Online casinos have been legal in Nova Scotia since 2022, giving players access to both state-regulated platforms and offshore sites. With so many options, it's tough to know which ones are safe, fair, and worth your time.
We’ve reviewed over 50 platforms to find the best Nova Scotia online casinos. Here, we rank the top sites for casino games and break down the legal landscape so you can gamble online with confidence.
Online gambling is available in Nova Scotia through the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC). The ALC website offers online casino games, lottery draws, instant-win games, and Pro Line sports betting. Online poker is not offered through ALC.
Some players also choose to play at internationally licensed online casinos, which generally provide larger game libraries and poker options. These platforms are regulated in the jurisdictions where they are based.
| Type of Gambling | Availability | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Online Casinos | Available | You can play various online casino games via the Atlantic Lottery Corporation website, which went live in Nova Scotia in 2022. Offshore sites are also available. |
| Online Poker | Offshore only | There are no regulated online poker rooms in the province, but players are free to use offshore sites. |
| Online Sports Betting | Available | Online sports betting is available through the ALC’s Pro•Line site. Offshore sites are also available. |
| Online Lottery | Available | Lotto Max, Lotto 6/49, Daily Grand, and instant-win games are offered online. |
The legal gambling age is 19 in Nova Scotia. Anyone aged 19 or older can buy lottery tickets, place sports bets, or play casino games and poker at land-based casinos. You can also play online casino games.
We have reviewed all the leading online casinos that welcome Nova Scotians. After weighing up their relative strengths and weaknesses, we decided that these are the top five sites for Nova Scotia players.
This is our top choice for Nova Scotia online casino players who enjoy slots. TonyBet is home to more than 5,000 online slots, which have been sourced from around 100 studios. You’ll find everything from classic 3-reel slots to famous progressive jackpot slots. The site hosts loads of Megaways slots, bonus buy slots, Hold & Win slots, 3D slots, and more, covering all formats, themes, and styles.
TonyBet offers loads of virtual table games, live casino games, and casual games too. There’s also an excellent online sportsbook, so this is one of the best sites for Nova Scotia online gambling enthusiasts.
Bodog is the best site for poker players in Nova Scotia. This popular gambling site has been available in the province for decades, and it has a trusted reputation. Bodog offers online sports betting and casino games, but the poker room is the site’s best feature. It’s part of the PaiWangLuo network, which benefits from higher traffic than any other poker network in North America.
Bodog is a feature-rich poker site too, and it offers fast payouts and excellent customer service.
North Casino is a great option for anyone in Nova Scotia who enjoys playing progressive jackpot slots. There’s a useful section on the homepage, which highlights these games and displays the current jackpots at any given time. These games give you the chance to win seven-figure or even eight-figure jackpots from just one spin of the reels.
You’ll find jackpot games from other studios too, plus lots of standard video slots and table games.
Hell Spin offers a wealth of great bonuses. Nova Scotians can claim a 100% welcome bonus worth up to $3,000. There are also large second, third, and fourth deposit bonuses available. Each week, you can claim a 50% reload bonus of up to $600, plus 100 free spins. Free spins are offered on every deposit you mak,e too.
This is another trusted online casino, which hosts a large selection of games from plenty of respected software providers.
Betway is the best site for anyone interested in Nova Scotia sports betting. You can bet on a long list of sports, from football, hockey, and basketball to badminton, beach volleyball, and Gaelic hurling. The site covers lots of winter sports too, plus esports, politics, entertainment, and novelty markets.
You’ll also benefit from more features, such as stats and streaming, plus more bonuses. Aside from sports betting in Nova Scotia, the site also offers a strong online casino, with lots of video slots and table games.
How We Evaluate Nova Scotia Online CasinosWe conduct rigorous reviews of all the leading Canadian online casinos that accept players in Nova Scotia. Our experts assess the bonuses, the software, the payout speeds, the customer service and the general reputation of each site.
These are the four main areas we consider.
Naturally, each gambling site must be available in Nova Scotia. That means players aged 19 or older can access the site from anywhere in the province via their phones, tablets or computers, with no need for a VPN. We ensure each site offers CAD accounts too.
We review each platform’s licensing and regulatory oversight, as well as the security tools it uses to protect player information and funds. This includes encryption standards, account protection features, and responsible gambling tools.
Our reviewers also make sure these sites offer banking options that suit Canadian players, such as Interac, iDebit, Instadebit, MuchBetter, Payz, Visa and MasterCard. We also consider the deposit and withdrawal limits, along with the withdrawal times.
Finally, we break down the game selection at each site offering online gambling in Nova Scotia. We’re looking for sites that host a wide, diverse variety of games from lots of reputable software providers. It’s also important to confirm that the games have been independently certified for delivering fair, random, reliable results.
Here’s a look at how some of our popular Nova Scotia gambling sites stack up against one another:
| Casino | Welcome Bonus | Rollover | Min Deposit | Number of Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Betway | 100% up to $300, plus 50 free spins | 10x for sportsbook | $20 | 800+ |
| Bodog | 100% up to $600 plus 50 free spins for casino, 100% up to $400 for sportsbook, 100% up to $1,000 for poker | 40x for casino, 5x for sportsbook, $1 released for every 150 Reward Points in poker room | $10 | 1,300+ |
| TonyBet | 100% up to $1,000 plus 100 free spins for casino, 100% up to $350 for sportsbook | 40x for casino bonus, 50x for free spins, 5x for sportsbook | $20 | 5,300+ |
| North Casino | 100% up to $1,000 | 60x | $10 | 2,000+ |
| Hell Spin | 100% up to $3,000 | 40x | $20 | 4,000+ |
Yes. Online casino gambling is legal in Nova Scotia, but the only provincially regulated option is the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) website, which is a government-run platform.
The ALC platform originally offered online lottery products and expanded to include online casino games in 2022, operating under the Gaming Control Act and Atlantic Lottery Regulations. The current selection includes slots, virtual table games, video poker, keno, instant-win games, and Pro•Line sports betting, including single-event wagering.
However, the platform does not offer live dealer casino games or online poker rooms, and the overall game library is smaller compared to the selection available at internationally licensed online casinos, which are regulated in the jurisdictions where they operate.
Comparing the ALC Platform to Offshore Online CasinosNova Scotians have two main options for online gambling: the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) website and internationally licensed online casinos. Both are available, but they operate under different regulatory frameworks, which affects the types of games and features available.
| Feature | ALC (Provincially Regulated) | Offshore Casinos |
|---|---|---|
| Feature | ALC (Provincially Regulated) | Internationally Licensed Casinos (Available to Nova Scotians) |
| Regulation | Operates under Nova Scotia’s Gaming Control Act and Atlantic Lottery Regulations | Regulated in the jurisdiction where the casino is licensed (e.g., Malta, Kahnawake, Curaçao) |
| Game Selection | Smaller selection (300 games) and no live dealer games or online poker rooms | Often much larger libraries, including live dealer tables and poker rooms, depending on the operator |
| Sports Betting | Pro Line offers single-event and parlay betting, but fewer markets and features | Wider range of sports, leagues, live betting options, and specialized betting tools |
| Banking Options | Standard local payment methods via ALC | Payment methods vary by site; many support Interac, e-wallets, and cryptocurrency |
| Responsible Gambling Tools | Provincially mandated responsible gambling controls are built into the platform | Tools vary by operator; quality depends on the licensing authority and internal policy |
| Access | Operates within Nova Scotia and is the only provincially regulated option | Available for Nova Scotians to access, though not regulated by the province |
Nova Scotia offers several forms of legal, land-based gambling in addition to online play. These activities are regulated under the Gaming Control Act, and different organizations oversee each gambling category.
Nova Scotia has two full-service casinos, along with a wider network of venues offering video lottery terminals (VLTs).
The casinos are operated by Great Canadian Entertainment, while VLTs are run under the Atlantic Lottery Corporation in licensed bars, lounges, and community gaming centres.
| Casino | Address | Phone Number | Gambling Options | Operated By |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casino Nova Scotia Halifax | 1983 Upper Water Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3Y5 | (902) 425-7777 | Slot machines, live table games electronic table, live poker room | Great Canadian Entertainment |
| Casino Nova Scotia Sydney | 525 George Street, Sydney, Nova Scotia B1P 1K5 | (902) 563-7777 | Slot machines, electronic table games | Great Canadian Entertainment |
Sports betting is legal in Nova Scotia and is offered through Pro Line, operated by the Atlantic Lottery Corporation. Both parlay bets and single-event bets are allowed, following the federal Bill C-218 (2021) amendment to the Criminal Code.
Parimutuel betting on horse racing is legal and regulated federally by the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Agency. Nova Scotia hosts harness racing events, most notably at Truro Raceway. Season schedules vary, and wagering is available on-site.
The Alcohol and Gaming Authority (AGA) regulates gambling in Nova Scotia. This provincial government agency was previously known as the Nova Scotia Gaming Control Commission. The AGA is the licensing authority for gambling operators in Nova Scotia, and it regulates all licensed gambling activities.
Meanwhile, the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation (NSCG) oversees and manages the operators that carry out the day-to-day business: the Atlantic Lottery and Casino Nova Scotia. The NSGC ensures that both operators comply with the Criminal Code of Canada and the Gaming Control Act.
New Brunswick has very similar gambling laws to Nova Scotia. There are a few casinos in the province, including Casino New Brunswick and Grey Rock Casino. Bettors in New Brunswick can also use the ALC.ca site, which is run by the Atlantic Lottery Corporation. The site covers Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island.
Anyone aged 19 or older can play at ALC.ca in New Brunswick. They can access online casino games, keno, slots, virtual table games and video poker on the site. It also sells online lottery tickets and Pro•Line sports betting tickets.
However, grey market sites like TonyBet, Betway and Sports Interaction are popular in New Brunswick too. They offer more games, a wider range of sports betting options, sharper odds, larger bonuses and better software than ALC.ca.
The Future of Online Casinos in Nova ScotiaWe are unlikely to see any significant changes to the Nova Scotia online casino market in the immediate future. The last major shift occurred in 2022, when the provincial government rolled out the ALC.ca site in Nova Scotia.
That site continues to compete with offshore online casinos, and it will be interesting to see how the battle for market share plays out over the next few years.
In 2022, Ontario became the first province to initiate a regulated market for privately owned online casinos, sportsbooks and poker sites. Alberta has now passed a similar law. While there is a chance that Nova Scotia could be the third province to roll out a regulated market, there are no plans to do so right now. Lawmakers are not considering any bills of that nature, but we will let readers know if any are introduced.
Please Gamble Responsibly in Nova ScotiaIt is important to gamble responsibly in Nova Scotia. Responsible gamblers stick to a tight budget, which doesn’t include money they need for rent, bills or other essentials. They treat online gambling as a form of entertainment, which is enjoyed in moderation, as they know that success is never guaranteed.
If you need support, there are several responsible gambling resources available to Nova Scotians:
Nova Scotia online gambling is legal. You will find a modest range of casino games and a few sports betting options at ALC.ca. However, international gambling sites offer a much larger range of games, plus lots more sports betting options and online poker rooms.
We reviewed the leading platforms that accept Nova Scotia players and highlighted the ones that meet our standards for safety, fair play, and reliable payouts.
Whatever site you choose, we encourage you to set limits, play responsibly, and prioritize your safety online.
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