| Updated: October 31, 2025Sports betting is a popular pastime in Canada. Many online sportsbooks accept Canadian bettors and offer lines on a wide range of sports and leagues. Although sports betting is legal in Canada, the country’s legal framework is quite complex because each Canadian province is allowed to determine when and how to regulate sports betting.
On August 27, 2021, the federal ban on single-game sports betting in Canada was lifted, allowing locally licensed operators to offer not only parlays but also single-game betting. The loss of sports-betting revenue encouraged lawmakers to make this decision. Operators must obtain a license from the local regulator to provide their services within the respective province.
Best Sports Betting Sites in Canada
Until August 2021, bookmakers were allowed to offer only parlay bets. Due to the limited selection of betting options, many Canadian bettors turned to online sportsbooks that operated overseas. However, sports fans who attempted to wager at unregulated online sportsbooks were not prosecuted or penalized.
After the ban on single-game betting was lifted, many Canadian bettors began to prefer wagering at sportsbooks licensed in their province. If you reside in Canada and are looking for a reputable betting site, check our list of the best online sportsbooks that accept Canadian bettors.
Best Sports Betting Bonuses in Canada
Most sports betting sites targeting the Canadian market offer promotions to attract new bettors and keep existing ones. The sports betting industry is highly competitive, and bookmakers often rely on bonuses to stand out. However, sports fans should remember that sports betting bonuses come with specific terms that must not be overlooked. In this section, we briefly discuss the bonuses available to Canadian bettors.
Match Deposit Bonus Free Bets Risk-Free Bets Acca Insurance CashbackMatch Deposit Bonus
When you register with a betting platform, you will often be offered a Welcome Bonus. To claim this sign-up promotion, you must make a qualifying deposit. The Welcome Bonus matches your first deposit by a specific percentage, up to a predetermined maximum.
Bettors who accept a Welcome Bonus should know that they must wager their deposit and/or bonus funds a certain number of times before they can withdraw any winnings. Most Canadian sportsbooks attach wagering requirements of 5x to 15x the bonus amount. Remember that you may also have to place your bets at minimum odds specified by the bookmaker.
Free Bets
Many betting sites that welcome Canadian bettors offer a free bet bonus. This promotion is available to newcomers who open a real-money account and verify their identity. The bonus grants a small amount of money you can use to place a wager. Keep in mind that you may have to use the entire free bet at once on a specific event, and some sportsbooks impose minimum-odds requirements. If your wager wins, you can collect the profits but not the original stake.
Risk-Free Bets
Risk-free bets are available to both new registrants and existing bettors. Unlike free bets, a risk-free bet requires you to place a real-money wager. If the bet loses, the sportsbook refunds your stake as free bets that you can use on additional wagers. However, those subsequent wagers must win before the free bets convert to cash. To qualify, you usually need to place your initial wager at minimum odds specified by the operator.
Acca Insurance
Accumulator bets combine several selections into one wager. To secure a payout, every prediction must be correct. Even if one selection settles as a loss, you lose your stake unless you take advantage of an acca insurance promotion. This bonus returns your stake as free bets if a single leg loses. A qualifying acca typically needs to contain at least four or five picks.
Cashback
Cashback promotions, also called money-back offers, are popular among bettors. These incentives allow sports fans to recoup a portion of their losses. The refund may be credited as cash or free bets. Many online sportsbooks provide cashback bonuses on a regular basis, each with its own minimum and maximum limits.
Betting Regulation in Canada
Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories. Sports betting has been legal in Canada since 1985, but for decades bettors could only place parlay wagers. Single-game betting remained prohibited until August 2021, when the C-218 bill was signed into law. The new legislation allows Canadian bettors to place single-game bets – a major milestone for the nation’s sports betting industry.
Single Game Betting vs. Parlays Province-by-Province Overview of Sports Betting RegulationsSingle Game Betting vs. Parlays
If you are new to sports betting, you might not fully understand the difference between single-game betting and parlays. Single-game bets let bettors wager on the outcome of a single contest or on events within that contest. In addition, single-game wagering supports various bet types, the most popular being moneyline bets, point spread bets, totals, prop bets, and futures.
Parlay bets, also called accumulators, combine multiple selections into one wager and can produce generous payouts. However, every leg must win for the parlay to pay out; if even one selection loses, you forfeit your stake.
Single-game betting increases your chances of success and makes bankroll management easier. Canada is following in the footsteps of the United States by relaxing its laws and allowing each province to decide how to regulate its betting market. Each province must also appoint the authority that will oversee the industry.
Province-by-Province Overview of Sports Betting Regulations
At the time of writing, sports fans in Ontario can place bets at over 20 locally regulated betting sites, including DraftKings, FanDuel Ontario, bet365 Ontario, and others. The body that oversees gambling in the province is iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
British Columbia offers legal online and retail sports betting. In August 2021, the province launched single-game wagering on PlayNow.com. Just two months later, PlayNow had processed more than $25 million in single-game bets. The BC Lottery Corporation regulates all gambling activities, including sports betting.
Manitoba also introduced single-game betting shortly after the federal ban was lifted. Bettors can place single-game wagers through PlayNow.com, currently the only site licensed by the local regulator, the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation. Both online and in-person betting are permitted in Manitoba.
Sports fans in Quebec can place single-game wagers online and at retail locations via Loto-Quebec’s sports betting platform, Mise-o-jeu. The platform even allows users to wager on live events.
Within Quebec lies the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake, a First Nations reserve that operates under its own regulatory body. The Kahnawake Gaming Commission ensures that all gambling conducted on its territory is fair and responsible, and many online sportsbooks hold a license from this commission.
In 2016, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) announced that operators licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission could no longer accept bets from U.S. customers.
Other Canadian provinces that currently offer online single-game betting include Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan.
Remember that online sports betting is not yet available in every Canadian province. The Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon allow bettors to wager on single events only through Sports Select. Bettors must visit participating retail outlets and convenience stores to place their wagers. The Western Canada Lottery Corporation oversees Sport Select.