Legal Betting FAQ: Manitoba online casino and land-based gambling laws in 2020.
Manitoba is one of Canada’s most unique provinces. The central most among them, its landscape is the most diverse in the country, stretching from its southern border with the US, where the bustling capital city plays host to NHL’s Winnipeg Jets and Valour FC, to its northern oceanic coastline, where the town of Churchill has rightfully earned the nickname, ‘Polar Bear Capital of the World’.
Due to its diversity in both climate and landscape, natural resources are among Manitoba’s most important domestic products. From forestry to mining, to drilling for oil, the land of the Glorious and Free is brimming with hard workers who take the enjoyment of their pastime activities seriously. One such pastime popular in the Keystone Province is gambling, but it’s not so readily available as it is in some other parts of Canada.
Manitoba is home to an assortment of casinos and gaming centres, but most of them are located in the southern portion along Highway 1. The local government licenses a traditional lottery and sports lottery, and also regulates online casino gaming. This document’s purpose is to determine which forms of land-based and online gambling are legal, and which are illegal.
Manitoba Online Casino and Land-Based Gambling Laws
This section is presented in Q&A style to provide a quick reference guide to the gambling laws of Manitoba, both online and on land. All of the information provided is based on factual evidence and current as of February 2020.
What forms of gambling are legal in Manitoba?
– Horse Racing (Standardbred, Thoroughbred)
– Lottery (WCLC)
– Sports Betting (Pro-Line Sport Select)
– Casino Gambling (slots, tables, etc.)
– Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs)
– Poker
– Charity (bingo, raffles, pull tabs, poker tournaments)
Who regulates gambling in Manitoba?
The majority of gambling activities are licensed and regulated by the Lottery, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba (LGCA). This government agency is responsible for licensing tribal casinos and VLT operators, charity gaming centres, lottery retailers, and the occasional social events.
Manitoba’s lottery is operated by the Western Canadian Lottery Corporation (WCLC), which oversees all combined lottery sales (numbers, scratchies and Sport Select) across most of Canada’s western provinces. Horse Racing is not regulated directly by Manitoba’s government, either. It is not a provincial responsibility, but a federal one, regulated by the Canada Pari-Mutuel Agency.
What do Manitoba online gambling laws cover?
Manitoba is – once again – the most unique of all Canadian provinces and territories, particularly when it comes to internet gambling laws. Where its more populace siblings, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, took the time to launch their own iGaming operations, Manitoba chose to piggy-back off the efforts of another. Manitoba has a player and equity sharing agreement with B.C. that allows adult (19+) Manitobans to access, deposit and gamble at B.C.’s iGaming website, PlayNow.ca.
PlayNow offers both B.C. and Manitoba residents the opportunity to purchase a variety of lottery tickets, play casino games, bingo games, poker games, keno and more. Members also have access to exclusive live online casino games via Evolution Gaming’s live studio in Vancouver.
Is it legal to gamble at offshore gambling sites?
Yes. Aside from authorizing access to the PlayNow online casino, Manitoba’s laws do not articulate internet gambling with international operators. They cannot. That is left to the Canadian federal government, which states only that gambling operators with a physical presence in Canada are illegal if they are not authorized and licensed by the province or territory in which they are located.
International operators that have no physical presence (offices or servers) in Canada do not fall under the jurisdiction of Canadian law, and therefore are not illegal. To be clear, that’s not to say that they are expressly legal, but they most certainly are not illegal.
Is single-event sports betting legal in Manitoba?
No. Despite years worth of efforts to authorize single-event sports betting, it remains illegal throughout all of Canada. Manitobans are restricted to parlay wagers on any athletic competitions or contests. Parlays require a mixture of 3 or more bets, all of which must be picked correctly to win.
Here’s the good news. As discussed above, international online gambling is legal, and therefore Manitobans can (and do) access offshore sports betting sites to place all the single-event wagers they desire.
It’s also worth noting that Manitobans will soon be able to cross the border into the US state of North Dakota for all their sports gambling needs. North Dakota passed sports betting legislation in 2019 and is currently awaiting the launch of the first land-based sportsbooks at the state’s tribal casinos and race tracks.
Are gambling winnings taxable?
No. Recreational gamblers are not required to report or pay taxes on their winnings. The only time a gambler might have to report winning son their income tax is if the individual partakes in “gambling as a business”. There is no clear-cut definition for this term from the Canada Revenue Agency, except to exemplify professional poker players and individuals who display a “frequent and systematic nature” with the “intention to gamble for profit as a means of gaining a livelihood” (learn more here).
Is it safe to gamble at offshore online gambling sites?
The ability to gamble online at PlayNow.ca was provided to the public in a calculated effort to present a safe, provincially regulated website where Manitobans do not have to worry about their safety or security. Manitoba online casino laws and regulations are not able to offer the same assurances for offshore gambling websites. However, internationally regulated operators with a long-standing reputation for customer satisfaction and, more importantly, a remote gaming license from a distinguished regulatory authority, are also safe.
Not all international jurisdictions can be trusted to protect players. The most reputable international jurisdictions that hold their licensees to the strictest regulatory guidelines are located in Europe; i.e. The UK, Malta, Alderney, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, etc. Licensing jurisdictions in other parts of the world, especially South America, should not be trusted to protect players, as their limited regulations only protect citizens located within their borders.
