CANADA Law and Practice Contributed by: Danielle Bush and Matthew Kelleher, McCarthy Tétrault LLP
4. Licensing and Regulatory Framework 4.1 Regulatory Authority
obtain a registration for the supply of gaming services and to comply with the regulations concerning such activity. The service supplier (registered or unregis- tered, as the case may be) is liable, as well as the directors and officers in some cases. In practice, culpability does not typically flow to individuals if the service was being supplied by a corporation, unless there is egregious conduct involved. 3.6 Penalties for Unlawful Gambling Gaming offences are classified as an indictable offence or a summary conviction offence under the Criminal Code, depending on the severity of the offence. It is left to the discretion of the police and Crown counsel to decide which type of offence will apply when lay- ing charges. Every person who is found to have kept a common gaming house or common betting house contrary to Section 201 of the Criminal Code is guilty of: • an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years; or • an offence punishable on summary conviction. Everyone who commits an offence under Section 202 (which prohibits all betting activities) is guilty of an indictable offence and liable: • for a first offence, to imprisonment for not more than two years; • for a second offence, to imprisonment for not more than two years and not less than 14 days; and • for each subsequent offence, to imprisonment for not more than two years and not less than three months. Every person who is found to have operated an illegal lottery contrary to Section 206 is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years or is guilty of an offence punish- able on summary conviction.
The federal government is not active in the gambling sector and has no regulatory function. The regulators in the provinces and territories of Canada are listed below. • Alberta: (a) the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC). • British Columbia: (a) the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch of the Ministry of Finance (GPEB). • Manitoba: (a) the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba. • New Brunswick: (a) the Gaming, Liquor and Security Licensing Branch of the Department of Justice and Public Safety. • Newfoundland and Labrador: (a) the Consumer Affairs Division of Online Gov- ernment and Service NL. • Northwest Territories (Territory): (a) the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs. • Nova Scotia: (a) the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation. • Nunavut (Territory): (a) the Department of Health. • Ontario: (a) the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). • Prince Edward Island: (a) the Prince Edward Island Lotteries Commis- sion; and (b) the Consumer, Corporate and Insurance Divi- sion of the Department of Justice and Public Safety (regulates bingo, raffles, casino nights, and charitable gaming). • Quebec: (a) the Régie des alcools , des courses et des jeux (the authority over, amongst other things, the operation of casinos as well as contests, certain types of lotteries, and VLTs other than those in casinos); and
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