Guide to Gambling Regulation and Licensing in Atlantic Canada 2025

Key Information about Gambling in the Province

Key laws in the field of gambling

New Brunswick – Gaming Control Act.

Prince Edward Island – Lotteries Commission Act.

Newfoundland & Labrador – there are no unique laws in the province; thus, players have to follow the federal acts and laws in Canada.

Regulating authorities

New Brunswick – Gaming Control Branch of the Department of Public Safety.

Prince Edward Island – Prince Edward Island Lotteries Commission.

Newfoundland & Labrador – Consumer Affairs Division, Consumer and Commercial Affairs Branch of Service NL.

Minimum age of the players

19.

Available types of gambling

Lotteries, VLTs and online gambling by Atlantic Lotteries, online casinos and betting websites from the foreign companies, traditional casinos (except Newfoundland & Labrador), racing betting, bingo halls, charitable events, bingo and lotteries.

Taxation rules

Only professional players (e.g. participants of professional poker tournaments) have to pay taxes on the prizes and winnings in the field of gambling. If you are a non-professional player, you don’t have to pay any taxes.

Help and Support Services for Players

• In case of gambling becomes an addiction or a serious problem:
• Atlantic Lottery webside contains useful resources for the players.
• Self-Exclusion Program at Atlantic Lottery.
• One can also use the Canadian Consumer Handbook in order to get detailed information about the protection of the consumers (and players) in Canada.

Gambling Market in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada

There are high chances that you are aware of the fact that the number of traditional casinos and gambling houses is really limited. One can also use a couple of betting houses and bingo halls. At the same time, New Brunswick offers a couple of casinos (the most famous of them are the New Brunswick Casino and Hotel in Moncton as well as the Grey Rock Entertainment Center in Madawaska), while PEI has a single casino for the entire province (Red Shores Casino in Charlottetown). Newfoundland & Labrador offers no casinos at all because they are simply prohibited by the current legislation.

It’s worth noting that the Atlantic provinces of Canada have their own online gambling website called Atlantic Lottery and managed by the Atlantic lottery corporation. Here, one can find such interesting and traditional games as Monopoly, Crossword Spin, Lucky 7, ProLine. However, that’s not too much to interest a real gamer, who knows the wide range of international games, isn’t it?

Online Gambling with No Limits

It’s worth noting that people in Atlantic Canada have access to all modern apps and developments in the field of global gambling. They can play roulette , blackjack , baccarat , slot machines and many other things offered on many professionally made websites all around the world. This is the world of international gambling that has no national borders and becomes more and more popular every single day, constantly offering something new and interesting.

Advantages of International Online Gambling

• The vast range of games. Online casinos are not limited to the requirements of the Canadian laws (e.g. where single event betting is prohibited) and the size of the premises. As a result, one is able to find all possible options and even something, which you haven’ seen before. The best casinos all around the world constantly update their pool of games, adding something truly unique and entertaining. There are no limits, thus you will never get bored by the choice of the games.
• Access from virtually any place in the world . You will never depend on the weather or transportation. Furthermore, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to buy tickets and food. You can stay at home or any other comfortable place, while the online casino will always be with you.
• 247 access . Traditional casinos have their own working schedules, and it’s going to be a bit hard to find a casino in Canada that works 24/7. Online casinos are open every single day and night, offering you unlimited convenience.
• You are able to play whenever you really want that. Sometimes, traditional casinos (it usually happens on the weekend) are full of people, thus making it impossible to choose your favorite game and enjoy the atmosphere of the venue. Online casinos have already solved this issue. Even though several portals can easily attract several thousand people during peak hours, you will always have access to the game of your choice.
• Convenient payment options and bets . One can use the most convenient payment options in order to deposit and withdraw their money. In particular, one can send money with a direct transfer, even though, some sellers report that banks prefer to block such transactions. There’s no information about the general policy of the banks; however, one needs to be aware of this practice even if it’s applied in the rarest cases. The most convenient option is to use such electronic wallets as PayPal , Netteller and Skrill . More information about the payment methods in the online casinos can be found in the article about the gambling in Canada.
• Enormous winnings and prize funds . It’s worth noting that bets may have virtually any size: from the tiniest to the biggest ones. One can even play for free (no doubt, you won’t be able to get real prizes).
• Bonuses . The best online casinos are always ready to offer attractive bonuses for their players, which is pretty rare in the case with the traditional casinos. In the majority of cases, there are welcome bonuses for new players, as well as loyalty bonuses for old ones.

Aleksa Radulovic

Content Specialist

International online gambling offers unmatched convenience and variety. I love the 24/7 access, the vast selection of games, and the flexibility to play from anywhere. Bonuses and convenient payment options make the experience even better.

The Legal Status

There’s no need to worry about the consequences of participating in online gambling. People in Canada bear no responsibility for playing at foreign online casinos. At the same time, even though there were several attempts to limit access to the people in Canada to the services of foreign online gambling websites, people are still able to use it. There are many examples showing the legal status of such gambling in Canada. We discussed this topic in details in our article about gambling in Canada .

Choose Only the Best and the Most Reliable Casinos

The best casinos are not those offering enormous bonuses and prizes, and not those with the biggest array of games. First of all, one needs to pay attention to the security level and the reputation of the casino. While choosing the casino, one needs to be sure that the atmosphere will be fair. This is more than important in case of an online casino because you won’t be able to see the manager of the website or the portal. At the same time, you need to be sure that your money won’t disappear from the account of the casino immediately after the deposit.

Our experts created the list of the best online casinos offered in the Atlantic provinces of Canada. This rating was based on the complex evaluation of casinos, which included the wide range of parameters and indicators: from the level of reliability to the number of games (their variety and even the quality of graphics).

However, we always recommend the audience to check all the parameters of the casino on their own before joining the game. Irrespectively to the tips offered on the web, one can only rely on their own information and feelings.

How to Choose a Reliable Casino?

In order to facilitate the process, we prepared a special guide that will show you the key parameters and indicators of the most reliable venues, which have to be taken into account during the process of casino choosing. In case if you want to get more information about the gambling in the world, we kindly recommend you getting familiar with our detailed reviews about the current state of gambling in the world .

Please note the following : despite the fact that the Atlantic Lottery is an official website of the province, we kindly recommend you reading their T&C and Privacy Policy in order to understand all the pitfalls.

Traditional Gambling in Atlantic Provinces

New Brunswick

• Casino New Brunswick: 21 Casino Dr, Moncton, NB E1G 0R7, Canada.
• Grey Rock Casino: 100 Chief Joanna Blvd, Madawaska Malisset First Nation, Edmundston, NB E7C 0C1.
• CC’S Entertainment Center: 34 Big Cove Road, Rexton, New-Brunswick.
• Eagle’s Nest Gaming Palace: 17 Muwin Lane Woodstock First Nation, NB E7M 0B1.
• St. Mary’s Entertainment Centre (SMEC): 185 Gabriel Dr., Fredericton, New Brunswick.
• Saint John Exhibition Park Bingo: 37 McAllister Drive, Saint John, NB, E2L 3Y2.
• Horse Racing New Brunswick: 37 McAllister Drive, Saint John, New Brunswick, E2L 3X8.

Newfoundland & Labrador

• St. John’s Racing and Entertainment Center: Lakeview Drive Gould, Newfoundland and Labrador Canada, A1S 1G7.
• Cowan Plaza Bingo: 644 Topsail Road, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Prince Edward Island

• Red Shores Racetrack & Casino: 58 Kensington Road Charlottetown, PE, C1A 9S8.
• Red Shores at Summerside: 55 Greenwood Drive (attached to Credit Union Place), Summerside, PE, C1N 6E4.
• Bingo World: 17 St. Pius X Avenue, Charlottetown / 340 Notre Dame Street, Summerside / 1 College Street, Alberton.

Some Information about the Atlantic Provinces of Canada

• The largest city on the region: Halifax (the capital of Nova Scotia) with the population of around 400 thousand people; the second one is Saint John’s (the capital of Newfoundland & Labrador) with the population of around 200 thousand people.
• The overall population of the Atlantic provinces in Canada is 2,333,322 people (according to the official stats published in 2016). The main language is English (even though one-third of citizens of New Brunswick use French as their main language).
• Prince Edward Island is the least inhabited province (we are talking only about provinces and not the territories of Canada) and has the smallest size among all other regions of Canada (5,660 square kilometers or less than 0.1% of the territory of Canada). At the same time, it has the highest density of people living here.
• Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are the only provinces, which were annexed to Canada after the creation of the Confederation in 1867. Prince Edward Island was annexed in 1873, while Newfoundland & Labrador just in 1949 after carrying out two referendums in 1948 (until that moment, Newfoundland & Labrador was an independent dominion of Great Britain).
• In addition to Atlantic Canada, there are also the so-called Maritime provinces, i.e. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. They have close historical ties (they were considered as a whole before the moment, when Newfoundland & Labrador was annexed to Canada).
• The climate in the province: relatively warm and stable climate (in comparison with other regions of Canada). The average daily temperature stays in the range from 14 to 25°C in summer, and from -10 to 0°C in winter.
• National parks in Canada: Fundy National Park, Kouchibouguac National Park (New Brunswick), Gros Morne National Park, Terra Nova National Park, Torngat Mountains National Park, Akami-Uapishkᵁ-KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve (Newfoundland & Labrador), Prince Edward Island National Park (PEI).
• Touristic routes and useful information for travelers: New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island.

About the Author

Content Specialist Aleksa Radulovic

Aleksa Radulovic is an expert in online casinos and the Editor for all English-speaking regions at Citeulike. With years of experience in the gaming industry, Aleksa helps players find the best online casinos and bonus offers. He’s passionate about sharing tips and insights to make online gambling enjoyable and easy to understand. A fan of strategy-based games, Aleksa enjoys exploring both traditional and modern casino games, always staying on top of the latest trends in the industry.