**The information contained in the Out-of-Home Advertising Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) is being provided for general information purposes only. The information in the Guidelines does not constitute legal or other professional advice or an opinion of any kind. Readers are advised to seek specific legal advice by contacting their own legal counsel regarding any of the information contained herein including, but not limited to, legislative interpretation or specific legal issues. OMAC does not warrant or guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of any information provided. Moreover, the information in the Guidelines that refers to third party information, including but not limited to government legislation, should not be relied upon as accurate, timely or fit for any particular purpose. Stated simply, readers should consult their legal counsel before undertaking or accepting any advertising to ensure legal obligations and interpretations are accurate.

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Governed by the Canadian Criminal Code, federal jurisdiction.

• The Criminal Code of Canada (Code) defines what types of gaming activities are illegal in Canada, and the provinces are assigned responsibility to operate, license and regulate legal forms of gaming.
• Part VII of the Code prohibits gaming in general, while section 207 allows for a number of exceptions to the general prohibition. Specifically, it permits "lottery schemes" provided that they are:
  • Lottery schemes "conducted and managed" by the province in accordance with any law enacted by that province
  • Lottery schemes "conducted and managed" by a licensed charitable or religious organization pursuant to a licence issued by a provincial authority, provided that the proceeds of the lottery scheme are used for a charitable or religious purpose
  • Lottery schemes "conducted and managed" by a licensed board of a fair or exhibition or by an operator of a concession leased by that board
• Canadian laws allow provincial governments to conduct and manage lotteries and games of chance that are operated on or through a computer, such as Internet casinos; however, in most circumstances, it is a crime in Canada for anyone else to run an online gaming operation.
• Advertising of online gaming services, involving the exchange of money, according to Canadian authorities is illegal. There are some who disagree citing loopholes like the location of the hosting server, but there are not many media outlets who would risk criminal prosecution to test the validity of this position.
• Based on member company experience, advertising promoting the following appear to be acceptable, but do not constitute official gambling sites:
  • Free game play websites
  • Promoting gaming websites ending in “.net”
  • No official documentation was found to support this

For detailed information, visit:
Sections 206 and 207 of the Canadian Criminal Code: http://www.agco.on.ca/en/c.gaming/c1.1.2.P.criminal.code.html