Gambling Regulation and Licensing in Province of Manitoba (Canada) 2024

Key Information about Gambling in the Province

Available casinos: both traditional (a limited number) and online casinos are available in the province.

Key laws in the field of gambling:

• The Liquor, Gaming, and Cannabis Control Act.
• The Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation Act.

Regulating authority: Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba.

Minimum age of the players: 18.

Key types of the classic gambling in the province:

• Gambling halls (casinos) controlled by the state authorities and non-commercial charity organizations.
• Official lotteries carried out by the state-owned MLLC and WCLC.
• Gambling events carried our within the frames of social and charity events.
• Video Terminal Lotteries (VLT) managed and operated by MLLC.

The most popular types of gambling among locals and residents: according to the official information the most popular type of gambling is the lottery. At the same time, people of this province can be easily called real fans of online gambling.

System of taxation for the lottery prizes and winnings: all prizes and winnings are free from taxes (unless you are a professional gambler).

Help and Support Services for Players

• Here you can find the relevant contact information of the regulating authority in order to file a complaint and get additional information.
• Manitoba Gambling Helpline: 1-800-463-1554 (in case if you feel that the game becomes a real problem or a serious illness).
• Voluntary Self-Exclusion Program (VSE): this shall be used in case if you want to protect yourself or any other person from gambling (shall be used only for the traditional casinos in the province of Manitoba and PlayNow.com service).
• Consumer Protection Office: here you can file a complaint and protect your consumer’s rights. Full address: 302-258 Portage Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 0B6; Telephone (Winnipeg and area): 204-945-3800 Toll-free within Manitoba: 1-800-782-0067; Email: consumers@gov.mb.ca.
• Websites with detailed and useful information, which can be used to help gamblers in trouble: GameSense Manitoba, Problem Gambling from Addictions Foundation of Manitoba.

Manitoba Laws in the Field of Gambling

The Liquor, Gaming, and Cannabis Control Act – as we can see from the name of this law, it regulates not only the field of gambling but the field of alcohol and cannabis distribution. The most important part for the fans of gambling is about the control of the game.

What can be found in the provisions of this law: allowed types of gambling in the province; the list of people and entities allowed to participate in the gambling process; detailed requirements for the casinos and other licensees; full list of responsibilities; ways of dispute settlement and types of responsibility and charges for violations.

Please note the following: on the federal level, the field of gambling is regulated and governed by the Criminal Code of Canada; this document defines the rules and the conditions of operation all around the country (one can find more detailed information about the federal gambling rules in our guide).

The Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation Act

in case if you just want to play a lottery in offline, it’s highly recommended to read the provisions of the mentioned law. This law defines all the rules and principles of lotteries carried out by the Manitoba, as well as the rules of ticket sales using the wide network of retailers. MLLC is an official operator of all the lotteries in the province that controls the process of the game together with the Western Canada Lottery Corporation (WCLC). Once again, we are interested only in Section 4 called “Lottery Operations”.

Order-in-Council No. 110/2014

this law defines the process of special games licensing performed by local councils and communities of indigenous people.

Consumer Protection Act

it’s worth noting that every casino is considered a services provider, thus it has to comply with the regulations in the field of consumer rights protection.

Please note the following: one can also use the Canadian Consumer Handbook in order to get detailed information about the protection of the consumers in Canada.

Key Facts about History of Gambling in the Province

1982

local authorities founded the Manitoba Lotteries Foundation (MLF) in order to become the only one seller and distributor of the lottery tickets in the province.

1984

opaskwayak Cree Nation managed to enter into the first agreement between the indigenous people and the province.

1990

opaskwayak Cree Nation enters into an agreement with the Commission on the gambling and games of fortune in order to get exclusive rights to issue licenses for the social and charitable events in the field of gambling carried out within the territory of the reservation.

1993

MLF becomes the Crown Corporation and changes its name to the Manitoba Lotteries Corporation (MLC). Manitoba launched two entertainment and gambling centers: Club Regent and McPhillips Street Station both managed by the MLC.

2002

The first casino called Aseneskak was successfully opened in the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.

2009

MLLC and First Nations entered into 32 agreements on the usage of the VLT in reservations controlled by the commissions created by the First Nations.

2013

Manitoba launches the PlayNow online casino managed by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation in partnership with the MLLC.

2018

The government of Manitoba announced a temporary ban for the extension of the field of gambling activity in the province.

Regulating Authority

Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba is the unified regulating authority responsible for the regulation and licensing of all activities in the field of gambling; furthermore, they perform all the registration activities for the suppliers of services and hardware in the field of gambling and games of fortune. It’s worth noting that special licenses can be issued by the First Nations and local council in accordance with the Order-in-Council No. 110/2014.

Gambling in Manitoba: List of the Offers Available for Players in the Province

There are high chances that you have already heard about the local casino called PlayNow. In fact, it’s an official website controlled by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation in partnership with the MLLC. This partnership was created only in 2012. In fact, already in January 2013, PlayNow.com was successfully launched in Manitoba. One can use this website to enjoy the vast choice of traditional casino games, gambling, lotteries, betting, poker, and even bingo. There’s a special website created in the field of betting and called SportSelect. This website is operated and controlled by the WCLC.

At the same time, there are no other official portals working in accordance with the current legislation of Canada. It’s worth noting that the local traditional casinos (as well as the field of gambling itself) are not really developed in the province (you will find more information about traditional casinos below). As a result, one is limited by the choice of the games offered by the official authorities and institutions. It’s not a real surprise, especially keeping the current approach of the local authorities for casinos and gambling in general.

Here’s an official quote:

“I want people to get jobs, I want people to have opportunities to grow and learn and work together and help each other, and the gambling industry isn’t going to do that.”

Brian Pallister, premier of Manitoba (Source: «Faltering casino in The Pas cannot move to Winnipeg, premier says», CBC News).

As you can see, this quote is a bit controversial from the point of view of the indigenous people, who consider gambling an integral part of their culture and economy.

Online Gambling Offered by Foreign Operators and Companies

At the same time, real fans of gambling in Manitoba have no real reasons to be worried: even though the field of local gambling is seriously limited and despite the official statements by the local authorities, you are still able to find hundreds of different options to enjoy the process of gambling. In order to make it, you can access one of the vast majority of special gambling websites managed by foreign companies and entities. The majority of the websites are adjusted for the local players. As a result, one can enjoy astonishing and interesting games with huge and virtually unlimited prizes and winnings.

Operators of the mentioned casinos are registered in different countries. As a result, they act on the basis of licenses and laws implemented and issued in different jurisdictions (in fact, they are always trying to get a license in a small European country, e.g. Malta). Furthermore, they may act on the basis of a license issued by Kahnawake.

One needs to remember that the operators of such websites are also registered on the territory of different countries (they prefer Malta and other offshore and European territories all around the world). At the same time, local authorities issuing the license may demand the company to create an office or a branch on their territory, as well as to locate all the equipment there (for example, Kahnawake allow licensees to locate all their equipment only in their Mohawk Internet Technologies data center).

One needs to understand that such websites and portals are totally legal in Canada, and one can easily access them to enjoy the process of gambling. We have already told the audience about the legal status of foreign casinos in Canada in one of our recent publications about the gambling in Canada. Anyway, you need to understand that playing in foreign casinos is not a crime and there are no penalties for doing that.

Making the right choice: If you need some help in the process of casino choosing, you can easily use our detailed rating of the most reliable gambling portals and casinos offering the vast range of games and applications, while following the rules and offering the fair gaming atmosphere.

Are they really trustworthy?

Yes, sure. At the same time, one needs to choose only the most reliable companies acting in accordance with the laws and principles of fair gambling. How to choose a reliable one? The best option is to check all these parameters in the conditions of a real game. However, before playing a game, one needs to check the basic information about the chosen website or an online casino. We have already discussed this interesting topic in our short guide that shows the audience how to check operators working in the field of online gambling. We have also discussed the most important parameters of online casinos in our vast report about the field of gambling in the world.

Classic casinos

This type of gambling is represented by two different categories:

• In one hand, one can visit one of the traditional gambling centers and casinos.
• On the other hand, you can easily participate in the wide range of special events, including traditional lotteries, bingo, poker tournaments, as well as Monte Carlo and Sports Draft and Video Terminal Lotteries (VLT) located in the different regions all around the province.

At the same time, both MLLC and WCLC perform official lotteries on a permanent basis. Tickets for such lotteries can be purchased from one of the official retailers.

One needs to know that the territory of Manitoba is conditionally divided into seven different markets:

• There are three casino regions: Winnipeg, Sand Hill and Aseneska (in fact, these are markets with traditional casinos).
• There are four additional regions without casinos: South West, Parkland, Interlake and North (in fact, they provide no access to the traditional casinos).

However, this division is more than conditional, and the residents of the last four regions have no need to worry (in short, this division was made in order to define the most successful gambling areas in the region). In other words, each and every citizen of Manitoba has direct access to traditional casinos and gambling houses.

Talking about the casinos in Manitoba, it’s worth noting that there are six of them (four of them are located in Winnipeg):

• Club Regent Casino 1425 Regent Avenue West Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R2C 3B2.
• McPhillips Station Casino 484 McPhillips Street Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R2X 2H2.
• Shark Gaming Centre 233 Hargrave Street, Winnipeg (2nd Floor Cityplace).
• South Beach Casino and Resort 1 Ocean Drive, Scanterbury, Manitoba, Canada, RDE 1WO.
• Sand Hills Casino 21-9-14 Hi-way #5 Carberry, MB R0K 0H0.
• Aseneskak Casino Highway 10, Opaskwayak, MB R0B 2J0 (Opaskwayak Cree Nation in the Northern Region of Manitoba about 630 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg and about 40 kilometers from the border of Saskatchewan).

How and Where to Check License

• Licenses of the casinos. As you already know, the licenses in Manitoba can be issued only for charitable and social projects and companies working in one of the most important fields in order to improve the level of living. Two of six casinos (Club Regent Casino and McPhillips Station Casino) are managed by the MLLC. This is a state corporation that doesn’t really need to get a license. Shark Gaming Centre is operated by the True North Sports & Entertainment. Three other casinos (South Beach Casino and Resort, Sand Hills Casino, Aseneskak Casino) are managed by the local communities of indigenous people.

• Licenses in the field of games of fortune. As we mentioned before, social and charitable projects are able to get a one-time license in order to perform special event in the field of gambling. Furthermore, they are able to make a series of such games and events (bingo and lottery). In addition, all the retailers offering tickets to the players and the owners of the venues with VLTs are obliged to get a license (it’s worth noting that only venues, which control the consumption of alcohol drinks are allowed to install VLTs and get such a license). Please note the following: A VLT license allows the owner of the venue to install the machines. At the same time, the VLT machines must be owned and operated only by the MLLC.

• Licenses for developers and service suppliers. All the employees of Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries and all casinos in the province, as well as the suppliers of services and equipment, are obliged to get an LGCA license.

Please note the following: All the licenses mentioned above are issued by the LGCA. At the same time, both the First Nations and local councils are allowed to issue licenses for the charitable and social project in accordance with the Order-in-Council No. 110/2014. Furthermore, they are allowed to issue licenses for Raffles with the maximum prize of not more than $3,000 for each of the draws.

There’s no special website intended to check the validity of the license in Manitoba. As a result, one needs to contact the LGCA in order to check the status of the license. However, there’s no real need to make it because the number of casinos is really limited. One can use the map of official retailers in order to purchase lottery tickets issued by the MLLC.

Deposits and Payouts in Online Casinos

Online casinos in Manitoba offer the very same transaction processing rules as all other venues in Canada.

Key Facts about the Province

• Capital: Winnipeg (it’s the largest city in the province).
• The date of annexation to Canada: July 20, 1871.
• Population: around 1,5 million citizens. Recently, the population is sharply increasing as a result of a huge flow of immigrants.
• Climate: in general, the province has a cold climate on its territory. Winnipeg is considered one of the oldest cities in the world. One of the key reasons for that is strong winds, which make the entire weather even more severe and hard to bear. At the same time, this place is one of the sunniest in Canada.
• Manitoba has more than 100 thousand lakes. The largest lakes are Winnipeg and Manitoba. As you can see, they gave the names to the neighboring cities.
• Places to visit in Manitoba: Churchill city: this is a place, where you can see polar bears walking around the streets. Churchill is called the Polar Bear Capital of the World, and it’s located in the northern part of Manitoba. Forks Skating Rink: this is the largest natural skating rink in the world (the overall length is around 8.5 km). Folklorama this is the annual festival carried out in Winnipeg.
• More information about the most interesting places in Manitoba as well as about the most popular routes can be found at TravelManitoba.com. It’s an official website for the travelers. If you prefer using modern gadgets, you are able to download one of the travel apps for guests of Manitoba.

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