Canada Sports Betting Legalization Tracker – Sports Betting in Canada

Is Sports Betting Legal In Canada?

Canadians rejoice! As of April 4, 2022, single-game sports betting became legal in Canada.

This resulted in many popular commercial sportsbooks becoming available for operation around the country. Ontario was the first province to offer these larger sportsbooks to launch, with Alberta and Saskatchewan now beginning to carry out steps to be the next provinces to join in. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of the country follows suit.

Prior to bill C-218 (we will explain what this bill is later), sports betting is legal in Canada — but only parlay-style betting. Similar to each individual state having its own rules and regulations relating to sports betting in the United States, each province in Canada has its own rules related to online betting.

Many Canadians are aware of the existing parlay-style sports betting games offered by provincial lottery commissions. In addition, each province also sets its own rules when it comes to minimum age. In Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec, the minimum age to gamble is 18. In the other seven provinces (British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan), you must be 19 years old in order to gamble.

These rules apply to the newly-adopted, single-game sports gambling as well. With the new betting rules, Canadians will be able to bet on all major league sports, including the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS, and even Canadian Football League. 

Which Sportsbooks Are Legal In Canada?

Check out the list below to see which sportsbooks you can download today and start single-game betting on. Keep in mind that these sportsbooks are some of the larger, world-known books.

Canadian provinces all have their own sportsbooks as well, which are individually managed. As of today, Ontario is the only province that has the following apps with single-game betting.

What is C-218?

Although sports betting has been legal in Canada for quite some time in the form of parlay bets only, the key difference is within bill C-218. This bill — which was enacted on June 29, 2021 — was put in place to amend the Criminal Code (sports betting) (“Bill C-218”) and received royal assent. Once the amendments come into force, provincial governments and licensed persons will have the option of lawfully offering bets on races, fights, single sport events and athletic contests.

Before the passing of this bill, the 10 provinces and three territories (Yukon Territory, Northwest Territory and Nunavut) in Canada each offered parlay-only sports betting, casino games and lotteries run by one of five lottery commissions operating in the country. Because Canada as a country has already been offering some form of sports betting to its citizens, there should be a pretty seamless transition to allow for single-game betting, and users should have no problem finding available sportsbooks to start placing wagers across a variety of sports.

Which Provinces Have Legal Sports Betting in Canada?

Although all provinces already allow some form of sports betting, single-game sports betting is still making its way around the country. As of today, there are 13 provinces that allow single-game sports betting; however, Ontario is the only province that has brought in the big-name sports books to their citizens. The rest of the provinces are regulating with their own smaller sportsbooks.

How To Bet On Sports In Canada

Luckily, it is pretty easy to get started in a country like Canada. Let’s detail the steps below.

1. Find and download a sportsbook.

There are a lot of books to choose from in Canada, but let’s start with Caesars since they have such a generous offering of promos and odds boosts. In this case, a bonus bet match up to $1,250.

2. Sign up and deposit.

The sign-up and deposit step is pretty seamless. They will ask a couple of questions to verify your age and identity, such as social security number, address and/or driver’s license. But, it is pretty easy overall.

Once you are signed up, you will need to deposit money into your account. You will do this by selecting a payment method and proceeding with the prompt to get the payment method synced to your account. It is easiest to go with a direct deposit to a banking account since you can easily withdraw and deposit funds directly into that account.

3. Verify your location.

If you are on your phone then your phone will do this automatically using its GPS feature, but on the desktop can be a little more complicated.

If you are using a desktop you will need to download a location tracking software called GeoComply. Please refer to our article here with more details on GeoComply.

4. Place a bet!

Now you’ve gotten to the fun part. As mentioned earlier, Caesars offers a wide variety of promotions and odds boosts for you to enjoy. But, in general, in order to place a bet, all you need to do is:

• Navigate to the desired sport.
• Find the line that you would like to bet.
• Click or navigate to the bet slip.
• Click place bet!