The world of sports betting is a complicated one, and there are many that might have questions about the situation in Quebec. There are a lot of legal matters that dictate betting in Canada, and each province has its own situation and rules. Quebec is no different.
Sports betting in Quebec has seen rapid growth over the past few years, and the legal situation in Canada has shifted as new laws have been passed. This might amount to confusion for Quebec residents, but I’re here to help. Below, I’re going to dive into important information about betting in Quebec. I’ll look at whether it is legal to wager on virtual sportsbooks in the province, who can place bets in Quebec, and whether offshore sportsbooks are a viable option.
Is Sports Betting Legal in Quebec?
The answer to this question can’t be answered in a simple yes or no sentence, but I’ll try: yes! You can legally bet on sports in Quebec. However, to say the situation is a little more complicated than that might be an understatement. The sports betting industry in Canada is very complicated, and changes happen very quickly.
To understand whether Quebec sports betting is legal, let’s take it back a bit. A few years ago, the legality of sports betting across Canada was different. Single-game betting, which is where bettors place bets on a single sporting event or single outcome, was not government regulated.
Instead, the legal sports betting industry was limited to parlay betting sites run by provinces' lottery corporations, which are government-owned. Bettors could only place parlay bets on websites like Mise-O-Jeu, a Quebec website run by Loto Quebec. The odds were less favorable than typical sportsbooks, and bettors could only make parlays. Parlays are when multiple bets are joined into a single bet, with each outcome within the bet needing to hit for the bet to cash. These are fun ways to bet but are generally less likely to hit than single bets.
Sports bettors could use websites from offshore operators or operators set on Canadian tribal land without any fear of repercussions, although it was a legal gray area. The biggest tribal sports betting company is the Kahnawake Gaming Commission, which operates in Quebec on tribal Mohawk territory.

However, everything changed in 2021 when Bill C-218 was passed. Bill C-218 was an act to amend the Canadian criminal code, removing the prohibition on betting on single-game outcomes. Instead of a federally illegal institution, once this bill was passed in August 2021, the control over sports betting was immediately passed to provincial governments.
The response was swift, as many of the governments implemented single-game sports betting on their lottery-controlled platforms, like Mise-O-Jeu in Quebec. Mise-O-Jeu takes single-game bets for bettors now, and bettors can find spreads, moneyline bets, and more on the sportsbook. However, this is not the endgame that most have in mind for sports betting, as a government monopoly means less competitive odds and options for bettors.
The endgame that people have in mind for many Canadian provinces looks a lot like what is happening in Ontario right now. When sports betting was legalized, Ontario built the framework to tap into the industry’s potential by creating a provincial regulatory body called iGaming Ontario. This regulatory body can license sportsbooks, giving them the ability to operate and advertise within Ontario.
Since then, they have licensed massive global operators like 888Sport, Bet365, Betway, and more. Now, Ontario residents can use these operators with the express permission of their government and receive special offers. This has led to sportsbooks that didn’t operate in Ontario, like BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings, entering the Ontario market, which has made sports betting a much bigger industry in Ontario.
The benefits of this are substantial for all parties. The government gets to tax the revenue of an industry they weren’t benefitting from, with money taxed from operators going toward public initiatives like gambling addiction and more. Sportsbooks can now advertise in Ontario and have seen their industry explode, and they can operate in Canada’s biggest market with government approval. And for bettors, there are more options, and those options are overseen by the government for improved safety.
This might still be far away from happening in Quebec. So far, Ontario is the only province to fully lean into the sports betting industry. But Quebec is a pivotal part of the Canadian economy, and they’ve been trailblazers in the sports betting world for a while. Quebec was the first place to popularize the parlay betting system of government-controlled betting that became popular before Bill C-218.
Ontario has fully opened up its province to sports betting, inviting operators like BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings into the province. They’ve opened their own regulator, and the money has flowed in. This is something many see on the horizon for Quebec, but as of right now, this has yet to come to pass. But still, the industry is changing fast, and many expect Quebec to remain on the cutting edge.
As I said, the answer to the question of sports betting’s legality in Quebec is difficult. But generally speaking, bettors are able to place bets in Quebec legally. Whether they are using Mise-O-Jeu, which is the only government-controlled sportsbook in the province, or a tribal/offshore operator, bettors can legally wager in the province without any fear of repercussions.