British Columbia’s gambling oversight in 2026: the Independent Gambling Control Office replaces GPEB
On 13 April 2026 the Independent Gambling Control Office replaced GPEB as BC's gambling regulator under the new Gaming Control Act; PlayNow continues unchanged.
British Columbia has a new gambling regulator. On 13 April 2026 the Independent Gambling Control Office (IGCO) replaced the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB) as the province’s regulator of gambling and horse racing, the same day the province’s modernised Gaming Control Act came into force. The change was announced by the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General on 2 December 2025 and confirmed by the IGCO itself on its launch day.
What changed on 13 April 2026
The new Gaming Control Act was passed by the legislature in the fall of 2022 but only took effect on 13 April 2026, once the regulations and the new office were ready. The province’s announcement tied the reform to two independent reviews, the German Report and the Cullen Commission on money laundering. The Independent Gambling Control Office says the change fulfils a government commitment to separate the regulatory and revenue generation functions of gambling. The act responds with five structural changes: an independent regulator, clearer separation of roles between that regulator and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), a standards-based regulatory model, responsibility for anti-money-laundering placed with the regulator, and the power to issue directives to BCLC without the minister’s consent.
GPEB was a branch inside the ministry. The IGCO is headed by a general manager, Sam MacLeod, who makes and enforces regulations for gambling and horse racing. The office oversees BCLC’s commercial gambling, charitable gambling and the horse-racing industry, and it continues to administer Gambling Support BC, the province’s free counselling and outreach programme. The IGCO also gained its own website and communications function, with a commitment to publish research, regulatory decisions and enforcement actions.
The act also rewrote the industry’s fee structure for the first time in more than 15 years. Fees for casinos and charitable gaming events are now based on revenue rather than a flat amount, and new fee categories were created for online gaming supplies to reflect the growth of BCLC’s PlayNow.com. Those fees fall on operators, suppliers and gaming workers, not on players.
What did not change
BCLC still conducts and manages all commercial gambling in the province, including casinos and online play. PlayNow.com remains the only online gambling site legally offered in British Columbia, and the provincial government’s own gambling page, updated after 13 April 2026, states that plainly. British Columbia has not followed Ontario and Alberta in opening an open licensing market for private operators, and nothing in the new act sets one up. The minimum age remains 19.
The reform therefore changes who watches BCLC, not who runs the games. The IGCO can now direct BCLC on standards, compliance and anti-money-laundering controls without going through the minister, which was one of the Cullen Commission’s central recommendations.
What it means for players
For anyone in British Columbia who plays on PlayNow.com, nothing changes at the account level: the same site, the same GameSense tools for limits and breaks, the same age of 19. The difference is behind the scenes. Complaints about how gambling is conducted in the province now go to an office that is independent of the ministry and of BCLC’s revenue mandate, and that office is committed to publishing its decisions. Offshore sites that accept British Columbians remain outside this system entirely, with no IGCO oversight and no local complaint route. Our Canada iGaming tracker records British Columbia as a single-operator province.
Gambling can be addictive. Please play responsibly and within your means.