Online Gaming in North America

The United States and Canada both allow online gaming to be licensed and regulated at the state or provincial level. Some state and provincial lotteries also allow consumers to purchase lottery tickets online, usually through a subscription service. Most jurisdictions allow online wagering for horse races. In Canada, online casinos and poker rooms are primarily operated by provincial lottery organizations. The Kahnawake First Nation in Canada licenses online casino gaming, poker, sports betting, skill gaming and betting exchanges for sites all over the world.

In the U.S., online poker is now legalized and regulated in eight states (Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, Connecticut and Rhode Island), though market launch timing differs by state. The Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement (MSIGA) went into effect on 25 February 2014. This agreement allows online poker operators to combine player pools across state lines between the member states. Delaware and Nevada were the first two states to enter into MSIGA. New Jersey joined the agreement on 27 September 2017, while it took a while before its next member when Michigan joined on 23 May 2022. West Virginia joined the MSIGA on 14 November 2023.

New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island and Michigan offer legalized and regulated online casinos and in early 2026 Maine became the eighth U.S. state to legalize real-money online casino gaming, granting its four federally recognized Wabanaki tribes exclusive iGaming rights in partnership with a single platform each.

Casino City considers pari-mutuel wagers placed via the internet on race and sports activities in North America to be race and sports wagering activities. It also considers lottery purchases placed via state and provincial lottery websites to be a lottery activity.

Show Complete North America Online Gaming Overview