In Part 1 of this series, we looked at what kind of setups might make for a legal Canadian home game in various scenarios, and we examined the tax implications for Canadians winning big bucks at home or abroad.
In Part 2, we’ll cover the state of online poker across the country, review the different licensing situations for live events in each province and territory, and give some tips for tourists that have a big score at the tables while visiting us here in the true north.
Playing online poker in Canada
In Canada the federal government has left the legality of gambling to provincial parliaments, declining to outlaw the game specifically, but also declining to explicitly enshrine online poker as a legal pastime. This means there are essentially no laws prohibiting online poker — but also no laws explicitly legalizing or regulating it in most provinces.
Because of this, players in most Canadian provinces and territories are in a sort of limbo where they are free to play on whatever globally-available sites they wish to, but often at the risk of playing in unregulated markets and on unregulated sites.
As the lone exception, in 2022 Ontario passed its own legislation making it explicitly legal to play online poker in the province, but under a much more strictly-regulated set of rules and protocols, including a ‘geo-fence’ that means Ontario players can only play against other Ontario players, much like you see in some US states like Pennsylvania or New Jersey among other examples.
Ringfenced poker in Ontario
There are pros and cons to Ontario’s approach, which some say Alberta is considering following soon: players complain that the tournament field sizes are much smaller within the geo-fenced area, and that consequently the multi-table-tournament ecosystem doesn’t have enough players available to hit those huge field sizes and guaranteed prize pools of days gone by.
And I feel their pain: my first really big score was on PokerStars in 2013 when I entered what they called 'The Biggest $22', a tournament that cost only $22 to enter — but by placing first, I claimed a purse of over $35,000! That kind of prize multiplier was only possible because there were over 14,000 people from all over the world playing in the tournament, and we will never see those kinds of numbers again in a geo-fenced region like Ontario.
On the other hand, cash players and small-field tournament lovers may find that the lower-stakes games are softer in the new arena, as professional grinders from low-cost-of-living areas around the world are not competing in the Ontario games, leaving room for more recreational local players who might not have the same edge. This can make for a winning combination of a higher ROI and lower variance for Ontario players in the smaller fields, even if the top tournament prizes aren't what they used to be.
And of course there’s an element of comfort in the notion that the operators that are offering games in Ontario (like PokerStars Ontario, Party Poker, etc) are held to a more rigorous standard of game security and financial compliance than the ‘grey market’ sites like ACR and others.
Live poker licences In Canada’s provinces
If online isn’t for you, don’t fret: while many of the provinces and territories share similar guidelines for gambling generally and for live poker play, there are small but important differences from region to region. Let’s compare the ages of majority for each, and their different licensing organizations for gambling activities:
Alberta
- Age of majority: 18 years
- Licensing organization(s): Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC).
British Columbia
- Age of majority: 19 years
- Licensing organization(s): British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) and The Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch of the Ministry of Finance.
Manitoba
- Age of majority: 18 years
- Licensing organization(s): Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation.
New Brunswick
- Age of majority: 19 years
- Licensing organization(s): The Gaming Control Branch of the Department of Public Safety.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- Age of majority: 19 years
- Licensing organization(s): The Consumer Affairs Division, Consumer and Commercial Affairs Branch of Service NL.
The Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut
- Age of majority: 19 years
- Licensing organization(s): Not applicable, these more sparsely-populated regions in the far north don’t have the critical mass of inhabitants required to support live commercial gaming venues, so they’ve been content to follow the existing loose federal guidelines instead of writing their own laws.
Nova Scotia
- Age of majority: 19 years
- Licensing organization(s): Alcohol, Gaming, Fuel and Tobacco Division of Service Nova Scotia.
Ontario
- Age of majority: 19 years
- Licensing organization(s): Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
Prince Edward Island
- Age of majority: 19 years
- Licensing organization(s): Prince Edward Island Lotteries Commission.
Quebec
- Age of majority: 18 years
- Licensing organization(s): Loto-Québec.
Saskatchewan
- Age of majority: 19 years
- Licensing organization(s): Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.
As we saw in Part 1, most of the Canadian poker laws feature restrictions or requirements on the people or organizations that are operating the games, as opposed to those playing in them. Because of this, unless you are planning to launch a new licensed cardroom in your area (in which case send me an invite!) most of the regulatory differences from province to province won’t affect your options or experiences as a live player.
Remember, though, that many of Canada’s brick-and-mortar cardrooms and casinos are on First Nation reservation land, and are subject to different laws than the rest of their respective provincial guidelines.
Some might have rules about betting limits or smoking or drinking or the use of recreational drugs that vary wildly from area to area — make sure to double check! Some things that are legal in most of Canada are not permitted on some reservations, and vice versa.
Tax implications for visitors playing poker
So you’ve decided to come visit our frozen tundra and see what all the ‘Canadian poker’ buzz is about - welcome and bienvenue! And, what’s that? You’ve already won a big tournament and taken home a nice purse!?! Congrats!
But now what?
Canada doesn’t tax gambling windfalls, so there will be no withholding on your winnings at the cage — you’ll be paid out exactly what you earned in the prize pool, no taxes or deductions. But let’s say you are from another country where they do tax gambling winnings: How should you proceed?
Well, ultimately, it’s up to you to report your gambling winnings to your home country’s revenue service (if your country requires it, like the USA does on a 1040 form) but Canada isn’t tracking your prizes at the point of redemption, so you shouldn’t have to worry about the Canadian government dropping the dime to your home country.
Some countries have tax treaties with Canada that allow for the sharing of taxation information. Be mindful of this when reporting your winnings, as these treaties may let you deduct taxes paid to the Canada Revenue Agency from your gross poker income before declaring it as taxable in your home country.
Check out Part 1 of this series below.
