Is online play allowed in Ontario?
Ontario has run a regulated online gambling market since April 4, 2022, with iGaming Ontario and the AGCO in charge. This page shows how to check a site and why the paid links on this guide's home page are marked Ad.
Who runs online gambling in Ontario?
Two bodies share the work. iGaming Ontario conducts and manages online gambling, and it does so through private operators. The AGCO regulates the market. For a private operator to be legal, it needs two things: AGCO registration and an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. A site with only one of the two does not qualify.
Ontario also runs a site of its own. OLG.ca is the government-run online casino of the province. Behind it is OLG, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, which also governs Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa on Albion Road. Hard Rock International operates the resort itself.
How can a site be checked?
Start with the iGaming Ontario directory at igamingontario.ca. It is the official list of regulated sites in the province. If a site is not in the directory, it is not part of Ontario's regulated market. A logo or a familiar name on a page proves nothing by itself.
Two rules apply to every regulated site. Online play is 19+, and only while the player is physically in Ontario. An Ottawa resident who crosses the river to Gatineau is in Québec, so Ontario's regulated sites are closed to them there. The same goes for a visitor staying on the Gatineau side.
Why does this guide carry ads?
The home page is the only page of this guide with paid links. Each one is marked Ad. They lead to a private online casino partner that is not named here and can change. The guide does not vouch for that partner, so readers should check it, like any online casino, against the iGaming Ontario directory.
Links to the resort, to OLG, to the province and to help services are never paid.
BetGuard, at betguard.ca, is run by iGaming Ontario. It lets a person aged 19 or older opt out of every regulated Ontario online gambling site at once. It does not cover land-based casinos, so it has no effect at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa on Albion Road. For a casino floor, OLG's My PlayBreak program is the self-exclusion tool.
Questions to the desk
- Does the casino on Albion Road run an online casino?
- Nothing in this guide points to one. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Ottawa is a land-based resort, and the government-run online casino of Ontario is OLG.ca.
- Is online play allowed under 19 in Ontario?
- No, online play in Ontario is 19+. The same age applies on the floor on Albion Road, where entry and gaming start at 19.
- Can an Ontario site be played from Gatineau?
- Play on a regulated Ontario site is allowed only while the player is physically in Ontario. Gatineau is in Québec, so the Ontario rules do not reach a player there.