What changes when the site you use is not regulated where you live? The rules of your province do not reach it. In Ontario, unregulated gambling sites sit outside the standards of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) on player money, payouts and limits, and neither the AGCO nor iGaming Ontario (iGO) has a legal relationship with them. iGO names six risks, and the first is that deposits may not be stored securely. This guide uses the regulators' own words and says plainly what no authority has stated about the person who plays. Steps and helplines come first.

If you already have money on a site like this

Five steps come first. None of them costs money, and none of them promises that money comes back.

  1. Find out whether the site is on your province's list. In Ontario, iGO publishes a directory of regulated operators and says the listing was accurate as of September 1, 2026. In Alberta, the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) lists registered igaming sites, checked on October 6, 2026. Type the address into your browser instead of following a link from an ad.
  2. Keep every email, screenshot and payment confirmation, with its date. Any later report or complaint rests on those records.
  3. Read what iGO tells players. iGaming Ontario's advice to players is: “If you are playing on an unregulated site, you are putting yourself at risk and should consider switching.”
  4. Tell your bank or card issuer right away about any payment you do not recognize. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) gives this advice for transactions you did not authorize. A payment you sent yourself falls outside it, so no refund should be assumed.
  5. If you suspect fraud, report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) through its reporting page or by phone at 1-888-495-8501.

If gambling is affecting you or someone you care about, ConnexOntario offers free and confidential support in Ontario at 1-866-531-2600. In Alberta, the Alberta Health Services Addiction Helpline is at 1-866-332-2322.

What “not regulated in your province” means

Under section 207 of the Criminal Code, the government of a province can “conduct and manage” gambling in that province. That is why regulation is provincial. For the detail, see who regulates online gambling in your province.

Ontario. According to iGO, a regulated operator “has successfully received a registration by the AGCO and, with the exception of OLG.ca, has executed an operating agreement with iGO.” The AGCO's FAQ on internet gaming is blunter about sites that stayed outside when the market opened: “If you have an existing account with a gaming site that did not become part of the regulated market on April 4th, 2022 that site is unregulated.”

Alberta. The regulated market opened on July 13, 2026. The Government of Alberta says the AiGC runs the market and Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) is the regulator.

Provinces with one site. The Government of British Columbia says that “PlayNow.com is the only legal online gambling site in B.C.” Loto-Québec describes its own site, in French, as the only online casino and sports betting site in Quebec that is “100 % légal.” Both are statements by a province or its lottery corporation about its own site.

A licence from elsewhere. Sites outside a province's regulated market are often called offshore or grey market sites, and some hold a licence from another country or body. Manitoba's regulator, the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba (LGCA), explains the limit: “each site only has to follow the laws of the place that licenses it.” For a site outside the province, “if a site isn't regulated in Manitoba, the LGCA can't make them follow Manitoba's laws.” A licence from another country is therefore not the same thing as registration with your province's regulator.

What regulators say can go wrong on unregulated gambling sites in Ontario

iGO's page on the regulated igaming market asks what the harm is in playing on a site offered by an unregulated operator. As of October 6, 2026, it gives six answers:

  • “No guarantee that deposits are securely stored”
  • “Payouts could be delayed or not given at all”
  • “Personal information could be exposed to third-parties or the public without your consent”
  • “Operators have no accountability to regulators so they might stack the odds against players”
  • “Limited responsible gambling resources, fueling unsafe behaviour.”
  • “Sites could be operated by illegal entities”

The AGCO's player support page names three risks of its own: “Game transparency is not required,” payouts that “may not be timely or accurate and could be withheld or delayed,” and personal data that “could be exposed to third parties or the public without your consent.”

The Government of Alberta says unregulated online gambling is “already widely available across the province with some providers operating with limited or no player protection or social responsibility measures.”

Each of these is a statement by a regulator, and a regulator wants players in its own market. The wording matters. “Could,” “may” and “no guarantee” describe a risk, not a loss that happens every time.

What the regulator actually checks

In Ontario, the AGCO checks registered operators against the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming (print version last revised May 14, 2026).

AreaRegistered site in OntarioSite outside the regulated market
Player moneyStandard 5.73: funds “subject to oversight by iGaming Ontario and available to players”iGO: “No guarantee that deposits are securely stored”
PayoutsStandard 5.71: paid “as soon as is practicable,” with no fixed number of daysiGO: “Payouts could be delayed or not given at all”
Closed or dormant accountStandard 3.22: the player can recover the balance owingNo AGCO standard applies
LimitsDeposit, loss and time limits; raising one needs a cooling-off period of at least 24 hoursiGO: “Limited responsible gambling resources”
Self-exclusionBetGuard covers the regulated marketBetGuard does not reach the site
DisputesThe site first, up to 90 days, then iGO or the AGCONo legal relationship with the AGCO or iGO

Those standards stop at the edge of the regulated market. BetGuard, Ontario's centralized self-exclusion program, “Incorporates all igaming websites in Ontario's regulated market, including OLG's.” A registration does not reach a site outside it, and neither does a limit set on a regulated site. Alberta's standards for registered operators cover similar ground.

Even inside the regulated market, a regulator has a limit. The AGCO says: “Making a complaint to the AGCO won't resolve your dispute with an internet gaming site.” AGLC says it “cannot get your money back or make a gaming site give you your money back,” and iGO “cannot directly settle any bets, refund wagers or award compensation.” The difference is that rules exist and someone enforces them against the operator, not that a regulator returns your money.

If the site does not pay

When an unregulated site does not pay, the provincial route ends before it starts. The AGCO says it “does not resolve or make decisions on disputes regarding gambling-related transactions and has no legal relationship with unregulated igaming Operators.” You may still pursue the dispute with the operator through a formal complaint, “if one is available,” according to the AGCO's complaints page. iGO “is only able to assist players with disputes related to regulated sites.”

The pattern is simple. A complaint can only go further if there is a regulator to take it to. The president of the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) said in a Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries news release that many such sites operate in markets “that leave no protection or recourse for the player.”

The options that remain have no promised result. The first is a written complaint to the operator. The second is your bank, but only for a payment you did not authorize. According to Interac, an e-Transfer deposit cannot be reversed once it has been made. Cryptocurrency is a signal about a site's status: Ontario's standards do not allow registered sites to accept it, and Alberta's say the same, so a regulated site in Ontario or Alberta will not take it.

The CAFC warns that people who have been defrauded can be targeted again with a promise to recover their money, and it advises never paying an advance fee for a refund.

Is it legal to play at an offshore casino in Canada? What the Criminal Code says

This section sticks to the text of the law and to what authorities have and have not said. The text of section 207 of the Criminal Code was read on October 6, 2026.

Section 207(1)(a) allows the government of a province to “conduct and manage a lottery scheme in that province.” Section 207(3) reads: “Every one who, for the purposes of a lottery scheme, does anything that is not authorized by or pursuant to a provision of this section … (b) in the case of participating in that lottery scheme, is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.”

Those are the words of the law. They are not an interpretation, and this guide does not offer one. No federal or provincial guidance on how they apply to an individual playing on a website was found as of October 6, 2026. This guide gives general information and is not legal advice. The AGCO's guidance on disputes also suggests considering independent legal advice.

Authorities have spoken about sites, not about players. In Manitoba, the Court of King's Bench declared on May 26, 2025 that an online gambling operator had “no lawful authority to offer online gambling products and services … or to advertise such online products and services to persons located in Manitoba, as such activities are contrary to sections 201, 202, and 206 of the Criminal Code,” according to Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries. The ruling concerned an operator, not its players.

How many people use unregulated sites?

Ipsos surveyed 2,012 Ontarians aged 19 and older for the AGCO and iGO between March 30 and April 20, 2026, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points. The results were published on May 21, 2026.

YearBet on at least one regulated siteBet only on unregulated sites
202385.3%14.7%
202486.4%13.6%
202583.7%16.3%
202691.1%8.9%

The base is people who gambled online in the previous three months. In 2026, 91.1% had bet on a regulated site, up from 83.7% in 2025. Anyone who uses both kinds appears in the first column, so the second counts only people who bet exclusively on unregulated sites.

The Government of Alberta writes that unregulated operators “are estimated to capture approximately 70% of Alberta's total iGaming market.” That is a share of the market, not of players, so it should not be set beside the Ipsos figure. The LGCA reports that people aged 18 to 24 more often say they use unregulated sites, and that “Some also believe unregulated sites offer better odds, bigger payouts, or more betting options.”

What provinces do about operators outside their rules

A province's reach runs through the businesses it registers. Since October 31, 2022, Ontario's Standard 1.22 has said that “Operators and gaming-related suppliers must cease all unregulated activities if, to carry out those same activities in iGaming Ontario's regulated online lottery scheme, it would require registration under the GCA.”

On May 14, 2025, the AGCO called on media platforms to stop carrying advertising for unregulated sites, which it said gives “a veneer of legitimacy to unregulated and high-risk sites.”

No federal blocking of domains or payments was found as of October 6, 2026. Neither “sites are blocked” nor “sites are never blocked” can be supported from official sources. A site that opens from your province says nothing about whether it is regulated there.

How to tell which kind of site you are on

In Ontario, check iGO's directory and look for the logo. The AGCO says to look for the iGaming Ontario logo “as a sign that you're playing on a site that is being conducted and managed by iGaming Ontario.” In Alberta, the test is the AiGC directory.

Age is a separate check. An “18+” label on a site outside a provincial regime is the site's own statement, not a provincial rule, and Ontario's age is 19 according to iGO. The legal gambling age in each province sets out the rest. iGO also states a condition for play: “19+. Must be physically located in Ontario to play.”

Where to report a problem and where to get help

The CAFC says: “It is also recommended that you report the instance of a fraud or cybercrime, whether you are a victim or not, to the CAFC.” Its number is 1-888-495-8501.

For a problem with a regulated site, start with the operator. In Ontario, the next step is iGO or the AGCO, and some complaints, such as ones about safer gambling or advertising, may go to the AGCO without first contacting the operator. In Alberta, it is AGLC.

Limits and self-exclusion set in a regulated market do not follow you to a site outside it. A person who wants a break from gambling needs another tool and a person on the phone.

If gambling is affecting you or someone you care about, ConnexOntario offers free and confidential support in Ontario at 1-866-531-2600. In Alberta, the Alberta Health Services Addiction Helpline is at 1-866-332-2322. In B.C., Gambling Support BC is at 1-888-795-6111, and in Manitoba the Problem Gambling Helpline is at 1-800-463-1554. Other provinces have their own helplines, listed in responsible gambling tools and support.

What do people ask about unregulated gambling sites?

What is an unregulated gambling site in Ontario?

Ontario's regulated market is made up of operators registered with the AGCO that have an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario, apart from OLG.ca. A site outside that market is unregulated in Ontario, and the AGCO's FAQ says so about sites that did not join on April 4, 2022.

What does the Criminal Code say about playing on a site outside your province's regulated market?

Section 207(3) describes an offence punishable on summary conviction for “participating in that lottery scheme” where the act “is not authorized by or pursuant to a provision of this section.” No federal or provincial guidance on how this applies to an individual player was found as of October 6, 2026, and this guide does not interpret it.

Can the AGCO or iGaming Ontario help if an unregulated site does not pay?

No. The AGCO “has no legal relationship with unregulated igaming Operators,” and iGO is only able to assist with disputes related to regulated sites. Even for a regulated site, the AGCO says it cannot get your money back or make the site give it back.

Does a licence from another country mean a site is regulated in your province?

Not according to the LGCA in Manitoba, which says each site “only has to follow the laws of the place that licenses it.” The test for your province is registration with its regulator, not a licence somewhere else.

How many Ontarians gamble only on unregulated sites?

In the Ipsos study published on May 21, 2026, 8.9% of Ontarians who had gambled online in the previous three months had bet only on unregulated sites, down from 16.3% in 2025. The survey covered 2,012 Ontarians aged 19 and older.

Where do you report a gambling site you think is a scam?

Report it to the CAFC online or at 1-888-495-8501, and tell your bank about any payment you do not recognize. Do not pay an advance fee to anyone who promises to recover money. A report is a record of the fraud, not a promise that money comes back.

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