Since August 27, 2021, provinces and territories in Canada can offer bets on a single sporting event, such as the winner of one game. Before that, provincial sports lotteries only offered parlays, which required picking the outcomes of several games.
What Bill C-218 changed
Canada legalised single-event sports betting with Bill C-218, which received Royal Assent on June 29, 2021 and came into force on August 27, 2021. It amended paragraph 207(4)(b) of the Criminal Code so that provinces and territories can conduct and manage betting on a single sporting event.
A single-event bet is one wager on one outcome, instead of a combination of outcomes. The law left horse racing where it was: betting on horse races stays under federal oversight through the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency.
The first provincial launch
Ontario moved on the first day. On August 27, 2021, OLG launched PROLINE+, a digital sportsbook for players 19 and over in Ontario. It offered live betting, placed while a game is under way, and cash out, which lets a player settle a bet before the event ends.
A provincial patchwork
The bill did not create one national sports betting market. It gave the power to provinces and territories, and each decides how betting is offered to its residents, under its own rules and age limits.
That is why the options and protections you see depend on where you are. Check the rules in your own province before you place a bet, and use the tools a regulated site offers, such as deposit limits and time-outs.
Gambling is for adults (19+ in most provinces, 18+ in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec) and costs money; free, confidential help is available from ConnexOntario on 1-866-531-2600 or your provincial helpline.
