New Brunswick tables bill to regulate online live casino

New Brunswick wants the legal power to regulate online live casino games. On Tuesday 27 October the provincial government introduced Bill 8, An Act to Amend the Gaming Control Act, in the Legislative Assembly. The bill was sponsored by René Legacy, Minister of Finance and Treasury Board. It was read for the first time on 27 October. Second-reading debate began on 28 October and was adjourned, so as of 30 October the bill has not passed second reading.

Live casino, as the government describes it, means online table games played "in real time with human dealers and other players", on the web or by phone. The government says current legislation does not give it authority to establish regulations for live casinos. According to the government, the idea was proposed by the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC), the Crown lottery operator owned by the four Atlantic provinces.

What the bill actually does

The bill text is short. It defines an "online casino lottery scheme" as casino-style games that the New Brunswick Lotteries and Gaming Corporation conducts and manages on an online platform, and a "live casino lottery scheme" as a version of that hosted by a live person. It lets that Corporation, with cabinet approval, designate a body corporate formed under an inter-provincial lottery agreement (the Act's definition of ALC) as a government agency to operate such a scheme in New Brunswick. The bill does not name Atlantic Lottery. It also extends regulation-making powers, and comes into force on proclamation.

Two points matter for readers:

• It is not a private licensing regime. The bill covers games run by the New Brunswick Lotteries and Gaming Corporation or a government-designated agency. It does not open the market to private operators.
• Nothing changes today. The bill comes into force on proclamation. "Regulations will be introduced at a later date," the government said. As of 30 October the release gives no launch date, supplier list or timetable.

ALC's 2025-26 annual report says Live Casino launched in two other Atlantic provinces, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, in December 2025, later than originally planned. The report does not list New Brunswick.

What the ministers said

"With a greater variety of online offerings, live casinos are growing in popularity," said Public Safety Minister Robert Gauvin. "Regulating these types of games will provide a safer alternative to unregulated offerings in the province."

Legacy said the update "is about keeping up with how gaming is changing" and would "ensure that new gaming options are developed responsibly".

The money behind it

ALC's annual report for the year to 31 March 2026 shows New Brunswick's share of the corporation's net profit at CA$148.9 million, down from CA$154.6 million a year earlier, a fall of about 3.7% by our arithmetic. Across all four provinces ALC returned CA$492.1 million. ALC estimates that about CA$250 million a year leaves Atlantic Canada, not New Brunswick alone, through illegal online operators.

Private online gambling is a separate question. On 19 October, Legacy told Brunswick News that the government is "exploring options around regulating private online operators", with no timeline given. Bill 8 does not do that.

In our reading, this is the cautious version of what Ontario and now Alberta have done with private operators: keep the new games inside the provincial lottery's own platform first, and leave the private-market debate for later. Quebec is having a similar argument.

For readers outside Canada: this is a provincial change in New Brunswick. It has no effect on players or operators anywhere else.