Who runs it
Gambling in BC is lawful only when the provincial government is the operator. For the government, BCLC, a Crown corporation, oversees every form of commercial gambling, from casinos to online play. Its slot machines, table games and bingo are offered at casinos, community gaming centres and a commercial bingo hall. Private service providers run those venues.
All gambling in BC, horse racing included, has been overseen by the Independent Gambling Control Office, known as IGCO, since April 13, 2026. IGCO succeeded the former provincial regulator on the day the new Gaming Control Act began to apply. Online, the minimum age matches the one for casinos, lottery tickets and charitable events: 19 or older. Nobody under 19 is allowed into a gambling venue.
Every other site
BCLC's PlayNow.com, the IGCO said on August 28, 2026, is the one commercial online gambling website that is regulated and allowed to run in BC. Every other online gambling site accepting BC players, in the IGCO's words, is operating illegally in the province. The public is advised to play on PlayNow.com and nowhere else.
In June 2026, the IGCO announced plans to seek amendments to the Gaming Control Act. The stated aim is to reduce the presence of unregulated online gambling operators in BC, and their impacts as well.
BCLC's February 2026 service plan assumes that PlayNow keeps operating in a closed market, with no regulatory change. In mid-July 2026, Alberta became the second province after Ontario to launch a regulated market for private online gambling. BC has announced no similar market.
What changes off PlayNow
Game Break, the free and voluntary self-exclusion program in BC, covers entering and playing at BC gaming facilities, and also play on PlayNow.com. Under the Gaming Control Act, online gaming means play through the online platform that the lottery corporation runs. A private site sits outside both. On such a site, PlayNow limits and Game Break both lose their force, and complaints about it are beyond the IGCO's reach.
Help does not depend on where the gambling happened. Gambling Support BC, a provincial government program, takes calls 24/7 at 1-888-795-6111. Any BC resident struggling because of gambling, whether their own or a loved one's, can get help at no cost.
This site's own link
Three paid links sit on this guide's home page, every one labelled Ad: in the menu, just under the first screen, and close to the end. All three lead to a single private online casino. This is not the province's own online site; the province does not operate it, nor has it licensed it. Each click can bring this site a commission, and the partner behind the links may change. No paid links appear on this page.
The arrangement is set out in full on the page How this guide is paid for.