Regulated online gambling in Canada: how to check

In Canada, online gambling is regulated by each province, not by one national authority. What “regulated” means depends on where you live, and so does the way you check a site. This page explains who regulates gambling in each province, where regulated online play is offered and how you can verify a site yourself.

BonusOut is an information website. We do not operate gambling sites, we do not register or license operators and nothing on this page recommends a site. This page gives general information and is not legal advice.

What “regulated” means in Canada

The federal Criminal Code allows the government of a province to “conduct and manage a lottery scheme” (section 207(1)(a)). In practice, each province decides how online gambling is offered on its territory and which body supervises it. There is no federal licence and no single national regulator.

So “regulated” always has a province attached. An Ontario registration covers play in Ontario, and Alberta runs a market of its own. When a site says it is regulated, the useful question is: regulated by whom, and where?

Two words need care. In Ontario, an operator is registered by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and then signs an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario (iGO), so the word to look for is “registered,” not “licensed.” And provincial governments use the word “legal” about their own sites. We quote them with attribution and make no claim of our own about what is legal for you.

Who regulates gambling in each province

Province	Who is in charge	Where regulated online play is offered
Ontario	The AGCO regulates; iGaming Ontario conducts and manages the market	Operators registered with the AGCO that have an operating agreement with iGO
Alberta	Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) oversees regulation; Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) conducts and manages the market	Registered igaming sites in the AiGC directory (market open since July 13, 2026)
British Columbia	Independent Gambling Control Office (IGCO)	PlayNow.com
Quebec	Loto-Québec operates online gambling in the province	lotoquebec.com
Manitoba	Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba (LGCA)	PlayNow.com (Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation, MBLL)
Saskatchewan	Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA); Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan (LGS)	PlayNow.com, operated by the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA)
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador	Provincial bodies; Atlantic Lottery (ALC) operates the online site	alc.ca

The territories have their own arrangements, and we do not describe them here. If you live in a territory, start with your territorial government. Sources are listed at the end of the page.

Ontario and Alberta: sites registered for an open market

Ontario

The AGCO administers the Gaming Control Act, 1992, sets the standards for operators and registers them. iGaming Ontario is “responsible for conducting and managing igaming when provided through private operators” and signs operating agreements with operators once the AGCO has registered them. The regulated market opened on April 4, 2022, and the rules operators follow are the AGCO’s Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming.

iGO states the minimum age as 19 and says you must be physically located in Ontario to play. The list of registered sites is published in the iGO directory of the regulated market.

Alberta

AGLC is responsible for regulatory oversight, and AiGC conducts and manages the igaming market, which opened on July 13, 2026. AiGC publishes a directory of registered igaming sites. AiGC marks its pages 18+. The market is new and the list changes, so check the directory on the day you need it.

Provinces with one provincial site

In the other provinces, online gambling is offered through a provincial site. The B.C. government writes that “PlayNow.com is the only legal online gambling site in B.C.” and that you must be 19 or older to gamble there. The Saskatchewan government describes PlayNow.com, operated by SIGA, as the only legal online gaming platform in that province. Manitoba also uses PlayNow.com. In Quebec the site is lotoquebec.com, where the minimum age is 18, and in the Atlantic provinces it is alc.ca, where it is 19.

Anything else is outside the provincial system, as explained in the section “Sites outside the provincial system” below.

How to check a site yourself

Start from the official source, not from the site you are checking. Type the address yourself instead of following a link on the site.

Find out who runs the site. Look for the name of the company, not only the brand, and for the regulator it names. A line such as “licensed and regulated” without a regulator is a statement by the site, not evidence.
Open the official list for your province. In Ontario, use the iGO directory. In Alberta, use the AiGC directory. In the other provinces, the provincial site named in the table above is the list.
Compare the details. Check that the company name and the web address match the entry in the directory. If they do not, treat that as a warning sign.
Treat logos as a hint. The AGCO tells players to look for the iGO logo as a sign that a site is subject to Ontario standards. A logo can be copied. The directory is the check.

A registration or licence from a regulator outside the provincial system, such as a foreign authority or the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, is not a registration with the AGCO or AGLC. We also did not find an official public list of blocked gambling sites in Canada, so we cannot point you to a blocklist to check against. The directories above are the positive lists.

What regulation gives you and what it does not

Regulated sites work under written rules that you can measure them against. In Ontario, for example:

Identity checks first — the standards require your details to be complete, accurate and validated before an account is created.
Limits — operators must give you an easy way to set financial and time limits when you register and later. If you want to loosen a limit, a cooling-off period of at least 24 hours applies.
Self-exclusion — BetGuard, run by iGO since May 14, 2026, lets you opt out of all regulated online gaming sites in Ontario through one portal. It does not cover land-based casinos, which have their own program, and it does not reach sites outside the regulated market.
No cryptocurrency — the Ontario and Alberta standards say cryptocurrency is not legal tender and must not be accepted.

Self-exclusion is provincial too. Alberta has a Centralized Self-Exclusion program run by AGLC, B.C. has Game Break and Manitoba has Voluntary Self-Exclusion. There is no national register, so signing up in one province does not block you everywhere.

Regulation also has limits. Both the AGCO and AGLC state that they cannot get your money back for you. They ask you to take a dispute to the operator first, which has up to 90 days to respond. Our section Gambling scams and complaints explains the routes after that.

Sites outside the provincial system

Many gambling sites are not part of any provincial system. We did not find an official source that describes the position of a person who plays on such a site, so we do not say whether it is legal or not. For a question about your own situation, speak to a lawyer.

What regulators do describe is the risk. iGO lists three for unregulated sites: “No guarantee that deposits are securely stored,” “Payouts could be delayed or not given at all” and “Personal information could be exposed to third-parties or the public without your consent.” The LGCA in Manitoba makes a similar point: if a site is not regulated in Manitoba, the LGCA cannot make it follow Manitoba’s laws.

Imitations are another risk. In June 2026 the Saskatchewan government warned about social media ads that pose as online versions of land-based casinos, and on September 10, 2026 iGO warned about third parties using the BetGuard name and branding to mislead people. If you think you have met a scam, report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The section Gambling scams and complaints shows how to recognize them.

Gambling more safely

Regulation tells you who supervises a site. It does not tell you how much to spend. Set limits before you start and gamble only with money you can afford to lose.

If gambling is affecting you or someone close to you, free support is available. There is no national gambling helpline, so call the line for your province:

Ontario — ConnexOntario, 1-866-531-2600
British Columbia — Gambling Support BC, 1-888-795-6111
Alberta — Alberta Health Services Addiction Helpline, 1-866-332-2322
Quebec — Jeu : aide et référence, 1 800 461-0140
Manitoba — Problem Gambling Helpline, 1-800-463-1554
Saskatchewan — Saskatchewan Problem Gambling Helpline, 1-800-306-6789

For the Atlantic provinces and the territories, see our page Responsible gambling, which lists the helplines we have confirmed and sets out the principles we follow. If you have a question about this page, write to us at info@bonusout-ca.com.

Sources

All sources were checked on October 6, 2026.

Minimum age depends on your province: 19+ in Ontario, B.C. and the Atlantic provinces, 18+ in Alberta and Quebec. Check the limit in your own province. Gambling can be addictive. Support: ConnexOntario 1-866-531-2600 (Ontario), Addiction Helpline 1-866-332-2322 (Alberta).

Last updated: October 6, 2026