Casino apps and mobile casinos in Canada

A casino can reach your phone in four ways. Here's what each one means for you.

The browser is the simplest choice: nothing to install or update, and you play on the same site as on a computer. A store app can add face or fingerprint log-in and notifications, but takes up storage. A web app gives you a Home Screen icon without a download.

Apple and Google both restrict real-money gambling apps, which is why many casinos you can play in a browser have no app in Canada's stores.

• Google Play allows online casino apps in the provinces we cover from government operators only.
• Apple's App Store requires real-money gaming apps to hold the licences and permissions needed where the app is used, to be geo-restricted to those places, and to cost nothing to download. Apple also bars in-app purchases of credit for real-money gaming, so you pay through the casino's own cashier.

An app can appear in Canada's store and still work in only one province, so read the listing for the provinces it serves before you sign up. Don't change your Apple Account country or region to reach a casino app in another country's store. The app still has to be geo-restricted, and switching regions has knock-on effects for your account.

Each provincial lottery corporation in the provinces we cover has its own app with casino games, in both the App Store and Google Play:

• PlayNow Slots, from the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, for British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
• Loto-Québec, for Quebec.
• Atlantic Lottery Mobile, for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

1. Start from the casino's own address, typed in or from a source you trust, not from a search ad or a page offering app downloads.
2. Match the store seller or developer name to the licence holder named in the casino site's footer.
3. Make sure a store link opens Canada's storefront. A link to another country's store means the app isn't listed here.
4. Download an Android file only from the operator's own domain, and keep Google Play Protect switched on.
5. Read the permissions an app asks for. There's rarely a reason for a casino app to need your contacts or messages.
6. Look up the licence number on the regulator's own register. Our province-by-province guide explains who runs and regulates online gambling where you live.
7. Open the cashier on your phone before you deposit, and check that your payment method works there.

Slots and table games use relatively little data, but live dealer games stream video for as long as you play, which uses far more. On a mobile plan, play live games on Wi-Fi or keep an eye on your data allowance. Video streaming also drains the battery faster. Store apps take up storage and update in the background, while a web app or the browser takes almost none. If your connection drops mid-game, the casino's terms explain how an unfinished round is settled, so read that section before you play on the move.

Because Apple bars in-app purchases for real-money gaming credit, and Google Play keeps gambling payments out of its own billing, you always pay through the casino's cashier, not your app store account. That works the same in an app, a web app or the browser.

• Interac e-Transfer. You'll usually switch to your banking app to send the money, then back to the casino. Keep the casino's reference on screen or copy it first. See Interac casinos.
• Cards and e-wallets. These work in the mobile cashier as they do on a computer. Your card issuer's rules for gambling payments still apply.
• ID checks. Many casinos let you photograph your ID and proof of address with your phone's camera. Make sure all four corners are visible and nothing is cut off, or the check can be sent back.
• Withdrawals. Payout rules and times don't change on mobile. See casino payout times for what slows a withdrawal.

Use a secure connection when you pay. Avoid public Wi-Fi for deposits, and lock your phone with a passcode so no one else can open your casino account.

A phone puts a casino in your pocket all day, so set your limits before the first deposit.

• Set deposit limits, session reminders and time-outs in your casino account. They apply on every device you use.
• Turn off casino notifications and promotional texts.
• Use your phone's own tools. Screen Time on iPhone and Digital Wellbeing on Android let you set daily time limits for apps.
• Ask your bank whether it can block gambling payments on your card.
• Decide in advance when you'll stop, and avoid playing late at night when you're tired.

If you'd like to talk to someone, our gambling help page lists free, confidential helplines.