How Does South American Gaming Laws Differ from Canada’s Ones

Guest Contribution – The gambling world looks very different depending on where you are standing.

Canada’s system feels settled. It’s been adjusted over decades and slowly shaped into what it is now. South America, on the other hand, feels like it’s still in motion. Some countries are moving forward. Others are still working with outdated laws.

In the Canadian market, licensed operators such as toniebet exist inside a clear and familiar framework. There’s oversight. There’s structure. Meanwhile, across South America, gambling laws can change by country, province, or even city.

Canada: Regulated, But Not Restrictive

Canada’s relationship with gambling goes back centuries. Indigenous communities bet on games long before European settlers arrived. Playing cards were introduced in the late 1400s. Gambling became part of social life. Over time, what started as informal betting slowly came under government scrutiny. Not to ban it, but to regulate it.

The big legal milestone came in 1892 with the Criminal Code, which tolerated gambling under certain conditions. Amendments in 1910 allowed pari-mutuel betting for horse racing, while other games were allowed in case of charities. Then, in 1970, oversight moved to the provinces. That change defined modern Canadian gambling.

Since then, provinces have built casinos, racetracks, lotteries, and video lottery terminal networks. The first modern casino opened in Winnipeg in 1989. Many others across Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia followed.

Online gambling is particularly open. Provinces regulate their own platforms but have not prohibited Canadians from playing on international sites. Deposits and withdrawals are widely supported by banks and online payment processors.

And participation is pretty high. Surveys show that between 75% and 85% of Canadians gamble in some form, whether on lotteries, charitable gaming, casinos, or online platforms.

In short, Canada’s approach is structured but permissive. While rules differ slightly by province, such as legal gambling age being 18 or 19, the framework is stable. Regulation exists. Oversight exists. But how and where they play, is up to the individual.

South America: A Mix of Modern and Outdated

South America has a more complicated story.

Laws vary not just country to country, but sometimes province to province. Some nations regulate online gambling federally. Others handle it at a provincial level. Some operate under state monopolies. And a few don’t clearly address online gambling at all.

Colombia, for example, moved to regulate gambling more formally through Law 643 in 2001. That law helped organize previously scattered and underworld-controlled gambling operations. Today, over 3,200 licensed establishments operate under Coljuegos. Colombia now has thousands of regulated slot parlours and casinos, and all slot machines must connect to a central government server to ensure fairness.

Brazil historically banned most gambling. Then December 2023 happened. Online gambling was legalized nationally. A licensing regime for sports betting and online casino games finally taking shape. And as of February 2025, full or provisional licences have been granted to 70 operators.

Peru signed a bill in 2023 pushing it into the regulated online gambling market. Licensing for online operators is now available. For international operators, Peru may serve as a testing ground, smaller than Brazil, but with lower barriers to entry.

Argentina regulates gambling at the provincial level. 15 out of 23 provinces, as well as the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, allow some kind of online gambling. Sports betting, horse races, casino games, and bingo halls are legal, and pretty popular. There aren’t a lot of brick-and-mortar sportsbooks though, so sometimes punters still turn to offshore ones.

Chile modified land-based casinos with a new law in 2005 and created a gaming commission known as the Superintendency of Gaming Casinos. However, that same law still prohibits online gambling. Only forms allowed are online lottery games offered by Polla Chilena and Lotería de Concepción.

That’s the pattern. Some countries are revamping quickly. Others are navigating political divides or historical restrictions. They’re all diverse and complex.

Final Thoughts

Canada offers stability. Regulation is clear. Online gambling is accessible. Oversight is provincial but consistent.

South America offers opportunities. It’s growing and changing. But it’s also fragmented and, in some places, still catching up.

Both embrace gambling in some way. They just arrived there through very different legal journeys.

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