Canada

Buy Lottery Tickets Online in Canada: The Law

What Canadian law and the official lottery rules say about buying lottery tickets online in Canada: who may sell tickets, residency rules and foreign lotteries. The tool above shows the exact quotes.

Where do you live?

Whether you may buy a lottery ticket online depends on the laws where you live. Below are the rules in their own words.

Lotteries outside the lawAll of Canada
« (a) makes, prints, advertises or publishes, or causes or procures to be made, printed, advertised or published, any proposal, scheme or plan for advancing, lending, giving, selling or in any way disposing of any property by lots, cards, tickets or any mode of chance whatever; »

Criminal Code, s. 206(1)(a) checked Oct 29, 2026

Buying a ticket in such a lotteryAll of Canada
« (4) Every one who buys, takes or receives a lot, ticket or other device mentioned in subsection (1) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction. »

Criminal Code, s. 206(4) checked Oct 29, 2026

Foreign lotteriesAll of Canada
« (7) This section applies to the printing or publishing, or causing to be printed or published, of any advertisement, scheme, proposal or plan of any foreign lottery, and the sale or offer for sale of any ticket, chance or share, in any such lottery, or the advertisement for sale of such ticket, chance or share »

Criminal Code, s. 206(7) checked Oct 29, 2026

Provinces run lotteriesAll of Canada
« (a) for the government of a province, either alone or in conjunction with the government of another province, to conduct and manage a lottery scheme in that province, or in that and the other province, in accordance with any law enacted by the legislature of that province; »

Criminal Code, s. 207(1)(a) checked Oct 29, 2026

Tickets of another provinceAll of Canada
« (e) for the government of a province to agree with the government of another province that lots, cards or tickets in relation to a lottery scheme that is by any of paragraphs (a) to (d) authorized to be conducted and managed in that other province may be sold in the province; »

Criminal Code, s. 207(1)(e) checked Oct 29, 2026

Internet orders from residentsAll of Canada
« Each Regional Marketing Organization may, upon appropriate payment and satisfactory evidence of residence, accept and record on its computer system ticket orders received from residents of its region through the Internet or by any mode of subscription. »

ILC rules on lotteries and lottery tickets checked Oct 29, 2026

Who may sell lottery tickets in B.C.British Columbia
« 44 (1) A person other than the lottery corporation must not do any of the following except as authorized under subsection (3): (a) sell or offer to sell a lottery ticket; (b) purchase a lottery ticket for resale. (2) Subsection (1) applies whether the lottery ticket originates in or outside British Columbia. »

BC Gaming Control Act, s. 44 checked Oct 29, 2026

Online gambling in B.C.British Columbia
« PlayNow.com is the only legal online gambling site in B.C. »

Government of British Columbia checked Oct 29, 2026

WCLC tickets on the InternetPrairies and North
« Except as described in the foregoing, WCLC does not sell any lottery tickets on the Internet and no one else is authorized or endorsed by WCLC to sell lottery tickets on the Internet. »

WCLC legal notice checked Oct 29, 2026

Sales outside the WCLC regionPrairies and North
« WCLC does not sell our products or solicit sales outside of our jurisdiction of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon, nor do we authorize anyone to do so on our behalf. »

WCLC on scams checked Oct 29, 2026

Quotes are copied from the official texts; this is not legal advice. Check the official rules of your province or territory.

Who runs the lottery where →Lottery scams →

Woman on a stool working on a laptop

What the rules say

RuleWhat it saysApplies to
Criminal Code s. 206(1)(a)Making or advertising a lottery scheme is an offence outside section 207All of Canada
Criminal Code s. 206(4)Buying a ticket in a section 206 lottery is an offenceBuyers in Canada
Criminal Code s. 206(7)Covers advertising foreign lotteries and selling tickets or shares in themForeign lotteries
Criminal Code s. 207(1)(a)A provincial government may conduct and manage a lottery under provincial lawAll of Canada
Criminal Code s. 207(1)(e)A province may agree to sell another province's lottery ticketsAll of Canada
ILC rules s. 7Regional organizations may accept online orders from their own residents, with proofGames run under the ILC rules
WCLC website noticeNo one else is authorized or endorsed to sell WCLC tickets onlineAB, SK, MB, NT, NU, YT
WCLC website noticeWCLC does not sell or authorize sales outside its jurisdictionsAB, SK, MB, NT, NU, YT
B.C. Gaming Control Act s. 44Only BCLC or its authorized persons may sell or resell ticketsBritish Columbia

Short summaries of the official texts. The tool above shows the exact quotes; the full documents are listed under the page.

Who runs lotteries in each region

RegionRegional organizationOnline channel named in sources
British ColumbiaBCLCPlayNow.com
AB, SK, MB, YT, NT, NUWCLCSubscriptionSpot, Lotto Spot!, PlayNow MB, PlayAlberta
OntarioOLGNo online channel in the sources used for this page
QuebecLoto-QuébecNo online channel in the sources used for this page
Atlantic provincesAtlantic LotteryNo online channel in the sources used for this page

Regional organizations as listed in the ILC rules. More on each one: Who Runs the Lottery in Canada.

Official channel vs other sellers

Your region's official channel

  • Run by your provincial lottery organization under section 207
  • Takes online orders from residents of its own region
  • May ask for proof of residence
  • In B.C., the government names PlayNow.com as the only allowed online gambling site

Sellers other than the official channel

  • WCLC: no one else is authorized or endorsed to sell its tickets online
  • In B.C., selling or reselling tickets needs authorization under section 44
  • Foreign lottery tickets fall under Criminal Code s. 206(7)
  • The sources used here do not name courier services
  • Rules depend on where you live

Scam warning

Never pay to claim

WCLC: you will never be asked to pay money to claim a real lottery prize.

No ticket, no prize

WCLC: you can only win if you bought a ticket from a retailer, by subscription, or in Manitoba at PlayNow.

Check who sells

WCLC says no one else is authorized or endorsed to sell its tickets online.

Foreign lottery offers

Section 206 covers selling tickets in foreign lotteries. Odds and rules of US games are on a separate page.

Sources

Questions

Can you buy lottery tickets online in Canada?

The Criminal Code lets provincial governments run lotteries. The ILC rules let each regional organization accept online orders from residents of its region, with proof of residence. The answer depends on the laws where you live; this page is not legal advice.

Are lottery courier services allowed in Canada?

The sources used here do not name courier services. WCLC: no one else is authorized or endorsed to sell its tickets online. In B.C., section 44 says only BCLC or those it authorizes may sell or resell tickets. This page is not legal advice.

Can I buy Lotto Max online from another province?

The ILC rules let each regional organization accept online orders from residents of its own region. WCLC says it does not sell or solicit sales outside its jurisdictions. The answer depends on the laws where you live; this page is not legal advice.

Can I buy Powerball or other foreign lottery tickets from Canada?

Criminal Code s. 206(7) applies section 206 to advertising foreign lotteries and selling their tickets. Section 206(4) covers buyers. The answer depends on the laws where you live; this page is not legal advice. See Powerball from Canada.

How do I spot a fake online lottery win?

WCLC says you will never be asked to pay money to claim a real prize, and you can only win with a ticket you actually bought. More warning signs: Lottery Scams.