Canadian gambling advertising compliance, province by province
Canada has no national gambling licence. Each province decides who may offer online gambling and how it may be advertised, so a Canadian campaign is a set of provincial campaigns — each with its own registration requirement, age floor and creative rules.
Book a Strategy CallHow the Canadian market actually works
Ontario is the only open, competitive market today. Private operators sign a commercial agreement with iGaming Ontario and are registered by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, and every advertisement has to follow the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming — which ban public inducement messaging and athlete endorsements outright.
Alberta is building the second competitive market under the iGaming Alberta Act, with the Alberta iGaming Corporation working alongside AGLC. Every other province keeps a provincial monopoly, where the only legal online offering is the province's own platform, so private operator media cannot run there.
Provincial regulators we plan against
Each page sets out the registration we require, the age floor and how display, video and outdoor are handled in that province.
- AGCO· 19+
Ontario, Canada
Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, with iGaming Ontario
Ontario is the only open, competitive online gambling market in Canada. Private operators sign an agreement with iGaming Ontario and are registered by the AGCO, and every advertisement must follow the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming, which are stricter on inducements and athlete endorsements than most European codes.
AGCO advertising rules - AGLC· 18+
Alberta, Canada
Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, with the Alberta iGaming Corporation
Alberta is opening the second competitive online gambling market in Canada. The iGaming Alberta Act creates the Alberta iGaming Corporation alongside AGLC oversight, so private operators will be able to run licensed casino and sportsbook media in the province rather than only through Play Alberta.
AGLC advertising rules
Provinces with a provincial monopoly
In these provinces the only legal online gambling offering is the province's own platform, so we do not run private operator media there.
British Columbia
BCLC runs PlayNow as the sole legal online offering; no private operator media.
Quebec
Loto-Québec runs Espacejeux; private online gambling advertising is not permitted.
Manitoba
Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries operates PlayNow under agreement with BCLC.
Saskatchewan
PlayNow Saskatchewan is run with SIGA and the provincial authority.
Atlantic provinces
Atlantic Lottery Corporation is the only legal online operator across NB, NS, PE and NL.
What we apply on every Canadian campaign
- Province-level geo-fencing: media only runs in provinces where the operator is registered, never nationally.
- 19+ audience floors in Ontario and 18+ in Alberta, applied in the buying platform and with our audience partners.
- No bonus, credit, free-play or other inducement messaging in general-audience placements, in line with the AGCO Registrar's Standards.
- No active or retired athlete endorsements, and no creative that presents gambling as a route to income or social status.
- Provincial responsible-gambling resources in every creative variant — ConnexOntario for Ontario campaigns.
- Creative approval trails kept per province, so the operator can hand advertising logs to its regulator on request.
Ontario's inducement ban applies to all general-audience media, including outdoor and connected TV. Bonus and free-play messaging is only permitted in direct communications to a player who has consented to receive it.
Related reading
This page summarises public regulator guidance for planning purposes and is not legal advice. Confirm the current rules with your licensing counsel and each provincial regulator before launch.