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.

Ontario's regulated iGaming market, launched in April 2022, achieved a channelization rate above 85% as of 2025, with iGaming Ontario becoming an independent agency in May 2025. Alberta passed the iGaming Alberta Act in May 2025 and has set July 13, 2026 as the launch date for its competitive, open online gambling market — becoming the second Canadian province after Ontario to allow private operators to compete. The province created the Alberta iGaming Corporation to manage operator contracts, mirroring Ontario's dual-agency model, with an 80/20 revenue split favoring operators. British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia remain tied to monopoly or government-led models.

In the U.S., online poker is now legalized and regulated in nine states (Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Michigan, Connecticut, Maine, 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. ennsylvania officially joined MSIGA in April 2025, making it the sixth member state and significantly expanding the shared player pool.

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, but the market has not yet launched. Rhode Island launched its online casino market on March 5, 2024, becoming the seventh U.S. state to offer live regulated iGaming; Bally's Corporation operates a monopoly platform in the state.

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.

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