have access to licensed and regulated third-party online gambling sites. In Quebec, however, the gambling age is 18 instead of 19.
- Yukon, Nunavut, and Northwest Territories: Online gambling is a “grey market,” while there are land-based establishments that the locals have access to. The gambling age in these provinces is 19.
While the differences are great, legal restrictions are not that stern, and they’re always in the hands of the local government. This just further strengthens the argument that Canadian provinces have more authority than the US states. This is, at least, the case when it comes to laws that directly impact their citizens the most.
Canada gambling statistics
The next thing worth keeping in mind is the Canadian gambling statistics. According to some surveys, there are currently over 19.3 million active online gamblers in Canada. The demographic split is, more or less, the same, with men gambling (proportionally) slightly more than women.
Now, previously, we’ve talked about the concept of money staying vs leaving the country. The reason why this matters so much is that, in 2023, roughly $3.1 billion in revenue came from gambling alone.
Like always, it’s the political climate that controls the law, and since roughly 83% of Canadians believe that it’s an individual’s responsibility to control their own gambling habits, there’s really no strong push against such legislation.
Sure, 2% of Canadians aged over 15 struggling with a gambling problem is far from insignificant; however, when you consider the fact that roughly 56% of men and 43% of women gambled online in 2023, the number doesn’t look as terrifying. Also, it’s hard to make a clear separation between online gambling addiction and video game addiction, which makes the statistics even more inconclusive.
Regional rules and laws reign supreme
Apart from a few major rules, most of the Canadian gambling regulations are up to provincial jurisdictions. So, it’s far more efficient to focus on researching this on a case-to-case basis instead of trying to find some general, universal rule. Due to the lack of pushback and massive benefits for the economy, it’s likely that the trend of legalization will grow further.