Canada's Provincial Gambling Sites Compared: Games, Ages and Deposits

Government-run gambling sites are the one option that is legal in every province, and they are often the only regulated choice outside Ontario. They are not interchangeable, though. A Manitoban and a British Columbian log in to the same PlayNow platform but face different age rules; OLG.ca takes Apple Pay while Quebec's site refuses prepaid cards; and only some sites list their account limits in public. The comparison below draws on each corporation's own help pages and official releases.

Who runs which site

Five brands cover the ten provinces. PlayNow is a shared platform built by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) and used under contract by two other provinces. The rest are run by their own lottery corporations.

Where a cell says "not listed", check the site's own help pages before registering; the absence reflects what the reviewed sources publish, not a lack of options.

PlayNow in British Columbia

BCLC's PlayNow help pages require players to be BC residents aged 19 or older. The site carries lottery, casino with a live casino section, sports, poker and bingo; the poker network is shared with Manitoba and Quebec players, and bingo with Manitoba.

PlayNow BC lists the widest set of deposit methods among the provincial sites: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Interac e-Transfer, PayPal, online bill payment and Web Cash. Withdrawals work differently. They go to a bank account by electronic funds transfer, except for amounts of C$25,000,000 or more, and the account must have an occupation on file for anti-money-laundering purposes. Two limits are worth knowing: a weekly deposit limit can be set in C$1 steps up to C$100,000, and balances are capped at C$250,000. A player over the cap has 72 hours to bring the balance down before BCLC starts a withdrawal.

PlayNow in Manitoba and Saskatchewan

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries brought PlayNow to the province in January 2013 under a service contract with BCLC, according to its PlayNow backgrounder. Players must be registered, confirmed Manitoba residents who have reached the age of majority, which Manitoba's Age of Majority Act sets at 18. The Manitoba site offers casino, live casino, poker and bingo shared with BC and Quebec, sports betting including singles, parlays and in-game bets, and lottery. Single-event wagering was added on August 27, 2021. Account tools include time and deposit limits, a short-term lockout and session reminders.

Saskatchewan joined on November 3, 2022. The province's launch announcement describes a three-way arrangement: the site is managed by the provincial gaming corporation, operated by the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) and regulated by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, on BCLC's platform. It opened with more than 500 casino games and full sports betting for players 19 and older, with live dealer and poker scheduled to follow, and the release states that all net proceeds stay in Saskatchewan.

OLG.ca in Ontario

Ontario's lottery corporation runs its own site alongside the province's private regulated market. OLG's help pages set two ages: 18 for lottery and charitable gaming, and 19 for casino and slots, where players must also be Ontario residents. The product range covers lottery, casino (slots, table games, live casino and arcade-style games), PROLINE+ and PROLINE sports betting, POOLS and online horse racing.

OLG's deposit FAQ lists Visa Debit, Visa credit, Mastercard, Debit Mastercard, American Express, Interac e-Transfer and Apple Pay, and warns that some US-backed and store-branded cards are declined. Deposits of C$3,000 or more trigger identity verification to meet FINTRAC requirements. Two rules catch people out: the payment method can be changed only once a day, and a card cannot be removed for 24 hours after a deposit or while the balance is C$1,000 or more. Deposit limits are set through My PlaySmart Tools and reset daily, weekly or monthly.

Loto-Québec

Loto-Québec's conditions of use limit accounts to Quebec residents aged 18 or older who are not self-excluded or banned. The site offers online lotteries, casino, live casino, slots, Mise-o-jeu+ sports betting, instant games, poker and bingo, some of them networked with other Canadian lottery corporations.

The conditions refer players to the site's deposit section for the list of methods and exclude prepaid cards, corporate cards and American-issued credit cards, naming Capital One and MBNA as examples. Deposits are in Canadian dollars and earn no interest. The weekly deposit limit can be set between C$25 and C$9,999, and while a decrease takes effect immediately, an increase waits 24 hours. Withdrawals go to a linked personal bank account. Large prizes are handled offline: Mise-o-jeu+ prizes of C$100,000 or more and lottery prizes of C$25,000 or more must be claimed in person within one year, with a health card, driver's licence or passport, and are paid by cheque.

PlayAlberta

AGLC's PlayAlberta page lists slots, virtual table games, live dealer games, instant scratch games, lottery and sports betting including single-event bets, with all revenue going to the province's General Revenue Fund. The site launched on October 1, 2020 for players 18 or older. Alberta is moving toward a regulated private market alongside PlayAlberta; the background is in our explainer on the iGaming Alberta Act.

ALC.ca in Atlantic Canada

The Atlantic Lottery Corporation serves New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. Its online casino reached Newfoundland and Labrador during 2023-24, and its chief executive has described the corporation as the only legal provider of online gaming and sports-betting products in the region. The same annual report put 2023-24 returns to the four provinces at C$487 million in total. We could not reach ALC's own help pages, so its age rule and deposit methods are not in the table; confirm both on ALC.ca before signing up.

Choosing between them, and limits worth setting

• You can only use your own province's site. Every site above requires residency and checks location, so the comparison matters mostly if you move or are deciding between a provincial site and Ontario's private market.
• Payment fit. If you rely on PayPal, only PlayNow BC lists it among the sources reviewed; Apple Pay appears on OLG.ca. Our deposit methods guide covers how Interac and cards behave at gambling sites in general.
• Withdrawals. The provincial sites pay out to a bank account rather than back to a card or wallet: PlayNow BC uses electronic funds transfer, and Loto-Québec pays to a linked personal bank account. Set up and verify that account before you need it, because identity and anti-money-laundering checks, such as OLG's verification on deposits of C$3,000 or more, can add time to a first payout.
• Built-in limits. Loto-Québec enforces a weekly deposit ceiling of C$9,999, while PlayNow BC allows a self-set weekly limit up to C$100,000. Lower is easy on every site; raising a limit usually takes a waiting period.
• Self-exclusion. Excluding yourself from a provincial site often covers the province's land-based venues too; see self-exclusion by province and our responsible gambling page.