Best Canadian
Betting Sites

Yes! Canada legalized online betting at a federal level in the 1990s. Up until June 2021, only parlay bets were allowed, but Canada has now legalized single-event sports betting. It is up to each province to regulate sports betting, so what you can or can’t do depends on your location. We suggest you check out our province guides to learn all about the regulations in your province.

Finding websites to place legal bets in Canada is not as easy as it should be. We’re here to help you navigate a world of sports betting legislation, state lotteries, and international betting sites to find the best betting options for you. We even have a betting site comparison tool!

Online betting is legal throughout Canada, but the options available can vary from one province to the next. As of August 2021, each province can decide on sports betting regulation. They can allow private operators to operate in the regulated market, or leave it limited to the provincial monopolies.

The majority of provinces will expand their selection on the provincial betting sites for the time being. The exception is Ontario, which opened the market to regulated private operators on the 4th of April 2022. Alberta has also issued a call of interest for private operators, but will be limiting the market to two operators. The LegalBet Canada team is following all updates from provinces, so stay tuned!

The Canadian Criminal Code is the most important piece of legislation currently regulating online gambling in Canada. The Code, as it’s commonly known, disallowed all sorts of betting activities from being run as a business, with one notable exception: pari-mutuel betting for horse racing events.

However, with the approval of Bill C-218 in June 2021, the Code has now been amended to allow a provincial government, entity, or person licensed by the Lieutenant Governor of that province to conduct and manage a lottery scheme.The lottery scheme can involve betting on a race, a fight, athletic event, or a single sports event in that province.

Single-event sports betting is legal as of August 2021! After years of unsuccessful bill attempts, Bill C-218 managed to get approved by the Senate and receive Royal Assent to pass into law.

This comes after decades of only allowing parlay bets at provincial betting monopolies. Legalizing single-event sports betting will drastically improve legal betting options for Canadian players.

As things stand, you have a few legal betting options. One option is betting at the provincially owned sites like PlayNow and PROLINE+. These provincial sites are available in all provinces. Other options vary by province. For example, Ontario offers legal betting sites as part of its regulated market. These include LeoVegas and Unibet.

Other provinces have not opened their market to private operators yet. Since the betting selection tends to be limited at the provincial sites, a lot of Canadians opt for international betting sites instead. These sites are not operated in Canada, so you can bet at these popular betting sites without any legal repercussions. All our recommendations are perfectly safe betting options. Just make sure to select your province when loading our betting list!

Sports betting lovers from Saskatchewan got their first regulated online betting operator: PlayNow.

The new betting site is operated by SIGA (Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority).

The long wait is over as Bet99 snatches an iGO license!

Soon after, Casumo did as well.

Betano has officially acquired its iGO license and is now legal to Ontarians!

However, for now, it’s not available in other provinces.

BetVictor got its iGO license!

Rumor has it, Betano is about to receive it as well.

Spin Casino was approved for the official iGO license!

Soon after, Sports Interaction became a legal betting operator in Ontario as well.

Betway has acquired the official iGaming Ontario license.

bwin is another addition to Canada’s legal betting market!

Other brands are edging closer to Ontarian licenses! These include brands like Betway, Spin Casino, Ruby Fortune, Royal Vegas, and Jackpot City.

Bet99 is also rumoured to be getting the full license very soon!

Ontario’s list of legal sportsbooks keeps on growing!

The latest additions include DraftKings, Northstar Bets, and Rivalry.

Ontario launches its online regulated market! This means that Ontarians can enjoy new legal betting sites, including well-known names like FanDuel and LeoVegas.

For the latest updates on legal betting in Ontario, and a full list of Ontario betting sites, check out our Ontario betting guide.

The list of sites with an Ontarian license keeps increasing.

BetMGM, CoolBet, LeoVegas, and Fitzdares have been added to the list.

Ontario’s AGCO has been busy approving operators ahead of the 4th April launch.

Officially approved operators include Bet365, 888, PointsBet, theScore and BetRivers. However, the list is expected to keep growing.

Nova Scotia starts offering legal single-event bets! The Atlantic Lottery Corp. expanded its Pro-Line product into the province.

Nova Scotia was the last Canadian province without any online single-event betting.

iGaming Ontario announced that single-game betting can be offered by private operators in the province on the 4th of April, 2022.

The specific number of operators remains to be seen, although operators like FanDuel, DraftKings, BetRivers, and theScore are confirmed.

The Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Commission announced that it is accepting bids from private operators that wish to enter the province’s sports betting market.

However, the AGLC will initially limit to two private operators to speed up the process as much as possible. This is expected to happen in 2022.

BC hits milestone as BC bettors wager more than $25 million in the first two months of single-event sports betting.

Although there is no official news, there’s a lot of speculation that BC might open the market to private operators in the future.

Saskatchewan announces that its online casino and sports betting will go through the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA).

The site’s revenue will be split 50/50 between the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) and the province.

Alberta launches single-event betting by expanding the selection on its PlayNow platform.

The province has hinted at opening up the betting market to private operators in the future.

Single-event betting is officially legal in Canada. Provinces can now regulate single-event betting as they wish.

Ontario, Quebec, BC, and Manitoba are all offering single-event betting on their provincial lottery sites from today.

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, David Lametti, announces that single-event sports betting in Canada will go live on the 27th of August.

This will give provinces the chance to set their own rules and regulate sports betting in the region.

The Bill receives Royal Assent from the country’s chief justice, Richard Wagner.

The Prime Minister and his cabinet will now set a date for the legislation to come into force.

The Senate approves Bill C-218 without any amendments. The bill’s next step is to go to the Governor General to receive royal assent.

Once it receives royal assent, it will be passed into law and a date will be set for its launch.

Interested in learning more about the latest legal updates?

Read our detailed guide on single-event sports betting legislation!