Sports Betting in New Brunswick
New Brunswick may be a small province in Canada, but the number of people who like sports in that area is quite high. Consequently, many New Brunswick residents enjoy making bets on their favourite sports, and that’s why their province offers plenty of opportunities to bet both offline and online.
In other words, most gambling forms are legal in New Brunswick, which is also regulated by an official gambling commission. If you’re interested in betting on sports, you can do it using ACL’s Proline services or by joining an offshore online platform.
First of all, let’s take a look at the legal framework of sports betting in New Brunswick and talk about essential things you should take into account before beginning your online betting journey. Read on!
Online Sports Betting Sites in New Brunswick
Legal Framework of Gambling in New Brunswick — Is Sports Betting Legal?
The New Brunswick Gaming Control Branch, a part of the Department of Public Safety in the province, regulates the legal aspect of gambling and lotteries. It works closely with New Brunswick Lotteries and Gaming Corporation that focuses on various gambling operations and how they are conducted in the area.
However, the NBLGC doesn’t act on its own. Instead, an organization called the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) is actually the most important body in several Canadian provinces, including New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. It means that the ALC offers similar services to these provinces, and one of them is Proline.
Proline is the only legal way to make bets, but it’s also very limited since it’s heavily regulated. That’s why some players opt to join offshore sports betting platforms that are neither legal nor illegal in Canada. Essentially, punters from New Brunswick are free to join offshore companies without facing legal prosecution.
If you don’t have experience using Proline, we’ll first cover it and all its offers. After that, we’ll discuss offshore sites and how you can legally place bets on these platforms from New Brunswick.
New Brunswick Sports Betting Statistics
Landbased
The following are statistics for landbased sports betting that took place in Manitoba from 2003 to 2020 (Note: current data for 2020 are estimates).
Year | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Horseracing | $2.14m | $2.42m | $1.56m | $1.20m | $1.42m | $1.39m | $1.59m | $1.63m | $1.55m | $1.43m |
Sports | $2.59m | $2.26m | $2.13m | $2.54m | $2.79m | $2.86m | $3.08m | $3.17m | $3.72m | $3.30m |
Total Betting | $4.73m | $4.68m | $3.69m | $3.74m | $4.22m | $4.25m | $4.67m | $4.80m | $5.27m | $4.74m |
Year | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020e |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Horseracing | $1.43m | $1.00m | $0.83m | $0.76m | $0.56m | $0.38m | $0.33m | $0.18m |
Sports | $3.44m | $3.45m | $3.35m | $3.77m | $3.28m | $3.11m | $3.30m | $3.31m |
Total Betting | $4.87m | $4.44m | $4.18m | $4.53m | $3.85m | $3.49m | $3.63m | $3.49m |
Interactive Gaming (Betting Online)
Year | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Betting Online | $1.5m | $1.8m | $2.1m | $2.3m | $2.6m | $2.7m | $3.0m | $3.3m | $4.2m | $4.4 |
Year | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020e |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Betting Online | $4.4m | $4.6m | $4.0m | $3.9m | $4.1m | $4.2m | $4.5 | $4.5m |
Online betting has grown significantly in New Brunswick since 2003.
How Does Sports Betting Work in New Brunswick?
The sports betting offered by Proline is similar to other Canadian provinces. The Proline package consists of several different betting types: Proline, Proline Fantasy, Proline Stadium, and Proline Futures.
Proline
Proline is a simple type of betting that allows players to make a bet on two to eight games. Some of the available wagering formats are money line, point totals and point spreads. However, the main downside of this bet is that you cannot bet on a single game. Also, the maximum you can bet on a single ticket is $25, which some punters from New Brunswick find too low.
Proline Fantasy
Proline Fantasy enables players to predict outcomes of two to five games by guessing the best-performing players. It’s pretty similar to standard daily fantasy sports betting, but with more limits, including the limits on how much money you can bet. Similar to Proline, you can bet between $2 and $25.
Proline Futures
Futures offer betting on winners of entire tournaments or seasons in certain sports, including hockey and basketball. Players need to make one selection per ticket and can bet between $2 and $100.
Proline Stadium Bets
Proline Stadium Bets is an upgraded version of the standard Proline offer that can be accessed on ALC’s official website. It offers betting on two to eight event parlays, and the maximum you can wager is $250.
Despite being relatively popular, Proline bets are limited, and that’s why some punters choose offshore casinos. Let’s check out what they are and what their legal status in New Brunswick is.
Are Offshore Sports Betting Sites Illegal in New Brunswick?
Like in every other Canadian province, there are no laws that forbid offshore sports betting sites. It is not legal to operate such a business within the borders of New Brunswick, but punters from the province are still free to join these platforms and make bets on their favourite sports.
But why join offshore sites if Proline already offers legal and regulated betting? Well, there are several reasons.
First of all, Proline doesn’t have the odds as competitive as some of the international sites. Since there are so many offshore betting platforms, they have to compete to attract more punters, resulting in much better odds.
But the odds aren’t the only thing that players get when they join offshore sites, as many offer lucrative welcome bonuses that are yet another reason some players from New Brunswick prefer them.
Finally, offshore sites offer more sports and a broader range of betting markets, unlike Proline that focuses on Canada’s most important sports and major leagues. Therefore, feel free to explore which option suits you more before starting your online sports betting journey in New Brunswick.