Canada
VLT laws in Canada: where they're legal and the minimum age
Gambling in Canada is regulated province by province, so whether you can walk into a bar and play a VLT depends entirely on where you're standing.
The short version
Under the Criminal Code, running a lottery scheme is only legal when a provincial government does it. That is why every VLT in the country is owned by a provincial lottery or gaming corporation. Five provinces plus a couple of territories put VLTs in licensed bars and lounges. Ontario and British Columbia keep electronic gaming inside casinos instead, so you will not find VLTs in a neighbourhood pub there.
Where VLTs are legal
VLTs in bars and lounges are available in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, and the Atlantic provinces. Below is every province and territory we track, with the operator responsible for the machines.
Minimum age by province
The legal gambling age is either 18 or 19 depending on the province. You will be asked for ID in most licensed venues, and staff are required to refuse service to anyone underage.
Who runs the machines
Each province assigns VLTs to a Crown corporation — for example the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis commission, or Loto-Québec. These bodies own the terminals, set the payout percentages, license the venues that host them, and direct the revenue toward provincial programs. The bar or pub you play in is a licensed host, not the owner of the machine.
Why some provinces said no
Ontario and British Columbia both studied putting VLTs in bars and decided against it, largely over concerns about problem gambling in unsupervised neighbourhood settings. Instead they concentrate electronic gaming in casinos and charitable gaming centres, where it is easier to monitor. The result is a patchwork map where the same machine is a pub fixture in one province and entirely absent in the next.