Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)

Gaming and Betting

Marginal note:Keeping gaming or betting house

• 201 (1) Every person who keeps a common gaming house or common betting house is guilty of

  • (a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years; or

  • (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction.

• Marginal note:Person found in or owner permitting use

  (2) Every one who

  • (a) is found, without lawful excuse, in a common gaming house or common betting house, or

  • (b) as owner, landlord, lessor, tenant, occupier or agent, knowingly permits a place to be let or used for the purposes of a common gaming house or common betting house,

  is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

Marginal note:Betting, pool-selling, book-making, etc.

• 202 (1) Every one commits an offence who

  • (a) uses or knowingly allows a place under his control to be used for the purpose of recording or registering bets or selling a pool;

  • (b) imports, makes, buys, sells, rents, leases, hires or keeps, exhibits, employs or knowingly allows to be kept, exhibited or employed in any place under his control any device or apparatus for the purpose of recording or registering bets or selling a pool, or any machine or device for gambling or betting;

  • (c) has under his control any money or other property relating to a transaction that is an offence under this section;

  • (d) records or registers bets or sells a pool;

  • (e) engages in book-making or pool-selling, or in the business or occupation of betting, or makes any agreement for the purchase or sale of betting or gaming privileges, or for the purchase or sale of information that is intended to assist in book-making, pool-selling or betting;

  • (f) prints, provides or offers to print or provide information intended for use in connection with book-making, pool-selling or betting on any horse-race, fight, game or sport, whether or not it takes place in or outside Canada or has or has not taken place;

  • (g) imports or brings into Canada any information or writing that is intended or is likely to promote or be of use in gambling, book-making, pool-selling or betting on a horse-race, fight, game or sport, and where this paragraph applies it is immaterial

    • (i) whether the information is published before, during or after the race, fight game or sport, or

    • (ii) whether the race, fight, game or sport takes place in Canada or elsewhere,

    but this paragraph does not apply to a newspaper, magazine or other periodical published in good faith primarily for a purpose other than the publication of such information;

  • (h) advertises, prints, publishes, exhibits, posts up, or otherwise gives notice of any offer, invitation or inducement to bet on, to guess or to foretell the result of a contest, or a result of or contingency relating to any contest;

  • (i) wilfully and knowingly sends, transmits, delivers or receives any message that conveys any information relating to book-making, pool-selling, betting or wagering, or that is intended to assist in book-making, pool-selling, betting or wagering; or

  • (j) aids or assists in any manner in anything that is an offence under this section.

• Marginal note:Punishment

  (2) Every one who commits an offence under this section is guilty of an indictable offence and liable

  • (a) for a first offence, to imprisonment for not more than two years;

  • (b) for a second offence, to imprisonment for not more than two years and not less than fourteen days; and

  • (c) for each subsequent offence, to imprisonment for not more than two years and not less than three months.

Marginal note:Placing bets on behalf of others

203 Every one who

• (a) places or offers or agrees to place a bet on behalf of another person for a consideration paid or to be paid by or on behalf of that other person,

• (b) engages in the business or practice of placing or agreeing to place bets on behalf of other persons, whether for a consideration or otherwise, or

• (c) holds himself out or allows himself to be held out as engaging in the business or practice of placing or agreeing to place bets on behalf of other persons, whether for a consideration or otherwise,

is guilty of an indictable offence and liable

• (d) for a first offence, to imprisonment for not more than two years,

• (e) for a second offence, to imprisonment for not more than two years and not less than fourteen days, and

• (f) for each subsequent offence, to imprisonment for not more than two years and not less than three months.

Marginal note:Exemption

• 204 (1) Sections 201 and 202 do not apply to

  • (a) any person or association by reason of his or their becoming the custodian or depository of any money, property or valuable thing staked, to be paid to

    • (i) the winner of a lawful race, sport, game or exercise,

    • (ii) the owner of a horse engaged in a lawful race, or

    • (iii) the winner of any bets between not more than ten individuals;

  • (b) a private bet between individuals not engaged in any way in the business of betting;

  • (c) bets made or records of bets made through the agency of a pari-mutuel system on running, trotting or pacing horse-races if

    • (i) the bets or records of bets are made on the race-course of an association in respect of races conducted at that race-course or another race-course in or out of Canada, and, in the case of a race conducted on a race-course situated outside Canada, the governing body that regulates the race has been certified as acceptable by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food or a person designated by that Minister pursuant to subsection (8.1) and that Minister or person has permitted pari-mutuel betting in Canada on the race pursuant to that subsection, and

    • (ii) the provisions of this section and the regulations are complied with.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (1.1) For greater certainty, a person may, in accordance with the regulations, do anything described in section 201 or 202, if the person does it for the purposes of legal pari-mutuel betting.

• Marginal note:Presumption

  (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c), bets made, in accordance with the regulations, in a betting theatre referred to in paragraph (8)(e), or by any means of telecommunication to the race-course of an association or to such a betting theatre, are deemed to be made on the race-course of the association.

• Marginal note:Operation of pari-mutuel system

  (3) No person or association shall use a pari-mutuel system of betting in respect of a horse-race unless the system has been approved by and its operation is carried on under the supervision of an officer appointed by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

• Marginal note:Supervision of pari-mutuel system

  (4) Every person or association operating a pari-mutuel system of betting in accordance with this section in respect of a horse-race, whether or not the person or association is conducting the race-meeting at which the race is run, shall pay to the Receiver General in respect of each individual pool of the race and each individual feature pool one-half of one per cent, or such greater fraction not exceeding one per cent as may be fixed by the Governor in Council, of the total amount of money that is bet through the agency of the pari-mutuel system of betting.

• Marginal note:Percentage that may be deducted and retained

  (5) Where any person or association becomes a custodian or depository of any money, bet or stakes under a pari-mutuel system in respect of a horse-race, that person or association shall not deduct or retain any amount from the total amount of money, bets or stakes unless it does so pursuant to subsection (6).

• Marginal note:Percentage that may be deducted and retained

  (6) An association operating a pari-mutuel system of betting in accordance with this section in respect of a horse-race, or any other association or person acting on its behalf, may deduct and retain from the total amount of money that is bet through the agency of the pari-mutuel system, in respect of each individual pool of each race or each individual feature pool, a percentage not exceeding the percentage prescribed by the regulations plus any odd cents over any multiple of five cents in the amount calculated in accordance with the regulations to be payable in respect of each dollar bet.

• Marginal note:Stopping of betting

  (7) Where an officer appointed by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is not satisfied that the provisions of this section and the regulations are being carried out in good faith by any person or association in relation to a race meeting, he may, at any time, order any betting in relation to the race meeting to be stopped for any period that he considers proper.

• Marginal note:Regulations

  (8) The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food may make regulations

  • (a) prescribing the maximum number of races for each race-course on which a race meeting is conducted, in respect of which a pari-mutuel system of betting may be used for the race meeting or on any one calendar day during the race meeting, and the circumstances in which the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food or a person designated by him for that purpose may approve of the use of that system in respect of additional races on any race-course for a particular race meeting or on a particular day during the race meeting;

  • (b) prohibiting any person or association from using a pari-mutuel system of betting for any race-course on which a race meeting is conducted in respect of more than the maximum number of races prescribed pursuant to paragraph (a) and the additional races, if any, in respect of which the use of a pari-mutuel system of betting has been approved pursuant to that paragraph;

  • (c) prescribing the maximum percentage that may be deducted and retained pursuant to subsection (6) by or on behalf of a person or association operating a pari-mutuel system of betting in respect of a horse-race in accordance with this section and providing for the determination of the percentage that each such person or association may deduct and retain;

  • (d) respecting pari-mutuel betting in Canada on horse-races conducted on a race-course situated outside Canada; and

  • (e) authorizing pari-mutuel betting and governing the conditions for pari-mutuel betting, including the granting of licences therefor, that is conducted by an association in a betting theatre owned or leased by the association in a province in which the Lieutenant Governor in Council, or such other person or authority in the province as may be specified by the Lieutenant Governor in Council thereof, has issued a licence to that association for the betting theatre.

• Marginal note:Approvals

  (8.1) The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food or a person designated by that Minister may, with respect to a horse-race conducted on a race-course situated outside Canada,

  • (a) certify as acceptable, for the purposes of this section, the governing body that regulates the race; and

  • (b) permit pari-mutuel betting in Canada on the race.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (9) The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food may make regulations respecting

  • (a) the supervision and operation of pari-mutuel systems related to race meetings, and the fixing of the dates on which and the places at which an association may conduct those meetings;

  • (b) the method of calculating the amount payable in respect of each dollar bet;

  • (c) the conduct of race-meetings in relation to the supervision and operation of pari-mutuel systems, including photo-finishes, video patrol and the testing of bodily substances taken from horses entered in a race at such meetings, including, in the case of a horse that dies while engaged in racing or immediately before or after the race, the testing of any tissue taken from its body;

  • (d) the prohibition, restriction or regulation of

    • (i) the possession of drugs or medicaments or of equipment used in the administering of drugs or medicaments at or near race-courses, or

    • (ii) the administering of drugs or medicaments to horses participating in races run at a race meeting during which a pari-mutuel system of betting is used; and

  • (e) the provision, equipment and maintenance of accommodation, services or other facilities for the proper supervision and operation of pari-mutuel systems related to race meetings, by associations conducting those meetings or by other associations.

• Marginal note:900 metre zone

  (9.1) For the purposes of this section, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food may designate, with respect to any race-course, a zone that shall be deemed to be part of the race-course, if

  • (a) the zone is immediately adjacent to the race-course;

  • (b) the farthest point of that zone is not more than 900 metres from the nearest point on the race track of the race-course; and

  • (c) all real property situated in that zone is owned or leased by the person or association that owns or leases the race-course.

• Marginal note:Contravention

  (10) Every person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this section or of any regulations made under this section is guilty of

  • (a) an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years; or

  • (b) an offence punishable on summary conviction.

• Marginal note:Definition of association

  (11) For the purposes of this section, association means an association incorporated by or pursuant to an Act of Parliament or of the legislature of a province that owns or leases a race-course and conducts horse-races in the ordinary course of its business and, to the extent that the applicable legislation requires that the purposes of the association be expressly stated in its constating instrument, having as one of its purposes the conduct of horse-races.

205 [Repealed, R.S., 1985, c. 52 (1st Supp.), s. 1]

Marginal note:Offence in relation to lotteries and games of chance

• 206 (1) Every person is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years or is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction who

  • (a) makes, prints, advertises or publishes, or causes or procures to be made, printed, advertised or published, any proposal, scheme or plan for advancing, lending, giving, selling or in any way disposing of any property by lots, cards, tickets or any mode of chance whatever;

  • (b) sells, barters, exchanges or otherwise disposes of, or causes or procures, or aids or assists in, the sale, barter, exchange or other disposal of, or offers for sale, barter or exchange, any lot, card, ticket or other means or device for advancing, lending, giving, selling or otherwise disposing of any property by lots, tickets or any mode of chance whatever;

  • (c) knowingly sends, transmits, mails, ships, delivers or allows to be sent, transmitted, mailed, shipped or delivered, or knowingly accepts for carriage or transport or conveys any article that is used or intended for use in carrying out any device, proposal, scheme or plan for advancing, lending, giving, selling or otherwise disposing of any property by any mode of chance whatever;

  • (d) conducts or manages any scheme, contrivance or operation of any kind for the purpose of determining who, or the holders of what lots, tickets, numbers or chances, are the winners of any property so proposed to be advanced, lent, given, sold or disposed of;

  • (e) conducts, manages or is a party to any scheme, contrivance or operation of any kind by which any person, on payment of any sum of money, or the giving of any valuable security, or by obligating himself to pay any sum of money or give any valuable security, shall become entitled under the scheme, contrivance or operation to receive from the person conducting or managing the scheme, contrivance or operation, or any other person, a larger sum of money or amount of valuable security than the sum or amount paid or given, or to be paid or given, by reason of the fact that other persons have paid or given, or obligated themselves to pay or give any sum of money or valuable security under the scheme, contrivance or operation;

  • (f) disposes of any goods, wares or merchandise by any game of chance or any game of mixed chance and skill in which the contestant or competitor pays money or other valuable consideration;

  • (g) induces any person to stake or hazard any money or other valuable property or thing on the result of any dice game, three-card monte, punch board, coin table or on the operation of a wheel of fortune;

  • (h) for valuable consideration carries on or plays or offers to carry on or to play, or employs any person to carry on or play in a public place or a place to which the public have access, the game of three-card monte;

  • (i) receives bets of any kind on the outcome of a game of three-card monte; or

  • (j) being the owner of a place, permits any person to play the game of three-card monte therein.

• Definition of three-card monte

  (2) In this section, three-card monte means the game commonly known as three-card monte and includes any other game that is similar to it, whether or not the game is played with cards and notwithstanding the number of cards or other things that are used for the purpose of playing.

• Marginal note:Exemption for fairs

  (3) Paragraphs (1)(f) and (g), in so far as they do not relate to a dice game, three-card monte, punch board or coin table, 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.

• Definition of fair or exhibition

  (3.1) For the purposes of this section, fair or exhibition means an event where agricultural or fishing products are presented or where activities relating to agriculture or fishing take place.

• Marginal note:Offence

  (4) Every one who buys, takes or receives a lot, ticket or other device mentioned in subsection (1) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

• Marginal note:Lottery sale void

  (5) Every sale, loan, gift, barter or exchange of any property, by any lottery, ticket, card or other mode of chance depending on or to be determined by chance or lot, is void, and all property so sold, lent, given, bartered or exchanged is forfeited to Her Majesty.

• Marginal note:Bona fide exception

  (6) Subsection (5) does not affect any right or title to property acquired by any bona fide purchaser for valuable consideration without notice.

• Marginal note:Foreign lottery included

  (7) This section applies to the printing or publishing, or causing to be printed or published, of any advertisement, scheme, proposal or plan of any foreign lottery, and the sale or offer for sale of any ticket, chance or share, in any such lottery, or the advertisement for sale of such ticket, chance or share, and the conducting or managing of any such scheme, contrivance or operation for determining the winners in any such lottery.

• Marginal note:Saving

  (8) This section does not apply to

  • (a) the division by lot or chance of any property by joint tenants or tenants in common, or persons having joint interests in any such property; or

  • (b) [Repealed, 1999, c. 28, s. 156]

  • (c) bonds, debentures, debenture stock or other securities recallable by drawing of lots and redeemable with interest and providing for payment of premiums on redemption or otherwise.