You will find a mix of tribal and government-operated casinos in Manitoba. Compared to some provinces, the list of casinos is small. There are almost 3,000 slots, plus more than 50 gambling tables located in Winnipeg and around the province. A partnership with British Columbia also allows for access to the PlayNow online gambling portal. This gives you online casino games, sports betting and poker options.
Alongside casinos, you can bet on sports via pari-mutuel betting facilities. There are bingo halls, video lottery terminals, poker rooms and the big jackpot prizes of the lottery available, too.
This page covers all the types of gambling available in Manitoba. You will find details on how to legally gamble online, and where to find the best live casinos, poker rooms and sports betting facilities below.
Yes. Gambling in Manitoba is regulated together with alcohol and cannabis. This is under the jurisdiction of the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation — which is part of the provincial government. It is responsible for licensing and oversight of tribal casinos, online gambling and lotteries. This crown corporation also runs two casinos in Winnipeg.
Recent changes include a halt on new casinos, which was enacted in 2018. The prevailing legislation is the “Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Control Act.”
Manitoba has a smaller number of live casinos than most other provinces. The biggest venues are in the Winnipeg metro. Here is the current list:
In 2013 Manitoba partnered with British Columbia — giving residents access to the PlayNow online gambling portal. This portal provides a fully legal way to play table games and slots online. It works on both desktops and mobile devices.
Casino games include blackjack, baccarat, roulette, sic bo, video poker and scratch cards. You will also play slots online — many of them with progressive jackpots. Player vs. player poker is also offered. There are cash games, sit-and-go tournaments, and larger multi-table tournaments. Poker promotions include a bad beat jackpot.
Gambling at offshore casinos is a legal grey area in Manitoba. The national criminal code applies. These laws predate online gambling.
There are four poker rooms in Manitoba. You can legally enjoy home games as long as no rake or fees are charged by the host. There are also pub poker leagues. Online poker is legal in Manitoba. There is a poker room as part of the PlayNow portal.
Here are the live poker rooms in the province:
Yes. You can bet on sports in Manitoba via the Sport Select service. This operates through kiosks and allows wagering on two or more sporting events (not single games), as long as some rules are followed. Sports betting is controlled at a national level.
Here are the current Manitoba sports betting rules:
You can bet on sports that take place outside of Manitoba, though the selection is not as wide as those offered by offshore sportsbooks. There are moves to expand sports betting via the Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act. This aims to unlock the estimated $14 billion wagered at offshore sportsbooks every year. At time of writing, the act is making its way through the federal system.
If live sports betting came to Manitoba, the existing casinos would be in the best position to take advantage. With bars already showing games, the Winnipeg casinos and South Beach casino would be able to move fast to set up sportsbooks. The Assiniboia Downs racetrack is already set up for live and simulcast horse racing bets.
Manitoba lottery is part of the Western Canada Lottery Corp. This means that prize draws are shared with Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The WCLC works with the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp. to ensure compliance with Manitoba laws and responsible gambling rules.
You can enjoy a variety of games. These include the big (million-dollar-plus) draws, smaller daily draws, keno, scratch cards and spin games. There are also second-chance draws and contests. The biggest prize draws are Lotto Max — which had a $42 million prize pool at the time of writing. The 6/49 Lotto had a $14 million prize pool at the time of writing.
Electronic ticketing allows you to buy tickets for up to 25 draws in advance.
The focus for money raised in the Manitoba Lottery is charitable, nonprofit and community groups. Funds are distributed via sponsorships and by running community festivals. Recipients have included organizations focused on arts and culture, health, social causes, sports and diversity/inclusion.
Charity bingo is allowed in the province. Any game that requires a buy-in requires a license — even if all the money raised goes to a charity or religious cause. There are permanent bingo halls in the Winnipeg metro. Bingo games takes two basic forms. There are “breakout” packs, which are prepackaged bundles of cards used for smaller charity events. You can also enjoy “Media Bingo” in Manitoba. Here the balls are drawn remotely, allowing for multi-venue games and shared prize pools.
There are bingo halls located throughout the province. Some of the biggest venues include Club 373 and Bingo Royale in Winnipeg. Many of these venues are set up by charities for the purposes of ongoing fundraising activities.
Other forms of charitable gambling include raffles, which again require a license.
Manitoba only has a single horse racing track. This the Assiniboia Downs track, located at 3975 Portage Ave. in Winnipeg. The season for live racing is from May through September, and both thoroughbred and standardbred racing takes place at the facility. The racetrack is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and to 11 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
In addition, to live racing, Assiniboia Downs offers an OTB office. You can bet on races via simulcast. They are streamed from around the world (with Australian and European races outside of the North American season). This venue also features 140 VLTs.
Manitoba does not have a huge choice of casinos and poker rooms like Alberta or Ontario casinos. There are some quality places to gamble, however. Most of the casinos are in Winnipeg, including the large Club Regent and McPhillips Station casinos — plus the only racetrack and OTB office in the province.
Further afield you will find tribal casinos with a smaller selection of slots, a few table games and VLT options. Players can combine their gambling with dining, entertainments and even stays in hotels.
There are also online gambling options for Manitobans. You can access the PlayNow portal, which offers casino games, slots and poker — plus sports betting.
With legislation for legal sports betting on the horizon, your gambling options in Manitoba may be expanding in the near future.
There is one legal way to enjoy Manitoba gambling online — and another that is legal by default as there are no laws preventing it. The PlayNow portal was developed in British Columbia. Manitoba partnered with British Columbia, giving residents access to casino games, sports bets and poker in 2013.
Offshore gambling is a legal grey area. Here national laws prevail, and those laws predate the internet and thus only cover “gambling house” establishments inside Canadian territory. Since you are not entering a gambling house (and offshore books are based outside Canada), it is legal to play at offshore sites.
There have been numerous moves to regulate online gambling in Canada over the years. The current effort in 2020 focuses on sports betting. A new act, which is supported by the pro leagues, aims to allow single-game wagering in Canada, including Manitoba.
With so much money being bet on offshore casino, poker and sports betting sites, legislation would make sense. Many other countries have introduced their own licensing and taxation programs.
You need to be at least 18 to gamble in Manitoba. This covers all the formats, including casino gambling, VLTs, lottery, bingo, sports betting and poker games.
No, Canadians do not pay taxes on gambling winnings unless that gambling is their main source of income. Professional poker players or sports bettors would need to file taxes. Lottery wins, jackpots and other gambling wins for non-pros are not subject to taxes.
Yes, at least it is “not illegal” by the strict definition of the federal laws. You should keep in mind that not all offshore sites are safe or reputable. Many smaller sites that accept cryptocurrency payments are based in the Caribbean or Central America. These brands have little oversight. This means you have nobody to turn to in the event of a dispute or your bankroll disappearing. Big, reputable brands are the ones located and licensed in Europe. Brands like PokerStars and Bet365 welcome Canadian players — and have long track records of prompt payments and secure software.