TORONTO, July 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Canadians who ask to be blocked from gambling in one province can still bet freely in the next, or on sites based overseas, because the country has no national self-exclusion register, new research from CasinoCanada.com warns. Canada is now the third-largest online gambling market in the world, worth an estimated CAD 13.15 billion in 2025, yet there is still no single, nationwide way for a player to shut themselves out.
Drawing on iGaming Ontario figures, provincial regulatory data, Blask’s 2025 iGaming Landscape Report and peer-reviewed public health research, the analysis finds that gambling is run province by province, with no national regulator to connect the system. In practice that means ten separate regimes that do not talk to one another, so a self-exclusion in one province stops at its border.
Those gaps are steering players toward sites that operate outside Canadian rules. Beyond Ontario, the share of play going to these offshore sites ranges from 49% in British Columbia to 93% in Saskatchewan, with Alberta and Manitoba at 88%. Offshore platforms grew 40% year-on-year in 2025 – nearly double the 23% growth of licensed, regulated operators.
The human cost is already visible. A January 2026 study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that gambling-related contacts to Ontario’s ConnexOntario helpline rose an estimated 198% after the market opened in 2022, concentrated almost entirely among boys and men aged 15 to 44.
Ontario shows what is possible. It keeps an estimated 91.1% of play within regulated sites, and its new BetGuard self-exclusion tool drew more than 500 sign-ups in its first two weeks. But set against 1.235 million active player accounts in the province, and with protection that stops at the provincial line, it shows how far the country still has to go.
Eugene Ravdin, Head of PR for CasinoCanada, said: “Record amounts are being wagered and helpline contacts are up almost 200% at the same time, which tells you a bigger market does not automatically mean safer players. The tools that work elsewhere – GAMSTOP in the UK, Spelpaus in Sweden, BetStop in Australia – all let a person block themselves from every licensed site with a single sign-up.
“Canada has nothing like it. If you decide to stop, you should be able to stop everywhere, not just in your own province. A national register would give players one door they can close and trust to stay shut.”
The full article can be read here: https://casinocanada.com/blog/canadas-safer-gambling-gap-why-market-success-doesnt-always-equal-player-safety/
Editor’s Notes
About CasinoCanada
CasinoCanada.com publishes news, interviews and data-led analysis on Canada’s iGaming market, with a focus on regulation, safer gambling, player behaviour, operator activity and market performance. The site tracks developments across Canada’s provincial gambling frameworks, including Ontario’s regulated market, Alberta’s market transition and the continued role of offshore operators, while featuring commentary from industry participants on how online gambling is changing across Canada.
https://casinocanada.com/
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