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 has already drastically improved legal betting options for Canadian players.

As things stand, you have a few legal online betting options. One option is betting at the provincially owned sites like PlayNow and PROLINE+. These kinds of provincial sites are available in all provinces. Other options vary by province. For example, Ontario offers dozens of legal betting sites as part of its regulated market. These include Betano, Bet99, and bet365.

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, as each of them has an iGaming Ontario license.

Coolbet, which was one of the first legal betting brands in Ontario, announces it will be exiting the market on April 3rd, 2023.

The platform will not be accepting new deposits starting from March 21st, and it will close its gaming operatons on March 22nd.

Betsafe is legal in Ontario! The world-renowned brand owned by the Swedish company Betsson is now fully available to Canadian bettors.

Canadians are now able to access the operator’s sportsbook as well as the casino section.

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

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

The wait is over as Bet99 snatches an iGO license! The brand has quickly become one of Canadians’ favourite, thanks to its competitive odds.

Another addition to Ontario’s legal betting stage is Casumo. This casino boasts 2000+ slots to choose from.

Betano has officially acquired its iGO license and is now legal for Ontarians! However, for now, it’s not available in other provinces.

The soccer-first brand has unique betting tools like Watch & Bet, which allows bettors to place in-play bets without quitting the live stream.

BetVictor got its iGO license! Founded all the way back in 1946, it’s among the longest standing betting brands out there.

The variety of betting markets and a casino section featuring NetEnt and Microgaming are bound to make Canadians go back to this operator over and over again.

Spin Casino was approved for the official iGO license! The brand has been active for 20+ years, and will not disappoint French-Canadians thanks to its bilingual website.

Another entry to Ontario’s legal betting scene is Sports Interaction. It’s another operator with over two decades of experience, and with a website available in French.

Betway has acquired the official iGaming Ontario license! Bettors from Ontario and the rest of Canada can now legally enjoy the brand’s competitive odds and eSports section.

bwin is another addition to Canada’s legal online betting market! The Austrian brand is known for regularly sponsoring soccer clubs and having great betting tools such as auto cash out.

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

The Canada-focused brand 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.

Each of these brands is only available to Ontarians for the time being. Be sure to follow LegalBetCanada, and we’ll update you as soon as that changes!

Ontario launches its online regulated market! Ontarians can enjoy new legal sports 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.

The list is still fairly small for now, but it’s expected to grow by the dozens in the next few months.

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, and BetRivers 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. While this was expected to happen in 2022, it looks like 2023 is the year after all.

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!