CANADA Law and Practice Contributed by: Danielle Bush and Matthew Kelleher, McCarthy Tétrault LLP
3.4 Definition of Online Gambling There is no statutory definition of “online gambling” available at the federal or provincial level. Each prov- ince typically refers to this activity in its guidance on the subject but has not addressed it in its gaming statutes. Ontario, as the first jurisdiction to register private sector online gaming operators, uses the term “igaming” rather than “online gambling”. In the AGCO iGaming Standards, it is stated that “igaming refers to lottery schemes conducted and managed by Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) or iGaming Ontario that are played or operated through the inter- net, but does not include OLG lottery products”. This language is a direct reference back to the provision of the Criminal Code that permits provincial govern- ments to provide gaming services in their jurisdiction. 3.5 Key Offences It is a criminal offence to provide any form of gaming that is not permitted by the Criminal Code. Breaches of the Criminal Code are a matter of criminal rather than civil law and thus the ambit of liability is, in prac- tice, quite narrow. While the Criminal Code is drafted broadly, Canadian courts have exercised their discre- tion under the principles of statutory interpretation to ensure that such sections are read narrowly, given that they are penal in nature. On the other hand, the courts do not appear to be as concerned by a broad application of Section 201 (2) of the Criminal Code that provides that every person found without lawful excuse in a common gaming house or common bet- ting house is guilty of a summary conviction offence. As summary conviction offences are the most minor offences in the Criminal Code and typically result in a small fine, courts are willing to convict individuals who are caught in sweeps of illegal sports betting events and large poker operations. The Criminal Code makes it possible for directors, officers and senior management to be charged and convicted of a criminal offence with respect to the activities of their corporation pursuant to the sections of the Criminal Code concerning aiding and abetting and parties to an offence (Sections 21, 22, 22.1 and 22.2). Breaches of provincial gambling legislation involve, almost by definition, breaches of the requirement to
the odds of winning. Any person who is found to have contravened this section is liable to a fine. Provincial Set out below are the primary gambling statutes in each province. • Alberta: (a) the Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act. • British Columbia: (a) the Gaming Control Act. • Manitoba: (a) the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act; and (b) the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation Act. • New Brunswick: (a) the Gaming Control Act. • Northwest Territories: (a) the Lotteries Act. • Nova Scotia: (a) the Gaming Control Act. • Ontario: (a) the Gaming Control Act, 1992; and (b) the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation Act, 1999. • Quebec: (a) the Act respecting the Société des Loteries du Québec; and (b) the Act respecting Lotteries, Publicity Con- tests, and Amusement Machines. • Saskatchewan: (a) the Alcohol and Gaming Regulation Act, 1997; and (b) the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation Act. • Yukon: There is no definition of “gambling” in any Canadian statute. Rather, the Criminal Code prohibits the offer- ing of certain services and products, which, read as a whole, serves to criminalise all activities that would colloquially be called “gambling”. 3.3 Definition of Land-Based Gambling There is no definition of “land-based gambling” in any Canadian statute. (a) the Lottery Licensing Act. 3.2 Definition of Gambling
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