Gaming Offences

Ontario has a regulated online gaming market, but unlicensed operations remain exposed to Criminal Code and regulatory charges. The legality of a given operation is fact-specific — we assess it at the outset.

Often — proceeds-of-crime, fraud, and regulatory allegations are common companions. We defend the entire matter as one coordinated strategy.

Frequently, yes. Gaming prosecutions rest on warrants and surveillance authorizations that must meet a legal standard. Where they do not, the evidence can be excluded under section 24(2).

Unlicensed gaming and bookmaking can be charged under the Criminal Code, even as legal, regulated gaming expands in Ontario. Whether conduct crosses the line — and how the evidence was gathered — are central questions in these cases.

It is a place kept or used for gaming or betting in circumstances the Criminal Code prohibits. Proving the required use and the accused's connection to it is the Crown's burden, and it can be contested.

Yes — they are frequently laid alongside proceeds-of-crime and, sometimes, drug or weapons allegations. A coordinated defence across all the charges is important to the overall outcome.

A private game among friends is generally lawful if no one profits from hosting it. Under section 197 of the Criminal Code, a place becomes a ‘common gaming house’ if it is kept for gain, if the host takes a rake or cut of the bets, if players pay a fee to play or use equipment, if a bank is kept by some but not all players, or if the odds are not equal for everyone. Taking a cut is what usually crosses the line.

Bookmaking, pool-selling and recording or registering bets under section 202 of the Criminal Code are indictable offences with a maximum of two years’ imprisonment for a first offence. Repeat offences carry mandatory minimums: 14 days for a second offence and three months for each subsequent one. The section also covers controlling money tied to illegal betting and supplying betting information. These prosecutions often rely on wiretaps, seized records and digital evidence, all of which can be challenged.

A found-in charge under section 201(2) of the Criminal Code applies to anyone found, without lawful excuse, in a common gaming house or common betting house — for example, players present during a police raid. It is a summary conviction offence, far less serious than keeping the house, but a conviction is still a criminal record. These charges can often be resolved without a conviction, particularly where the person had no role in running the operation.

Yes. Section 199 of the Criminal Code allows police, with a warrant — or without one when they find someone keeping a common gaming house — to seize anything that may be evidence of a gaming offence and take the people found there into custody. A court can later declare seized items forfeited, and cash may also be pursued as proceeds of crime. The warrant, the search and any forfeiture claim can be contested. Aaron M. Spektor reviews each from the outset.