Legal Gambling Age In Ontario

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Growing up in Quebec, Canada, for example, I learned early on that one must be 18 to be considered of legal gambling age. When I visited British Columbia at that age, I was surprised when Chances Casino in Prince Rupert told me to get out after checking my ID. Turns out, you must be 19 to gamble in BC. Every country in the world has regulations concerning maturity limits for gambling. The casino age Ontario depends on the title you’re looking at. For instance, to enjoy lottery games like Bingo and Keno, you need to be at least 18. Gambling Law in Ontario. Despite all of the drawbacks with the government controlled sports betting lottery, Canada is considered one of the more relaxed countries towards gambling and sports betting. All gambling forms are legally regulated with the 1992 Gaming Control Act. With the Act, a way was made open for the first ever land-based casino. Minimum Age to Gamble in United States of America Below you will find the minimum legal age to gamble in various locations around the U.S., Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. In the 50 American states, some times you'll see a variance, this usually is due to Indian casinos having different age requirements in their casinos than state regulated.

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One thing that I’ve always found interesting in the gambling world is the legal gambling age in different countries. To take it a step further, some parts of a country may have different legal ages, as gambling laws need to be overseen on a state level. In Canada, gambling laws are governed on a provincial or territorial level.

As legalized gambling increases worldwide, especially in North America, there’s plenty of information that needs to be digested before hitting those casinos, sportsbooks, slots, or online versions of all three. The most important of which, that we’ll cover in the following post, is the legal gambling age in Canada.

What Is the Legal Gambling Age in Canada?

For the most part, the legal gambling age in Canada is 19 years old. However, like many other countries across the globe, it varies geographically. 19 is not the uniform legal gambling age across the board.

As noted, gambling laws in Canada are governed on a provincial level, so the legal gambling age in Canada can differ from province to province or in Canada’s case, province to territory.

The gambling age in Canada’s most popular cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, and of course, the country’s capital city of Ottawa, is 19. While this is the case, Quebec, Manitoba, and Alberta have chosen to implement their legal gambling age as one year younger at 18.

Being of age permits Canadian residents to do the following activities: entering casinos, playing a provincial lottery, buying scratch tickets, or gambling online.

The full breakdown for the legal gambling age in Canada throughout all provinces and territories can be found below.

Province/Territory Major Cities Legal Gambling Age

Ontario

  • Toronto, Ottawa, London
  • 19

Quebec

  • Montreal, Quebec City, Laval
  • 18

Newfoundland

  • John’s, Corner Brook
  • 19

Nova Scotia

  • Halifax, Sydney
  • 19

Prince Edward Island

  • Charlottetown, Summerside
  • 19

New Brunswick

  • Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton
  • 19

Manitoba

  • Winnipeg, Brandon
  • 18

Saskatchewan

  • Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert
  • 19

Alberta

  • Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer
  • 18

British Columbia

  • Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey
  • 19

Yukon

Legal gambling age in ontario
  • Whitehorse
  • 19

Northwest Territories

  • Yellowknife
  • 19

Nunavut

  • Iqaluit
  • 19

There you have it. The gambling age for each of Canada’s 10 provinces and three territories. If you’re planning to do some gambling in Canada, make sure to ensure you are of legal age. And as always, make sure to have valid government-issued ID on you, just in case!

The Best Casino Games for First-Time Gamblers

While most beginning Canadian gamblers utilize low-cost games such as slots and low-minimum card games, the experienced Canadian gambler often enjoys higher stakes blackjack and roulette, although the latter doesn’t take much strategy into account.

Of course, there’s also online gambling in Canada as well, whether it’s at an online casino or sportsbook.

Gambling online in Canada is certainly the most convenient way to go, although gambling laws in Canada are still strict in some areas; it can vary from province to province.

Directly Correlated to Legal Drinking Age

What’s also of note here is the direct correlation between the legal gambling age in Canada and the legal drinking age in the respective provinces. The gambling and drinking ages are identical from province to province, which govern their own set of rules in these two departments.

That said, the drinking age of 18 in Quebec, Manitoba, and Alberta has come under some scrutiny, given the research down on alcohol overconsumption and the effects it can have on young adults of just 18 years of age. There’s also been research conducted on the effects of alcohol in the 19 to 24 age group as well.

Of course, the United States’ legal drinking age of 21 falls into this area, but that set age has its critics, too.

Nonetheless, it doesn’t appear that a change in the legal gambling and drinking ages in Canada are in any danger of changing at this point in time. But as research continues, amending the legal age to a few years older certainly cannot be ruled out.

The simple reason for the small discrepancy in the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec isn’t anything more than that the rules are governed on a provincial basis, although the legal ages have indeed changed in the past.

For example, the province of Ontario lowered its drinking age from 21 to 18 in 1971, but the age was raised by one year to 19 in 1979. The main reason for that specific change was because Ontario did not want high school-aged individuals to be able to legally consume alcohol.

In the country as a whole, you are considered an adult at the age of 18, which is why the three aforementioned provinces have decided to roll with a legal drinking age in line with the year of adulthood.

Conclusion

Legal gambling age in ontario

One more thing to note is that the legal gambling age does not differ for online or in-person gambling. So, gamblers from Canada who meet their local requirements are permitted to gamble online as well.

If you’re ready to start gambling online from your province or territory, but you aren’t sure if it’s legal, check out our page on Canada gambling laws. Learn about what’s allowed and what isn’t by visiting the page, whether it’s casino gambling or betting on sports.

Good luck with your bets and remember to gamble responsibly!

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