An online casino reaches Canadian players by being approved through a provincial process, not a national one. In Ontario and Alberta that means registration by the regulator plus a commercial agreement with a separate body. This page covers what an operator has to do to get approved, what it must keep doing afterwards, and how the market has developed.
Most articles about Canadian gambling law list which provinces allow what. This one explains the machinery behind that list: how a brand becomes licensed, and what the licence obliges it to do.
Through a two-stage provincial process, in the two provinces that license private operators. Approval is not a single permission; it is a regulatory registration plus a commercial agreement, and a brand needs both before accepting a single bet.
Betway completed that process in Ontario and appears in the iGaming Ontario operator directory under the legal entity Cadway Limited, authorised for casino and sports betting.
Registration is a continuing obligation rather than a one-off approval. The Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming in Ontario, and the equivalent Alberta standards, set conditions the operator must meet every day it trades.
| Obligation | What it covers in practice |
|---|---|
| Game integrity | Certified fairness, with return to player published in each game |
| Age controls | Verified minimum age before real money play |
| Identity verification | Know your customer checks before a withdrawal is released |
| Anti-money laundering | Source of funds checks where the rules require them |
| Player controls | Deposit limits, loss limits, cooling-off, self-exclusion |
| Advertising rules | In Ontario, no public advertising of bonuses or inducements |
That last row is often missed. Ontario's standards restrict how offers may be presented, which is why licensed operators advertise differently from unregulated sites.
Both provinces separate the regulator from the commercial counterparty, which is unusual to players used to a single licensing authority.
Registered means a regulator has approved the operator and published it on the register. Live means the brand is actually accepting sign-ups and bets. In Alberta specifically, these are often not the same thing.
Around fifty brands held Alberta registration in August 2026 while only about twenty-two were live and taking bets. Most of the difference was operators transitioning from the previously unregulated market.
This distinction is where most comparison pages fail. A brand listed as available because it appears on a register may have no product open at all.
For recreational players, gambling winnings in Canada are generally treated as a windfall rather than as income, and are not taxed. That is the long-standing general position and it applies to most players.
The exception is gambling conducted as a business. Where someone gambles systematically as their livelihood, the Canada Revenue Agency may treat the proceeds as business income. Interest earned on winnings held in an account is also taxable in the normal way.
This is general information rather than tax advice. If your situation is anything other than straightforwardly recreational, the Canada Revenue Agency or an accountant should confirm your position.
Registration can end in three ways, and each has a different consequence for players holding an account.
An operator may withdraw voluntarily, exiting the province and closing its local product. It may fail to complete a transition requirement, as could happen in Alberta where the window for existing operators closes on 13 October 2026. Or the regulator may act against it for failing the standards.
In each case the brand stops appearing as an available site, and the register is where that change shows first. That is another reason to treat the register as the live source rather than a comparison page written months earlier.
Because it separates supervision from commerce. A regulator that also profited from the operators it supervised would face an obvious conflict, so Ontario and Alberta both split the roles between two organisations.
For an operator, that means two relationships to maintain: a compliance relationship with the regulator and a commercial one with the conduct and manage body. Losing either ends its ability to trade in the province.
For a player, the practical effect is that compliance complaints and commercial questions have different destinations, which is worth knowing before you need either.
Substantially, and mostly in the direction of more regulated choice. Ontario opened its private market in 2022, moving a large volume of play from unregulated offshore sites into a supervised system.
Alberta followed on 13 July 2026, creating the second open private market in Canada and adding around fifty registered brands, of which roughly twenty-two were live shortly afterwards.
The direction of travel matters for players. Regulated markets bring published standards, mandatory responsible gambling tools and a complaints route, none of which exist offshore.
Betway is a straightforward example of the process this article describes. It holds registration from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and appears in the iGaming Ontario operator directory under the legal entity Cadway Limited, authorised for casino and sports betting.
Both stages are visible from outside. The registration is enforced by the regulator against the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming, and the commercial agreement with iGaming Ontario is what puts the brand in the public directory.
Betway also completed registration with Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis under the same entity name, ahead of that market's opening on 13 July 2026. Holding registrations in both open private markets is what a fully licensed Canadian position looks like in 2026.
Yes, within each province's framework. Ontario and Alberta license private operators; other provinces provide online gambling through their own lottery corporations.
The iGaming Ontario operator directory listed 48 regulated operators running 83 gaming websites when last checked, and it is updated whenever a new authorised site launches.
Nineteen and over in Ontario, 18 and over in Alberta. Other provinces set their own, and every licensed operator must verify your age before real money play.
Generally not for recreational players, where winnings are treated as a windfall. Gambling conducted as a business may be taxable, and interest earned on winnings is taxable.
Offshore sites sit outside provincial frameworks, so no Canadian regulator has authority over them and no provincial complaints process applies if something goes wrong.
Licensing obliges operators to give you controls; it does not oblige you to use them. That step is yours, and it is the one that actually changes outcomes. Set deposit and loss limits when you register rather than when spending starts to concern you. Ontario also runs self-exclusion across regulated sites, which reaches beyond a single account. In Ontario call ConnexOntario on 1-866-531-2600; in Alberta, 1-866-332-2322.