British Columbia was the first province to introduce online gambling in Canada. It’s  also became the first government-run online casino in North America offering sports betting, bingo and casino and lottery games. Poker is due to come online at a later stage. The site suffered a security breach in July and was immediately taken offline, however following an external review and an estimated CA$5m in total lost revenues, it was back online and available to players on 20 August.

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia is planning to introduce online gambling despite opposition from the Atlantic Lottery Corporation that is jointly by the four Atlantic provincial governments including New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia itself. A decision on online gambling in Nova Scotia is expected when the government releases its overall gaming strategy this fall. Atlantic Lottery Corporation has PlaySphere, a website that allows people to wager on some online games, but not multi-player poker, blackjack and other casino games.

Finance Minister Graham Steele told the Chronicle Herald newspaper the introduction of online gambling was being developed as part of a new gaming strategy, but that it was not necessary for all four partners to agree on products offered. Last week Danny Williams, Newfoundland Premier, said he would vote against internet gambling in his province. Atlantic Lottery has an online site called PlaySphere, which allows people to buy lottery tickets and play interactive games.

"They're spending millions of dollars. So it's not a case of saying, 'Should we be in it or not?' Nova Scotians are in it in a big way, but in an unregulated environment," said Steele. "For those who say that the government shouldn't be there, I just say I cannot consider it to be responsible to leave problem gamblers to the mercy of illegal, unregulated offshore gambling sites, many of which are believed to be fronts for organized crime."

"You're not going to capture the money from those people who have already made the decision to gamble offshore. You're going to have to then stimulate your own market internally, get players from within your own jurisdiction to go online and play, who perhaps have never played before." Steele said prohibitions on gambling don't work any better than bans on alcohol. British Columbia launched its online gambling site last month, and Quebec and Ontario are planning their own versions. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams has promised to vote against any such move in his province.