New Brunswick says it is exploring regulated private online gambling

New Brunswick’s government says it is looking at whether to license private online gambling operators. “Government is exploring options around regulating private online operators,” Finance Minister René Legacy said in a statement to Brunswick News, published by the Telegraph-Journal on 19 October 2026. No timeline for the review was given. If the province went ahead, it would be the third in Canada, after Ontario and Alberta, to open its online market to licensed private companies. For now, Atlantic Lottery remains the only legal online gambling operator in New Brunswick and the rest of Atlantic Canada.

What the government said

Legacy’s statement added that “online gaming is continuously evolving”. Asked to elaborate, government spokesperson David Kelly said that “approaches in other provinces and jurisdictions are being monitored as government considers how best to maintain a safe, responsible, and appropriately regulated gaming environment for New Brunswickers.”

The Telegraph-Journal also reported that New Brunswick’s budget documents show government lottery revenue down C$8 million from two years earlier.

Why the question has come up

Atlantic Lottery is publicly owned and returns its profits to the four Atlantic provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. New Brunswick’s stake is held by the New Brunswick Lotteries and Gaming Corporation, a Crown corporation, and Atlantic Lottery runs the province’s ticket lottery, video lottery and online games on its behalf.

Atlantic Lottery’s 2025-26 annual report puts the pressure in numbers. It says approximately C$250 million leaves Atlantic Canada each year through illegal operators, and that its own share of total online betting and gaming activity in the region rose to 35%, from 34% in 2024-25. New Brunswick received C$148.9 million of the corporation’s profit in 2025-26, down from C$154.6 million the year before.

Atlantic Lottery spokesperson Greg Weston told the Telegraph-Journal that any decision to change the online gaming landscape would be for its provincial shareholders. “We want our players to choose to play with the local and government-regulated option, but we know our products have to stack up against the illegal offerings,” he said.

What New Brunswick would have to decide

Ontario and Alberta had to settle at least three questions before their markets opened. New Brunswick has not said how it would answer any of them.

• Who regulates. In Ontario the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is the regulator, while iGaming Ontario conducts and manages online gambling offered through private operators. Alberta uses a similar split: AGLC handles regulatory oversight and the Alberta iGaming Corporation signs the commercial agreements. New Brunswick would need to decide which bodies take on those roles.
• How much the province keeps. Michael Naraine, an associate professor of sport management at Brock University, told the Telegraph-Journal that Ontario takes a 20 per cent cut of gross revenue, that Alberta takes “a few extra percentage points” for research, education and addiction services, and that New York State taxes gross gaming revenue at 51 per cent.
• What happens to Atlantic Lottery. The corporation serves four provinces under one model. A New Brunswick market would have to settle Atlantic Lottery’s place in it, a question its spokesperson says belongs to the shareholder governments. Naraine also suggested the Atlantic provinces could partner with Quebec to build a larger market.

The wider debate

The provincial lottery corporations have recently reorganised their national voice. On 5 October 2026 the Canadian Lottery Coalition relaunched as the Canadian Alliance for Regulated Gaming, a not-for-profit association founded by publicly owned lottery and gaming organizations. Its launch release names illegal online operators, increased advertising and prediction markets among the challenges facing policymakers. Executive director Molly Cormier told the Telegraph-Journal the group does not take a position on which market model each province should adopt, and argues instead for safeguards, oversight and enforcement under whatever system is in place. “There’s advertising that takes place and targets players in provinces where that site is not licensed, and that creates an incredible amount of confusion,” she said.

Separately, FINTRAC, Canada’s financial intelligence unit, announced on 3 September 2026 that it had imposed a C$399,712.50 penalty on the New Brunswick Lotteries and Gaming Corporation on 24 July for failing to submit suspicious transaction reports, and a C$231,826 penalty on the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation on 23 July. On 9 July it had announced a C$212,025 penalty against Atlantic Lottery itself. All three paid in full and the cases are closed. None of the statements reported on the New Brunswick review mention the penalties.

What it means for players

Nothing changes today. The minister’s word was “exploring”, and the government has given no timeline. Until a law passes and a licensing system is built, alc.ca remains the only provincially authorised online gambling site in New Brunswick, and its age, account and self-exclusion rules stay as they are. Sites licensed in Ontario or Alberta are not licensed for players in New Brunswick, and the Telegraph-Journal reported that residents who search for them are redirected to the same companies’ international sites, which no Atlantic province regulates. Our guide to whether online gambling is legal in Canada explains how the provincial rules work, and the Atlantic Canada page lists New Brunswick’s free gambling helpline. We will record any bill or formal consultation in our Canada iGaming tracker.

Gambling can be addictive. Please play responsibly and within your means.