Canadian Sport Lotteries

Those unfamiliar with online sports betting and the various sportsbooks available to Canadian bettors are likely using Canadian sports lotteries to place their bets currently. Provincial lottery corporations have sports betting product available for Canadians to wager on.

However convenient these may be, they are not the best or only option available to Canadian sports bettors. Instead of one blanket sports lottery brand across the country, there are several brands available due to the lotteries being government-owned and regulated. 

Below, we will list and explain each sports lottery brand, and provide some great online alternatives that you may like to try in lieu of the lotto. 

OLG : Pro-Line

Responsible for all lotteries, charity, casinos and slot machines in Ontario, The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation is one of the largest lottery corporations in Canada. Their sports betting product, Pro-Line, offers fixed odds sports betting - solely in the form of parlay betting. 

Canadian bettors are able to place three to six event parlays with a minimum wager of $2 and a maximum bet of $100. All legs of the parlay bet must be correct to win. Point spread betting is also available through Pro-Line. Bettors are able to predict the outcome of up to 12 sporting events; selecting whether the home or away team will prevail. 

Pro-Line also has Pro-Picks and prop bets available to bettors that want to make things a little more interesting. Bettors receive a Pro-Picks selection sheet and place wagers on the outcomes of specific games or prop bets. 

While OLG offers plenty of sports that Canadian bettors love to wager on, they lack in a few key areas. UFC betting is becoming more and more popular and sportsbooks are taking advantage of this. OLG doesn’t offer any betting options on UFC fights or UFC fighter props or futures. The other huge misstep is that OLG does not offer any betting on NBA due to the affiliation between the Ontario Government and the Toronto Raptors. 

ALC : Pro-Line Stadium

Comprised of the four Atlantic provincial governments, Atlantic Lottery Corporation blankets the Atlantic provinces and remains the only lottery commission available to Maritimers. Boasting various lotto options like LottoMax and Lotto 649, as well as other lottery type games such as Bingo available in kiosks, gas stations and stores across the Maritimes. 

Their sports betting product, Pro-Line Stadium, is almost the same as OLG’s Pro-Line. Similar in the fact that they both mainly offer parlays bets, but bettors can select between two to eight games to wager on. Fortunately for Atlantic Canadians, NBA is available to bet on – unlike the OLG. 

ALC also has a Pro-Line Fantasy betting option, where Canadian bettors can predict the outcomes from specific players rather than games. Bettors simply select two to five players from the Fantasy list, which usually involves how many points or goals a player may accumulate. 

Aside from the limited betting options, the ALC site is not mobile friendly. ALC does have a mobile app, but Pro-Line Stadium is not integrated into the application. Their mobile site is not friendly with Android devices, but seems to be functional for iPhones. Having a mobile friendly website is crucial in the sports betting industry these days; and having a mobile app earns sportsbooks extra brownie points. 

Loto-Quebec : Mise-o-jeu

As one of the older and more organized lottery commissions in Canada, Loto-Quebec is definitely a competitor in the Canadian sports betting industry. Regulated by the Quebec Alcohol, Racing and Gaming Commission since 1993, Loto-Quebec operates a number of land-based casinos and resort hotels in addition to their lottery products. 

Their sport betting product – Mise-o-jeu, is fairly user-friendly and has a wide variety of sports and events to wager on. Much like Pro-Line Stadium, Canadian bettors can select two to eight game parlays per bet slip. All selections must be correct for the parlay to payout. Mise-o-jeu also offers various prop bets for a number of sports. 

Mise-o-jeu has a great mobile application, which greatly helps their cause. Loto-Quebec has their own app, but having a separate app solely for Mise-o-jeu is definitely a wise move on their front. They are clearly trying to keep up with online sportsbooks such as Sportsbook and Sportsbook. 

BCLC : PlayNow

The British Columbia Lottery Corporation manages and regulates all gaming operations in the province including lotto, casinos, bingo, e-gaming and sports betting. First Nations runs a significant portion of the casinos in the province, but they are all subject to the rules and regulations of the BCLC nonetheless. 

When it comes to sports betting in British Columbia, they offer an online betting product called PlayNow. While PlayNow focuses mostly on casino and lotto games, they do offer a few simple sports betting options. PlayNow is far from competing with online sportsbooks like Sportsbook and Sportsbook, or even Pro-Line for that matter. 

Looking for the best odds? You won’t find them with PlayNow. Their odds are even worse than their limited betting options. They do offer most major sports and like OLG - they do not offer any odds on NBA. They also don’t allow you to place different betting types on one bet slip – for instance, you cannot bet on the Moneyline and place an Over/Under bet on the same slip. 

WCLC : Sport Select 

The Western Canada Lottery Corporation operates and regulates lottery operations for several western Canadian provinces and territories, including Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut. While each province has their own lotteries corporation, WCLC works in conjuction with each of them to manage and regulate gaming in each province and territory. 

Extremely popular in Alberta, Sport Select is the only real sports betting option for Canadian bettors in the Western provinces aside from offshore sportsbooks like Sportsbook or Sportsbook. Available in lottery terminals, grocery stores, casinos and gas stations across Alberta, Sport Select provides a wide variety of sports and betting options for Canadians. 

With such a large quantity of the major sports teams being in Western Canada, it is a given that the sports betting industry would also be booming. Turning to online sportsbooks would be the wisest thing for Western Canadians; though Sport Select is capable, it lacks many features and their website is very plain compared to OLG and ALC. Their mobile site is functional, but they lack a mobile app, which is a feature most Canadian bettors are looking for these days with the rise of smartphones. 

Alternatives to the Lotto

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