Manitoba is one of Canada’s underappreciated provinces, but when discovered it has so much charm. If you go far enough north to the city of Churchill, you might be lucky enough to see the northern lights. Manitoba is widely known in the gambling community for its many bingo halls. It’s also home to the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets.
Manitoba offers something for a lot of gamblers, be it paper-based lottery scratch cards, Pro-Line sports betting or video lottery terminals (VLTs). The province’s capital, Winnipeg, also is home to two land-based casinos. Sports fans can also subscribe to offshore sportsbooks should they have the desire to place wagers on big events.
History of Manitoba Gaming Laws:
In 1969, Canada made amendments to the Criminal Code that legalized gambling and allowed provinces to make their own regulations for gambling and lotteries. One year later, Manitoba held its first lottery, and following that in 1971 The Manitoba Lotteries Act was passed. Then The Lotteries and Gaming Control Act passed in 1980, which allowed gambling establishments such as casinos to be opened within the borders of the province. The first commercial casino in Canada was opened in 1989 in Winnipeg.
Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba (LGCA):
Today, the Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba (LGCA) and the Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation (MLL) regulate gambling within the province. As it is in the provinces of Alberta and Quebec, the legal gambling age in Manitoba is 18.
The LGCA is the governing body that regulates all legislation regarding gambling. The province states that “(the LGCA) continues to focus on 21st-century expectations for consumer choice, social responsibility, public safety and red tape reduction as the cornerstones of modern regulation.”
The LGCA and MLL also work in conjunction with the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation (ILC) to provide popular paper-based lotteries that are also available around the country such as Lotto 6-49 and Lotto Max, and online sports betting games like Pro-Line and the ProlineStadium.com sports betting portal.
Sports Betting in Manitoba:
Sport Select is a group of sports betting games offered by most Canadian provinces. The games include Pro-Line, Point Spread, and Over/Under.
Pro-Line:
Pro-Line offers fixed-odds sports betting and is the most popular Sport Select game. Pro-Line allows players to parlay three to six outcomes of matches being played. Pro-Line players can parlay moneylines, point spreads and totals on a Pro-Line wager. To win the bet, every wager must cash. The minimum wager for a Pro-Line ticket is $2 and the maximum is $100.
The most popular leagues that wagers are placed on are the North American sports leagues like the NHL, NBA, NFL, CFL and MLB, but odds are offered on almost every professional league.
Pro-Line Fantasy:
Pro-Line also offers a “fantasy” option where you can place wagers on player props. The wager restrictions are the same, with a minimum of a $2 wager along with parlaying at least three selections.
Pro-Line Futures:
Pro-Line Futures is an odds-based sports betting game that lets bettors wager on a single selection from a games list such as a division champion, stat category leader or outright champion. The minimum wager still applies at $2 and the maximum is $100.
Point Spread:
A point spread is a type of betting where the sportsbook will handicap the favourite by a number of points so the teams are on equal ground. Bettors can combine anywhere from two to 12 selections and winnings are based on the wager and the odds provided by the MLL.
Single-Team Sports Betting:
Single-team sports betting is illegal under Canada’s Criminal Code, which means there are no single-team sports betting games available in Manitoba. This gives a big advantage to Pro-Line. Pro-Line odds are also more favourable to them than those of most offshore sportsbooks because with offshore and online sportsbooks, you can place a wager on a single bet.
Poker and Casino Options:
There are quite a few options for gamblers who enjoy table games such as blackjack and roulette. There are eight casinos across the province, two of which are in the city of Winnipeg.
The Club Regent Casino and McPhillips Station Casino both offer a great selection of table games. However, only the Club Regent Casino offers a poker room for players.
There are also some First Nations-owned casinos, the most popular being the Aseneskak Casino, which has over 180 multi-denominational slot machines and various table games.
Online Betting in Manitoba:
Despite the fact that gaming operations are strictly controlled in Manitoba, there are still plenty of alternatives for gaming and sports betting enthusiasts to enjoy from the MLL.
