Gambling and Gaming
A betting or gaming house is where people are encouraged to bet between themselves or the keeper or where people can register or pay for bets.
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Plain-Language Summary
Gambling and Gaming: If you own, operate or manage an establishment where illegal betting occurs you can be charged under s.201 (1) of the Criminal CodeA federal act codifying most criminal offences in Canada with keeping a betting / gaming house. You can also be charged if you are found within these premises or if you are making bets for others. The maximum penalty for running an illegal gaming house and related offences is two years in jail.
What is Keeping a Betting / Gaming House?
Section 201 (1) of the Criminal Code makes it illegal to keep a common gaming or betting house. Section 197 of the Code defines a common gaming house as a place where people are encouraged to betA wager on any sporting event that is to take place in or out of Canada between themselves or the keeperThe owner, occupier or manager of a place with betting of the house, or a place where people can register or pay bets.
A common betting house is defined as a place where people play gambling games and a portion of the bets are paid to the keeper of the place. In addition, fees may be paid by the players for the privilege of being there and the chances of winning are not equally favourable to all persons who play the gameAny game of chance or a mixture of chance and skill.
Related charges are detailed below.
Person found in or owner permitting use
Section 201 (2) of the Code makes it a crime to be found, without lawful excuse, in a common gaming house or common betting house. It is also illegal to be the owner, landlord, lessor, tenant, occupier or agent, for such a place.
Betting, pool-selling, bookmaking, etc.
Section 202 (1) of the Code makes it an offence to allow a place to be used for the purpose of recording or registering bets. It also makes it illegal to be in the business of betting on any sport, whether or not it takes place in or outside Canada.
Placing bets on behalf of others
Section 203 of the Code makes it an offence to place bets on behalf of another person, for a fee or otherwise.
What is Needed to Convict
To secure a conviction under s. 201(1) of the Criminal Code, the Crown must prove that the accused was "keeping" a common gaming house or a common betting house, meaning they were operating, managing, or using the premises as a keeper. Under s. 197(1), "keeper" is defined broadly: it includes an owner, occupier, manager, or any person who uses a place permanently or temporarily, even without the owner's consentVoluntary agreement to engage in an sexual act. The offence focuses on the accused's active role in running the place, not on a separate proof that they were aware illegal activity was occurring. A distinct and lesser offence under s. 201(2)(b) applies to those who, as owner, landlord, or agent, knowingly permit a place to be used as a gaming or betting house; that provision is where an explicit knowledge element appears. Wagering is also an essential element of "gaming" for the purpose of a common gaming house conviction: see Di Pietro et al v The Queen, [1986] 1 SCR 250.
Private bets between individuals not engaged in the business of betting are legal in Canada, as are lawful horse races and bets made through a pari-mutuel system on running, trotting, or pacing horse races that is certified and regulated under s. 204(1)(c).
Some Gaming and Betting Charges are Hybrid Offences
Canadian courts deal with offences in two ways. Summary offences are for less serious crimes such as thefts under $5,000, while indictable offences include murder, sexual assault and aggravated assault. Some gaming and betting charges can be dealt with as either a summary or indictable offence.
Penalties for Gaming and Betting in Canada
The charges of betting, pool-selling and bookmaking and placing bets on behalf of others are always treated as indictable offences. Those found guilty of either charge face a maximum of two years in jail for a first offence.
If you are charged with keeping a gaming or betting house in Canada, the maximum penalty is two years in jail if it is treated as an indictable offenceA more serious type of Canadian criminal offence. or a less severe penalty if the charge is treated as a summary convictionUsed for lesser offences.
The charge for being found in a gaming or betting house, even for the owner, is always treated as a summary conviction.
November 17, 2022
Update: Bill C-5: Mandatory Minimum Penalties Repealed.
How these offences are organized
This page covers several related betting and gaming offences, each named with its section in the table: keeping a common gaming or betting house (s. 201), betting and bookmaking (s. 202), placing bets on behalf of others (s. 203), and unlawful lotteries and games of chance (ss. 206–207). Section 204 exempts certain private bets and lawful pari-mutuel betting, and s. 207 permits licensed provincial and charitable lottery schemes — those are not offences.
What the Crown Must Prove
To get a conviction, the Crown must prove every part of the offence beyond a reasonable doubt.
Section
A place was kept, used, or occupied for gaming, betting, or a lottery scheme
The Crown must prove the accused kept a common gaming house or common betting house (s.201), used/controlled a place or device for recording bets, pool-selling, or bookmaking (s.202), or engaged in an unauthorized lottery scheme (s.206-207) - the specific conduct depends on which section is charged.
The place or activity meets the statutory definition
The Crown must show the place fits the s.197 definition of a 'common gaming house' (a place kept for gain where a bank is kept by players, proceeds go to the keeper, a fee is charged to play, or the chances are not equally favourable to all players) or 'common betting house' (a place enabling persons to bet with each other or the keeper, or to place, record, or receive bets).
The accused's role - keeper, user, or participant
Depending on the charge: that the accused was the keeper (owner, occupier, manager, or person who uses the place) under s.201(1); that the accused was found in the place without lawful excuse, or as owner/landlord/tenant/occupier knowingly permitted the place to be used, under s.201(2); or that the accused personally placed, recorded, or agreed to place bets on behalf of another for consideration under s.203.
No applicable exemption applies
The Crown (or, for the s.197(2) social-club exemption, the accused once raised) must address whether a lawful exemption applies - e.g., a genuine incorporated social club under s.197(2), a private bet between individuals not in the business of betting, lawful pari-mutuel race betting, or a licensed government/charitable lottery scheme under s.204/s.207.
Once the place is shown to fit the definition, the accused bears the burden of proving any social-club exemption
Section 197(3) places a reverse onus on the accused: once the Crown establishes the place otherwise meets the common-gaming-house definition, it is up to the accused to prove the incorporated genuine social club exemption in s.197(2) applies.
A proof rule (a presumption) is a rule about evidence. It does not mean the person is automatically guilty. It means the court may treat one fact as evidence of another fact unless there is evidence pointing the other way.
Possible Penalties
These are maximum sentences. Actual sentences depend on the facts, criminal history, and any mitigating or aggravating circumstances.
Keeping a common gaming house or common betting house — s. 201(1)
HybridNo mandatory minimum applies. On summary conviction, the general s. 787(1) default applies: a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to two years less a day, or both.
Being found in, or permitting a place to be used as, a common gaming or betting house — s. 201(2)
SummarySection 201(2) states no maximum of its own. On summary conviction, the general s. 787(1) default applies: a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to two years less a day, or both. No mandatory minimum applies.
Betting, pool-selling, or book-making — first offence — s. 202(1)
IndictableNo mandatory minimum applies.
Betting, pool-selling, or book-making — second offence — s. 202(1)
IndictableMandatory minimum as written: 14 days for a second offence. Some mandatory minimum sentences have been challenged under the Charter. This page summarizes the Criminal Code wording, but a lawyer can advise how the law may apply in a specific case.
Betting, pool-selling, or book-making — third or subsequent offence — s. 202(1)
IndictableMandatory minimum as written: 3 months for a third or subsequent offence. Some mandatory minimum sentences have been challenged under the Charter. This page summarizes the Criminal Code wording, but a lawyer can advise how the law may apply in a specific case.
Placing bets on behalf of another person for consideration — first offence — s. 203
IndictableNo mandatory minimum applies.
Placing bets on behalf of another person — second offence — s. 203
IndictableMandatory minimum as written: 14 days for a second offence. Some mandatory minimum sentences have been challenged under the Charter. This page summarizes the Criminal Code wording, but a lawyer can advise how the law may apply in a specific case.
Placing bets on behalf of another person — third or subsequent offence — s. 203
IndictableMandatory minimum as written: 3 months for a third or subsequent offence. Some mandatory minimum sentences have been challenged under the Charter. This page summarizes the Criminal Code wording, but a lawyer can advise how the law may apply in a specific case.
Unlawful lotteries, games of chance, and three-card monte — s. 206(1)
HybridNo mandatory minimum applies. On summary conviction, the general s. 787(1) default applies: a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to two years less a day, or both.
Buying, taking, or receiving a prohibited lottery ticket or device — s. 206(4)
SummarySection 206(4) states no maximum of its own. On summary conviction, the general s. 787(1) default applies: a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to two years less a day, or both. No mandatory minimum applies.
Conducting, managing, or operating an unauthorized lottery scheme — s. 207(3)(a)
HybridNo mandatory minimum applies. On summary conviction, the general s. 787(1) default applies: a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to two years less a day, or both.
Participating in an unauthorized lottery scheme — s. 207(3)(b)
SummarySection 207(3)(b) states no maximum of its own. On summary conviction, the general s. 787(1) default applies: a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to two years less a day, or both. No mandatory minimum applies.
What these words mean
- Indictable
- The more serious way to prosecute an offence. It can carry higher maximum penalties.
- Summary conviction
- The less serious, usually faster way to prosecute an offence, with lower maximum penalties.
- Hybrid
- An offence the Crown can prosecute either way — by indictment or by summary conviction.
- Summary only
- Summary-only offences are prosecuted by summary conviction. The Criminal Code sets the maximum penalty in the specific offence section.
- Crown election
- The Crown prosecutor’s choice of which way to proceed on a hybrid offence.
Possible Defences and Legal Issues
This page covers more than one section. Possible defences and legal issues are set out by section below.
Genuine Social Club Exception — s.197(2)–(3)
Section 197(2) says a place is not a common gaming house under part of that definition “while it is occupied and used by an incorporated genuine social club or branch thereof”, provided none of the bets or proceeds are paid to the keeper and no fee is charged to play except under a provincial licence. This is a narrow exception — it only removes a place from part of the definition of common gaming house, and only if the club meets each condition in the section.
Section 197(3) puts the burden of proving this exception on the accused: “The onus of proving that, by virtue of subsection (2), a place is not a common gaming house is on the accused.” This does not lower the Crown's burden to prove the other elements of the offence beyond a reasonable doubt — it means the person relying on the social-club exception has to establish that it applies.
Found In a Gaming or Betting House — s.201(2)(a)
Section 201(2)(a) says the offence applies to a person who “is found, without lawful excuse, in a common gaming house or common betting house”. If there is evidence capable of raising a lawful excuse, the Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person was found in the house without lawful excuse. What counts as a lawful excuse depends on the facts and the law.
Private Bets, Racing, and Licensed Lotteries — ss.204, 207
Section 204(1) says that ss.201 and 202 “do not apply to” certain betting activity, including “a private bet between individuals not engaged in any way in the business of betting” and bets made through a pari-mutuel system on running, trotting, or pacing horse races, if the rules in s.204 are followed. Section 207(1) separately says “it is lawful” for a province, a licensed charitable or religious organization, a licensed fair or exhibition, or a licensed small-prize draw to conduct certain lottery schemes — for example, a charitable or religious organization's lottery is lawful only “if the proceeds from the lottery scheme are used for a charitable or religious object or purpose”.
These are narrow, conditional exceptions. Whether a particular bet or lottery actually falls within one of them depends on meeting every condition in the section — an unlicensed lottery, or a bet placed by someone engaged in the business of betting, is not protected. The Crown still has to prove the other parts of any charge.
Fair and Exhibition Exemption — s.206(3)
Section 206(3) says that paragraphs 206(1)(f) and (g) — disposing of goods by a game of chance for payment, and inducing a person to stake money on a dice game, three-card monte, punch board, coin table, or wheel of fortune — “do not apply to the board of an annual fair or exhibition, or to any operator of a concession leased by that board within its own grounds and operated during the fair or exhibition on those grounds”. The exemption does not cover everything: it only applies “in so far as they do not relate to a dice game, three-card monte, punch board or coin table”. A wheel-of-fortune game run by a fair's own concession may be exempt; a dice game, three-card monte, punch board, or coin table is not, even at a fair.
Keeping, Betting, and Lottery Offences — ss.201(1), 202, 203, 206(1)
Sections 201(1) (keeping a common gaming or betting house), 202 (betting, pool-selling, and book-making), 203 (placing bets on behalf of others), and 206(1) (unlawful lotteries and games of chance) do not list a special defence in the Criminal Code. The Crown still has to prove the parts of the offence, including that the accused was a “keeper” of the place, or that they carried out one of the specific acts listed in s.202, 203, or 206(1). Section 197(1) defines keeper broadly — it includes a person who “uses a place permanently or temporarily, with or without the consent of the owner or occupier thereof” — so being present is not the same as being a keeper.
Possible issues may still depend on the facts, the evidence, and whether the Crown can prove each part of the offence. This is general legal information, not legal advice.
Common Legal Terms
Terms marked with a dotted underline in the article above are defined here and available in the full site glossary.
- Bet Glossary entry →
The amount risked in a wager on any sporting event or game of chance that takes place in or out of Canada.
- Consent Glossary entry →
The voluntary agreement of the complainant to engage in the sexual activity in question.
- Game Glossary entry →
Game of chance or a mixture of chance and skill are considered illegal lotteries unless no consideration is paid to enter, play or win a prize.
- Indictable offence Glossary entry →
An indictable offence is generally a more serious type of Canadian criminal offence. Some indictable matters have higher maximum penalties and may involve different court procedures, including election about the mode of trial in some cases.
- Keeper Glossary entry →
The owner, occupier or manager of a place where betting occurs. It can also include anyone who assists or acts on behalf of an owner or occupier of a place, and those who appear to be acting on behalf of an owner or occupier of a place.
- Summary conviction Glossary entry →
Summary convictions are used for lesser offences with penalties, fines and short jail time. They reflect the majority of offences as defined in the Code.
Legal sources
The official statute section(s) this page is based on. Always confirm against the official source before relying on it.
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Criminal Code s. s. 197 Interpretation - Part VII (gaming and betting definitions)Source current to: 2026-05-26View official source ↗
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Criminal Code s. s. 201 Keeping a common gaming or betting house / being found in oneSource current to: 2026-05-26View official source ↗
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Criminal Code s. s. 202Source current to: 2026-05-26View official source ↗
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Criminal Code s. s. 203 Placing bets on behalf of another personSource current to: 2026-05-26View official source ↗
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Criminal Code s. s. 204 Exemptions - private bets, pari-mutuel racing, lawful winningsSource current to: 2026-05-26View official source ↗
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Criminal Code s. s. 206 Lotteries, games of chance, and three-card monteSource current to: 2026-05-26View official source ↗
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Criminal Code s. s. 207 Lawful lottery schemes conducted by provinces or licensed charitiesSource current to: 2026-05-26View official source ↗
Government References
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General legal information only. Not legal advice. We do our best to keep this page accurate and up to date, but criminal law can change and every case depends on its facts. Check the review date and consult the Criminal Code or a criminal defence lawyer before relying on this information.
About this page
Criminal Code Help explains selected Criminal Code offences and related legal concepts in plain language. The goal is to help readers understand the general meaning of the law without having to read the full statutory text.
This page is a simplified summary. It does not include every exception, definition, court interpretation, evidentiary issue, Charter issue, sentencing factor, or procedural rule that may apply in a real case.
Legal information, not legal advice
This page is general legal information only. It is not legal advice and should not be relied on as advice about any specific charge, investigation, court file, or personal situation.
Possible defences and legal issues depend on the facts, the evidence, the exact charge, current Canadian law, and the province or territory where the case is being handled. If you are facing a criminal charge or researching a real legal problem, speak with a criminal defence lawyer in your province or territory.