How do I report an online casino in Canada?

Complain to the operator in writing first — every escalation route requires it. If the site is registered in Ontario or Alberta, the regulator can act on the operator's conduct but will not decide your dispute. If the site is offshore, the operator must give you access to an independent dispute resolution provider under the Curacao LOK rules.

Will the Curacao Gaming Control Board get my money back?

No. The regulator states that it does not handle individual complaints against operators and has no mandate to mediate or arbitrate. The route that can actually decide your case is the operator's approved ADR provider, which must be a separate entity from the operator.

Can a provincial regulator help with an offshore site?

No. No Canadian provincial regulator has authority over an operator licensed outside Canada, so there is no provincial route to fall back on and provincial self-exclusion does not reach it.

Casino Complaint Letter Builder

Write a complaint an operator has to take seriously, and find out where it actually goes when they say no. Free, bilingual, and nothing you type leaves your browser.

Build your complaint

Where do you play, and what kind of site is it?

Ontario — a site registered with the AGCOAlberta — a site registered with AGLCA provincial site — PlayNow, Espacejeux, PlayAlberta or Atlantic LotteryAn offshore site — licensed in Curaçao or elsewhere outside Canada

What has gone wrong?

Operator name

Your account or username

Date it happened

Amount involved (optional)

What happened, in your own words

Keep it factual and in order. Dates, amounts, what you were told and by whom. Leave out how it made you feel — it does not help, and a shorter factual letter is taken more seriously.

Your letter

What happens next

1Send this letter to the operator's complaints address. Under the Curaçao LOK framework operators must publish a complaints procedure and must provide access to Alternative Dispute Resolution.
2If the operator refuses or goes quiet, ask in writing for its ADR provider. ADR is mandatory and the provider must be a separate entity from the operator, approved by the regulator.
3Do NOT wait for the Curaçao Gaming Control Board to decide your case. The regulator states plainly that it does not handle individual complaints against operators and has no mandate to mediate or arbitrate. Reporting the operator there is still worth doing — it feeds their supervision — but it will not get your money back.
4No Canadian provincial regulator has authority over an offshore operator, so there is no provincial route to fall back on. This is the concrete cost of playing outside the provincial system.

The deadline that matters: Under the Curaçao rules a player has six months from the disputed bet or incident to bring a formal complaint. Do not let that run down while you wait for replies.

The mistake that costs people their complaint

Almost every page on this subject ends with “contact the licensing authority”. For an offshore site that advice is wrong, and following it burns the only deadline that matters.

The Curacao Gaming Control Board says so itself: it does not handle individual complaints against operators, and resolving disputes between players and operators is not within its mandate. It cannot mediate and it cannot arbitrate. What changed under the LOK framework is that Alternative Dispute Resolution became mandatory — an approved provider, separate from the operator, that can actually decide your case. That is the body to reach, and the operator has to tell you who it is.

The same misunderstanding applies provincially. The AGCO and AGLC regulate operators and can act on misconduct, but neither decides an individual dispute or orders a payout. Reporting an operator is worth doing — it feeds supervision, and patterns get noticed — but it is a separate action from getting your money back, not a substitute for it.

Three things that make a complaint work

Ask for it to be logged as a formal complaint. A support ticket and a formal complaint are different things internally, and only one of them starts the clock that leads to independent review.
Put it in writing. A phone call leaves you with nothing to show an ADR provider later. Everything that matters should exist as text you still have.
Make them name the term. “Breach of terms” is not a reason. Asking which clause, when, and how the amount was calculated is what turns a refusal into something reviewable.

Comment signaler un casino en ligne au Canada

L’outil ci-dessus fonctionne en français : utilisez le bouton de langue pour générer votre lettre et votre parcours de recours en français.

La démarche est la même partout : portez d’abord plainte par écrit auprès de l’opérateur, et demandez que la plainte soit enregistrée comme plainte formelle. Aucun recours indépendant ne vous sera ouvert sans cette étape.

Si le site est offshore, ne comptez pas sur le régulateur de Curaçao : il déclare lui-même qu’il ne traite pas les plaintes individuelles et n’a pas le mandat de médier ni d’arbitrer. C’est le fournisseur ADR approuvé, distinct de l’opérateur, qui peut trancher votre dossier. Vous disposez de six mois à compter de l’incident contesté.

Si vous jouez sur Espacejeux, la voie est différente et meilleure : Loto-Québec est une société d’État, son traitement des plaintes relève d’une surveillance publique, et le Protecteur du citoyen constitue un recours de dernier ressort qui n’existe pas face à un opérateur privé.

Common questions

How do I report an online casino in Canada?: Complain to the operator in writing first — every escalation route requires it. If the site is registered in Ontario or Alberta, the regulator can act on the operator's conduct but will not decide your dispute. If the site is offshore, the operator must give you access to an independent dispute resolution provider under the Curacao LOK rules.
Will the Curacao Gaming Control Board get my money back?: No. The regulator states that it does not handle individual complaints against operators and has no mandate to mediate or arbitrate. The route that can actually decide your case is the operator's approved ADR provider, which must be a separate entity from the operator.
How long do I have to complain about an offshore casino?: Under the Curacao rules a player has six months from the disputed bet or incident to bring a formal complaint. Waiting for replies does not pause that clock.
Can a provincial regulator help with an offshore site?: No. No Canadian provincial regulator has authority over an operator licensed outside Canada, so there is no provincial route to fall back on and provincial self-exclusion does not reach it.

This tool produces a letter and points you to the right route. It is not legal advice, and it cannot promise an outcome. What it can do is make sure your complaint is documented, formal, and sent somewhere that has the power to act on it.