Major regulatory changes and market shifts shaping the future of online gambling in Canada.
Things are changing in Canada’s gaming industry due to regulation and market pressures, and provinces are feeling the impact and opportunities are emerging for operators and players.
A mixture of new legislation, innovative technology and changing attitudes are all playing a role in bringing about change in Canada. New laws that are set to open up the Canadian casino market to a number of provinces across the country have now come into effect. Provinces such as Alberta and Quebec are most likely to embrace a new wave of online casino gaming that will transform the way Canadians gamble in the years ahead.
Here are a few of the stories making headlines in Canada’s gambling market.
New Gambling Advertising Code Across Canada
In January 2026, the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) introduced the Code for Responsible Gaming Advertising, resulting in more stringent national advertising guidelines in Canada.
The new framework focuses on several core principles:-
- Truthful and transparent advertising
- Responsible messaging
- Restrictions on misleading promotions
- Stronger protections for vulnerable players
- Clear guidelines preventing the targeting of minors
With the participation of a number of key partners in the advertising industry, the Canadian Advertising Code has been established and will be enforced by Ad Standards Canada. This Code will not only meet existing government regulations and standards at the federal and provincial levels, but will be more stringent in order to provide a higher level of protection for consumers.
According to the CGA:
Aim of the code: The code is intended to enhance public confidence and promote responsible marketing in all licensed channels of gambling in Canada.
Mandatory RG Check Accreditation in Alberta
Earlier last week, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) outlined its requirements for iGaming operators interested in expanding into the province’s new regulated online gaming market. In addition to obtaining a licence and building its platform in line with the technical requirements defined by the AGLC’s selected operator, the provider will also have to obtain RGC RG Check certification in order to be able to sell its products to residents of Alberta. With this announcement, Alberta joins Ontario as the two Canadian jurisdictions to require RGC certification as part of their licensing processes for iGaming.
The Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) has revealed that a key condition of being granted a licence in Canada’s newest jurisdiction will be that operators prove the introduction of “evidence-based player protection measures”.
The RG Check accreditation evaluates several key areas, including:
- Player protection tools
- Responsible gambling controls
- Advertising practices
- Staff training standards
- Governance policies
Dan Keene, interim CEO of AiGC, explained:
“To build a safer gambling industry, player protection must be at the forefront of new regulatory developments from the outset rather than an afterthought,” says FDT Director Robert Cooke.
We suspect that Alberta will follow the same lead as Ontario. Ontario has one of the largest regulated online gaming markets in North America.
Quebec’s State Monopoly Faces Growing Pressure
Pressure is building on the provincial government to consider opening the gambling market in Quebec to competition. For more than 50 years, Loto-Québec has been the sole provider of gaming services in Quebec. The crown corporation has the exclusive right to sell lottery tickets, instant win games, video lottery terminals and online casino games.
The Quebec Online Gaming Coalition (QOGC) sent a series of recommendations to Quebec’s Ministry of Finance, contending that the current framework favors unregulated offshore gambling operators, who claim to capture between 60% and 70% of the online market in Quebec. The coalition explained that the current system is riskier for players and that it deprives the government of substantial tax income.
A Canadian coalition of gaming companies that includes Paddy Power Betfair has estimated that the province of Quebec is missing out on more than CAD $300m a year because its regulated market is not competitive enough. In a policy paper released Monday, the group argues that Quebec would benefit from the introduction of a private licensing model, similar to that used in the neighbouring province of Ontario. The coalition believes this would bring more accountability, more player protection and potentially the return of some of the lost business.
Growing Political Momentum for iGaming Reform
Companies in the industry are saying that there needs to be changes to Ontario’s gaming laws. They say that by allowing the online gaming market to be open to competition, it will result in more efficient regulation of the industry.
According to the lobbyists, the monopoly on the gambling business limits competition and forces companies to relocate their activities to countries other than Quebec, where there are no provincial regulations. They are now asking for a regulated market in the form of an open licence model, which would significantly change the way the gambling business works in Quebec.
Loto-Québec Partners With Incentive Games
A Crown corporation in Quebec for decades at the center of reform demands, Loto-Québec is expanding its activities. The institution has partnered with Incentive Games to deploy real-money crash and arcade-style casino games on its sites.
Loto-Québec collaborates with Incentive Studio for instant-win digital games Loto-Québec, Canada’s regional lottery and gaming corporation, will partner with instant-win digital draw games through the Light & Wonder platform and also gain access to Incentive Studio’s expanding catalogue of instant win, real money games. This marks Incentive Games’ entry into the Canadian real money market.
Playtech, an international gaming content supplier, has been appointed as the exclusive slot games supplier by Loto-Québec to provide Canadian online channels with new slot games. Loto-Québec has launched an innovation and modernization plan to offer a wide range of digital games while respecting public safety and responsible gaming standards. A large selection of Playtech games are already available in the Loto-Québec online casino and many more are expected to be introduced throughout 2016.
What These Changes Mean for Canadian Players
The roll out of B2B remote gaming servers, the expansion of National Lottery games and the modernisation of betting terminals are symptoms of a larger societal shift in the UK, where there is an increasing acceptance of greater regulation, and higher standards of consumer protection, and where the gambling industry is undergoing a period of profound change.
Key outcomes include:
A national advertising code promoting clearer and more responsible marketing
Mandatory RG Check accreditation introducing stricter safety standards in Alberta
Continued platform innovation through new partnerships at Loto-Québec
A variety of factors are coming together to indicate a more controlled, transparent and fair national Canadian gaming market.
Challenges and Opportunities for Operators
The regulation of the Canadian online gaming market is complex and full of challenges and opportunities for online gaming operators. Canadian gaming laws are generally governed by provinces. Thus, online gaming operators must comply with the regulations applicable to the province where players are located. These regulations may vary widely from one province to another. Mobile gaming and digital payments are also contributing to the high development of online gaming in Canada.
Casino operators that have a large online casino game portfolio would arguably have the most to gain from this new development. As mentioned, these companies are already making their compliant websites available in an effort to not only provide a secure gaming experience, but also help to preserve the integrity of Internet gaming.
There has been a surge in the demand for accurate and reliable information in the gaming and betting industry. Maple Casino, a prominent online resource in the gaming sector, observed that players are becoming more concerned with what they have to look for when searching for a place to gamble. The company further stated that with the changing gambling laws and regulations in Canada, players are searching for more information to assist them in making the right decisions. Maple Casino adds that for the past 20 years, the company has been providing the players with the most reliable information on the safest online casinos in Canada.
It’s clear that Canadian wireless carriers must be ready to adapt and respond to any number of policy and regulatory changes happening across the country. What we’ve seen over the last decade is a wholesale transformation of the networks, handsets and the applications that are now used every day.