Legal gambling age in Canada: 18 or 19 by province

The legal gambling age in Canada is 18 or 19, depending on the province you are in and, in a few provinces, on what you are playing. Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec set 18. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, the four Atlantic provinces and Ontario set 19 for casinos, with Ontario and Saskatchewan allowing lottery tickets at 18. This guide gives the age for each province and product, explains why there is no single national age, how ID checks work in person and online, and what happens to a prize won by someone under age.

Why Canada has no single gambling age

The federal Criminal Code makes most gambling an offence and then, in section 207, lets each province conduct and manage gambling itself. The Code does not set a minimum age. Each province fixes its own in its gaming laws and in the rules of its lottery corporation and regulator, which is why the answer changes at a provincial border.

What counts is where you are standing, not where you live. Provincial sites use geolocation, and PlayNow, for example, only lets you play in your province of residence while you are physically there. Our guide to whether online gambling is legal in Canada explains the section 207 framework in more detail.

Gambling age by province

The sections below give the source for each line.

Ontario: 18 for lottery, 19 for casinos

Ontario is the province where the age depends most on the product. OLG's website terms say "Individuals must be 18 years of age or older to participate in lottery", a rule that also covers charitable gaming and sports betting bought in a store. The same terms say "Individuals must be 19 years of age or older to visit casinos and slot facilities in Ontario", and 19 also applies to online casino games and online sports betting.

The private online market follows the same line. The AGCO's Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming (Standard 3.01) make anyone under 19 ineligible to play on a gaming site, with one exception: an 18-year-old may use a site "solely for the purpose of purchasing a lottery ticket." So at 18 in Ontario you can buy a LOTTO 6/49 ticket on OLG.ca or a PROLINE slip at a store, but you cannot play online slots, enter a casino or bet on sports online until you turn 19. Our guide to Ontario online casinos covers how the regulated market works.

Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec: 18

Alberta. Play Alberta, the AGLC's own site, states that "The legal gambling age in Alberta is 18." When Alberta opened its market to private operators, the government's fact sheet on Bill 48 noted that it set "the minimum age to place bets online at 18 years." That makes Alberta the only province with a regulated private online market where 18-year-olds can play.

Manitoba. The Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba sets the same threshold of 18 for gambling and lottery products as for liquor. Staff must see a physical ID; a photo of an ID on a phone is not accepted.

Quebec. Loto-Québec's conditions of use say "Lotteries are restricted to persons 18 years of age or over," and its casinos, including the Casino de Montréal, admit only people 18 or older. That rule covers the whole building, including bars, restaurants and the Cabaret.

British Columbia and Atlantic Canada: 19

British Columbia. The B.C. government's gambling page sets the age at 19 for "casinos, lottery tickets, online gambling, and charitable events." BCLC runs commercial gambling, including PlayNow, and the Independent Gambling Control Office regulates it. PlayNow's help page repeats "Must be 19+ years of age."

New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador. Atlantic Lottery runs lottery, casino and sports products for all four provinces. Its rule is short: "You must be 19+ to purchase, play or redeem Atlantic Lottery products." The ALC.ca terms also require you to be 19 and physically located in Atlantic Canada when you register. For casinos, Nova Scotia's Casino Regulations (section 20) bar anyone under 19 from playing in or even entering a casino.

Saskatchewan and the territories

Saskatchewan. The age depends on the product. Casinos Regina and Moose Jaw post "Minimum age 19 years" in their house rules, and ID is compulsory. Lottery products sold through the Western Canada Lottery Corporation are marked "For ages 18+ only," and WCLC's Sport Select material says retailers refuse ticket sales and prize redemption to anyone under 18. Saskatchewan's online site, PlayNow Saskatchewan, lists "Must be 19+ years of age" as a registration requirement. Our guide to Sport Select and PRO•LINE covers the WCLC sports lottery.

Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. WCLC also sells lottery products in the three territories under the same 18+ marking. In 2022 the Northwest Territories proposed amending its Western Canada Lottery Act regulations to "establish a minimum age of 18 years for the purchase of Western Canada Lottery products." None of the territories runs its own online casino.

Sports betting age

Sports betting follows the same provincial rules as other gambling, with one wrinkle in Ontario: a PROLINE ticket bought in a store is a lottery product (18), while PROLINE+ online and private sportsbooks are online betting (19). Elsewhere, the provincial age applies to both. Our guide to whether sports betting is legal in Canada lists the books available in each province.

How age checks work

In person. Casinos and retailers check ID at the door or at the till. Loto-Québec's casinos ask for "an original, valid photo ID" and may ask anyone who appears 25 or younger for official photo ID. Copies and photos of ID on a phone are not accepted. WCLC tells retailers to ask for ID from anyone who looks under 25, and Casinos Regina and Moose Jaw note that government ID may be requested at any time.

Online. Provincial and regulated private sites verify your age and identity when you register, using your name, date of birth and address, and sometimes a document upload. Offshore sites often check later, at the first withdrawal. Our guide to crypto casino KYC explains when those checks happen and which documents are asked for.

What happens if someone under age wins?

A prize does not make an underage bet valid. Ontario's Standard 3.01 states that people who are not eligible to play are also not eligible to receive prizes. Lottery corporations check age at prize claim, and WCLC refuses redemption to anyone under 18. If an adult buys a ticket for a minor and it wins, the claim can be refused. Atlantic Lottery runs a public campaign asking adults not to buy lottery products for minors for this reason and because of the risks of youth gambling. Our guide to checking lottery tickets online lists the official app for each region and the age each app listing states.

Online, an account opened with a false date of birth is a breach of the site's terms. Expect the account to be closed and the balance to be held when the age check is done at withdrawal.

Offshore casinos and the age that applies to you

Many offshore casinos set 18 in their terms. That does not lower the age where you are. An 18-year-old in Ontario or British Columbia is still under the provincial age, and offshore sites are outside provincial oversight altogether: no provincial regulator to complain to and no link to provincial self-exclusion programs. Our VPN casinos guide covers why using a VPN to reach a site from another location is a further breach of most terms.

Gambling and young adults

Provinces set the age at 18 or 19 partly because younger players are more at risk. If you have just reached the legal age, set a deposit limit before your first session and treat any spend as entertainment money. Free help is available from ConnexOntario at 1 866 531-2600 and from Jeu: aide et référence at 1 800 461-0140, and our responsible gambling page lists services in every province. If you are curious how lottery games compare on chances of winning, our guide to which lottery has the best odds sets out the official figures.

Sources: Criminal Code, section 207, OLG website user agreement, OLG lottery player fact sheet, AGCO: Eligibility, Standard 3.01, Play Alberta: Is online gambling legal in Alberta, Government of Alberta: iGaming fact sheet, LGCA Manitoba: Bring ID, Loto-Québec conditions of use, Casino de Montréal: Plan your visit, Government of B.C.: Gambling in B.C., PlayNow help, PlayNow Saskatchewan help, Nova Scotia Casino Regulations, Atlantic Lottery terms, Atlantic Lottery: Don't buy lottery tickets for minors, Casinos Regina and Moose Jaw: Casino etiquette, WCLC FAQ, GNWT: Proposed changes to the Western Canada Lottery Act regulations