Although single-event sports betting only became legal in Canada in 2021, there's been nothing to stop Canadian Provinces from operating online casinos within their respective lottery corporation monopolies, for their own residents. British Columbia was actually a Canadian Pioneer in this sense, as BC was the first North American jurisdiction to offer regulated, legal online casino and slots play, when it first opened PlayNow.com in 2010.
Our desire here is to give you the best information possible in moving forward, but know that very little has actually changed for people interested in online casinos in BC. Unlike Ontario, which now has a fully legal market of casino brands to go along with their lottery corporation online casino, BC still only has one legal casino brand. This leaves a huge "grey market" of casino sites which remain visible to BC residents, and open for registration. Many such brands are scam artists to be avoided. However, many "grey" casino brands have also entered the legal Ontario market, as they look to be regulated in their markets of interest, where available. However, another set of legal Ontario casino brands which are very visible via ads, do not have "grey market" versions that serve BC. It can be confusing, but we're going to demystify the situation in brief fashion, so you can begin with the operator that suits your needs best.
If you are located within the province of British Columbia, there is just one completely legal online casino & slots option: PlayNow-dot-com, which is operated by BCLC, aka the British Columbia Lottery Corporation. With this option you get a huge array of slots, RNG casino table games, plus live casino games where a real dealer runs your game. Beyond what is an excellent online casino option, crucially PlayNow also offers their award-winning customer support program, GameSense, which comes in the form of 24/7 chat or toll-free telephone number, so people can be in touch with problem gambling counselors on-demand. Beyond this, 100% of revenues at PlayNow stay in the beautiful province of BC. Add it all together, and PlayNow should certainly be every interested British Columbians first online casino.
The reality however, is that for many reasons, people may seek online casino options in BC beyond that of the "legal" PlayNow option. This is where people can get into some trouble. Ideally, stick with the benefits outlined above, but if you are intent on exploring options beyond this, we do want you to at least know the brands that you can trust. We get into the larger issues below, but know that all the brands we recommend in the so-called "grey market" that operate offshore, have moved to become legal in Ontario, because of the new legal framework in that province.
Bank with PlayNow via Interac, PayPal, online banking or WEBCASH, so you can avoid the cash advance interest and charges associated with credit card payments to gaming sites. AMEX, Visa & Mastercard credit and debit cards are also available.
Yes. PlayNow at last check, offered new casino players a deposit match worth up to $150. For those interested in Live Casino games, they also have a $20 Free Play Token. Terms and conditions apply to these. Note that the "Free Play Token" does require a deposit and has play requirements. Nothing is ever "Free" in this sense.
Yes. In addition to its casino, lottery, poker and bingo verticals, they also offer BC's only fully legal online sportsbook. Those interested in this particular type of gaming may wish to explore our write-up on BC betting sites.
Since neither Canada nor British Columbia have established a regulatory or legal framework for online gambling, brands operating legally from international iGaming jurisdictions in places like Malta, Gibraltar, and Kahnawake (Mohawk Territory in Quebec), among others, continue to serve residents in BC and other Canadian provinces (outside Ontario). Since there is no legal mechanism to stop or pursue these "offshore" operators, there is also no way to prevent BC residents from playing at such online casino providers. In other words, these "grey market" betting sites are operating legally in their respective jurisdictions, with servers, payment processors, and staff located accordingly. Therefore, as there is nothing in Canadian or BC law preventing their use, they are neither "legal" nor "illegal" but fall into this so-called "grey area."
Absolutely not. We have a page dedicated to helping Canadians to avoid scam sports betting operators. However, the reality is that around 2,000 gambling sites operate in the "grey market," serving players in BC and the rest of Canada and many of these are casino-only sites, since online casino is a far larger market compared to sports betting. Many of these brands to avoid are based in the iGaming jurisdiction of Curacao but are actually run by companies based in, or connected to, Russia. With the vast majority of these brands, players in BC face two significant risks.
Firstly, if you win, you might never receive your winnings. These brands have no interest in paying winners; they aim to pocket the cash from the "losing" players and refuse to pay out winners. They typically cite terms and conditions claiming the winning player has cheated. This is their primary scam. Even with reasonably "reputable" offshore sites, the testing and regulatory oversight are often so lax that you cannot be sure of the integrity of the games you play, or if there is any real recourse if something goes wrong. After all, your money has gone offshore.
Unfortunately, many online casino review resources have been purchased by the actual owners of these shady online gambling brands. Unsuspecting players in BC may search online for reputable operators offering Canadian Dollar accounts and payment methods, but end up reading recommendations that push them toward these Russian-owned brands. Beyond this issue, you may find brands on other "review" sites that promote USD-only brands, which would incur constant, costly exchange fees. This is unnecessary when there are several trusted CAD casinos sites available.
The second major risk to BC players at "grey" or "offshore casino sites" is the lack of responsible gambling tools. If you are with one of the shady brands described above, or even some of the few legit ones based in Central America or the Caribbean, most will not offer tools like deposit limits, loss limits, playing time limits, timeouts, or proper self-exclusion options. No one starts gambling online with an expectation to develop a problem. For those new to online casino or slots play, it's crucial to have these tools available to help prevent playing beyond your means. The brands we recommend all have their own variations of these tools.
When it comes to "grey market" online sportsbooks for players in BC, we only recommend brands that offer these important responsible gambling tools described above, in addition to all the things that make them leading online gambling platforms. Furthermore, all of the brands that we recommend for British Columbia, are now licensed to serve the legal Ontario market. While from BC, you would not play on the Ontario versions, it may give a level of comfort in knowing that a Canadian provincial gaming regulator has given their green-tick to the brands at hand.
Perhaps of interest, all the casinos that we recommend for British Columbia, also served Ontario from the "grey market" before they migrated their customers to the legal iGaming Ontario operations. These brands are Betway, ComeOn!, Sports Interaction, JackpotCity Casino, Spin Casino, Betsafe, Casumo, BetVictor and bet365. If BCLC ever comes to their senses along with the BC Government and looks to open their own market like Ontario, your account with these brands from BC could one day be migrated to a legal and regulated BC online gambling market.
Online sports betting started to be regulated in various US states from 2018. Some states also opted to allow for legal online casino play, to go with it. Since online casino play is legal in Ontatio, several US gaming brands decided to enter the legal Ontario market. (Sports betting is nice to be able to offer, but the casino vertical is what operators really want to offer). However, these brands generally do not serve the so-called "grey market", so they will not actually be available to interested players located in BC. Brands like FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, theScore Bet, BetRivers, Caesars and Bally Bet thus do not offer their casino or sportsbook products to British Columbia.
No. FanDuel Casino is not available in BC. FanDuel casino games are only available in Ontario within Canada.
Again, no. DraftKings Casino is not available in BC. DraftKings Casino and sportsbook is only available in Ontario within the Canadian market.
No. Despite huge national ad reach for their online casino games, BetMGM is not available in BC. They are only available in Ontario within the Canadian market.
Sorry, no. The BetRivers Casino ads you've seen on TV are for Ontario only. They do not serve British Columbia.
No. Again, one of the most prolific legal US sportsbook and casino brands is only available in Canada within the legal Ontario market.
Unfortunately not, theScore Bet only currently operates within the legal Ontario market with its casino and sportsbook products. Now owned by US gambling company, Penn Entertainment, theScore Bet does not operate within BC's so-called "grey market".
Negative. Bally Bet is actually a casino-only offering in Ontario, which is only open in that province. BallyBet does not operate in the "grey market".
Yes. Betway serves BC with its casino and sportsbook as part of the "rest of Canada" market segment from their international offshore igaming jurisdiction in Malta.
Yes. ComeOn! offers its casino and sportsbook to BC and players across Canada from their international online gaming jurisdiction of Malta.
Yes. Sports Interaction's casino and sportsbook serves BC along with the "rest of Canada" market (outside Ontario) from the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which is actually located in Quebec, from sovereign Mohawk lands.
Part of the company known as "Super Group" which also operates Betway and Spin Casino, JackpotCity Casino is indeed available in BC, as operated from Malta.
Yes. BC is part of the "rest of Canada" market for Betsafe, which serves it with its casino and sportsbook from their international igaming jurisdiction of Malta.
Yes. Casumo offers its online casino and sportsbook to British Columbians via their international gaming jurisdiction in Malta.
Yes. BetVictor serves the "rest of Canada" market segment, including British Columbia, with their casino and sportsbook from their international igaming jurisdiction of Gibraltar.
Yes. BC is part of the "rest of Canada" market for bet365, which serves BC from their international igaming jurisdiction of Gibraltar. A part of their rules, they do not market new player offers in Canada, but you can read our bet365 review, or simply visit the bet365 casino now.