While Ontario is undoubtedly the country’s leading province when it comes to its approach to gaming of all kinds. In particular, since 2022 it has embraced online casinos in a way that many others are only now starting to emulate.
But British Columbia also has plenty to celebrate when it comes to casino and lottery gambling. This was borne out by the 2023/24 figures which showed that a very impressive CA$1.9bn in revenue was raised by operators in the province. Some observers and experts have identified that this may well represent a pivotal moment for gambling in British Columbia, especially in Vancouver.
Who are the biggest contributors?
Digging down a little into the figures, the revenue was generated by three distinct areas. These were land-based casinos, the state lottery and iGaming via the province’s only regulated online casino, PlayNow.com. Casinos were responsible for 61% of the total revenue. Looking at Vancouver, the biggest contributor was the downtown venue the Parq Casino. This generated approximately CA$145 million in revenue while the Hastings Racecourse contributed around CA$24 million.
Turning to the lottery, this went quite a way beyond expectations to provide 21% of the total revenue, something that has been of great benefit to communities, sports associations and charities in the province with much of the profits being distributed amongst them. The smallest contributor, at just 18% of the total, was iGaming. While this seems like a low figure it’s important to remember that this is from a single online operator in a sector that is very much still in its early days in British Columbia.
But what all three have in common is the tax contribution that they also make to the province’s economy. Charged at 10% of profits this makes for a considerable sum. And, as the overall figures are so encouraging, it has inevitably instigated various initiatives to maximize it even further.
What this could mean for Vancouver
We’ve mentioned the Ontario approach to iGaming and its with an eye to also exploiting this very lucrative sector. So there may well be considerable movement before long. Currently there are options for players wanting to gamble online but this is invariably with unregulated operators, unless they play with PlayNow.com.
But using unregulated and unlicensed sites is obviously undesirable for a number of reasons including lack of protection for players and missing tax revenue for the government. By setting up a licensing system under the auspices of the British Columbia Lottery Association it could introduce many legal and well-run online casinos into the province.
There are plenty out there waiting to capitalize, highlighted by Casino.org, as these experts suggest the newest casinos in Canada which offer all the safety, reliability and choice any player could want. The introduction of competition might hit PlayNow.com, but it would seem like the writing may be on the wall to end its current monopoly. Turning to land-based casinos, there’s likely to be considerable movement here too. In fact, as long ago as 2024 the moratorium on increasing the capacity of the city’s casinos was suspended. Up until that point the prime Parq Casino venue was limited to a total of 600 slots machines and 72 table games. At Hastings Racecourse the limit was at 445 slots.
Following this, the casinos did indeed increase their capacities and there is a very real possibility that they will be permitted to do this again. This may be particularly relevant as the choice of Vancouver as a venue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to boost visitor numbers from the UK alone by 2.5%. Soccer fans will obviously be looking for other entertainment when the games have ended so expanding the prime leisure spots of casinos seems like a logical choice.
The development of casinos as a wider leisure experience is also a distinct possibility. This could involve building whole resorts with the casino as just one element. Following the model of cities like Las Vegas and Macau this would mean adding hotels, bars, restaurants, entertainment venues and even shopping malls to attract an even broader visitor base.
Obviously, this isn’t something that’s going to happen overnight. But in the city’s ambition to become an ever-more popular tourist destination it would be a very positive step forward.
The lottery too has already started to introduce games and products to exploit its growing popularity. For example, early in 2026 it launched its Big Spin Scratch and Win ticket that gives lucky winners the chance to visit the BCLC HQ to spin a wheel of fortune with a maximum possible prize of CA$500,000. We can expect to see more changes in the month to come.
So exciting times are ahead for gamblers in BC and 2026 promises to see many changes. And that has to be very good news for the New Year.
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