Nova Scotia betting is plentiful as this Canadian province offers many ways for sports betting and gaming enthusiasts to play. Nova Scotia offers paper-based lotteries, sports betting games, land-based casinos, and thousands of video lottery terminals across NS, which are located in privately-owned liquor-licensed establishments.
There are also charitable gaming activities in NS like bingo, ticket lotteries, and carnival-style games of chance. Aside from the provincially-operated and regulated gaming options, Nova Scotians take advantage of the rising amount of offshore-based online sportbooks, poker rooms, and online casinos.
Nova Scotia Gaming Laws
Nova Scotia’s Gaming Control Act, which was passed into law by the provincial legislature in 1995, governs gaming and sports betting activities in the province. The Alcohol and Gaming Division of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations monitors and enforces the Gaming Control Act in NS.
The Nova Scotia Provincial Lotteries & Casino Corporation’s mandate is to regulate all gaming activities on behalf of the NS government. The Nova Scotia Provincial Lotteries & Casino Corporation regulates two land-based casinos in NS. The NSPLCC is also a shareholder in the Atlantic Lottery Corporation. The ALC operates ticket and video lotteries in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island.
Atlantic Lottery Corporation
Also known as Loto Atlantique, the Atlantic Lottery Corporation was founded in 1976 and established to operate all lottery games in NB, NFLD, NS, and PEI. The ALC’s headquarters are in Moncton, NB with over 600 employees staffed across Canada’s four Maritime Provinces.
The Atlantic Lottery Corporation is a member organization of the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation. The ILC operates lottery games across the country. Acting on behalf of the Nova Scotia Provincial Lotteries & Casino Corporation, the Atlantic Lottery Corporation works in conjunction with the ILC to offer popular lottery games.
These game include Lotto 649 and Lotto Max, paper-based and online sports betting games like Atlantic Lotto Proline, and the ProLineStadium.com sports betting portal.
Sports Betting Nova Scotia
The Atlantic Lottery Corporation currently operates paper-based and online sports betting games in Nova Scotia under PRO-LINE, PRO-LINE Fantasy, PRO-LINE Futures, and Stadium-Bets. Online sports betting games are available for play via the Atlantic Lottery Corporation’s ProLineStadium.com web-based portal.
PRO-LINE
PRO-LINE is an odds-based sports betting game that lets you predict outcomes on a minimum of two and a maximum of eight-event parlays. Available betting formats to parlay on a PRO-LINE wager include moneyline, point spreads, and point totals. All bets have to hit though in order for your parlay to be declared a winner. The minimum bet is $2 on a PRO-LINE ticket, with a maximum bet of $25.
You can bet on professional and college basketball, professional and college football, hockey, baseball and soccer.
PRO-LINE Fantasy
PRO-LINE Fantasy is an odds-based sports betting game that lets you parlay between two and five player/team props selections. The minimum bet is $2, with a maximum bet of $25.
PRO-LINE Futures
PRO-LINE Futures is an odds-based sports betting game that lets you bet on a single selection from a games list. For instance, a games list might offer the option to select a tournament, division or league champion from a list of all active participants. The minimum bet is $2, with a maximum bet of $100.
Stadium-Bets
Similar to PRO-LINE, Stadium-Bets is an odds-based sports betting game that lets you predict outcomes on a minimum of two and a maximum of eight-event parlays. Available betting formats to parlay on a Stadium-Bets wager include moneyline, point spreads, and point totals.
With Stadium-Bets though, online gambling is only available via the Atlantic Lottery Corporation’s ProLineStadium.com portal. The minimum bet is $2, with a maximum bet of $250.
Single-Team Sports Betting
Single-team sports gambling in Nova Scotia is illegal under Canada’s criminal code, so the Atlantic Lottery Corporation and Nova Scotia casinos don’t offer single-team sports betting games. The Atlantic Lottery Corporation’s parlays also offer considerably worse odds compared to online sportsbook options operated off-shore. The house edge on PRO-LINE bets are estimated at over 30 percent, compared to single digits for online sportsbooks such as Intertops.
Casino NS
Currently, there are two land-based casinos operating in the province, Casino Sydney in Cape Breton and Casino Nova Scotia in Halifax. Both Casino Sydney and Casino NS are owned and operated by Great Canadian Casino Corporation. The GCCC is a publicly traded company that owns and operates casinos, racetracks for horse racing, and entertainment and hospitality facilities across the company.
There aren’t any land-based casinos operating on First Nations reserves in the province. Nova Scotia has, however, entered into a series of agreements that enable First Nations communities to share in the profits of Casino Sydney, and retain revenues generated by video lottery terminals located on First Nations lands.
The Nova Scotia Provincial Lotteries & Casino Corporation currently has over 2,200 video lottery terminals operating at liquor-licensed establishments across the province. That number is down considerably from the 3,200 that were in place back in 2005. Nova Scotia’s land-based casinos also have poker rooms available, while charitable organizations have to apply for licenses in order to hold fundraising events at licensed facilities.
Online Betting Nova Scotia
Gaming operations are strictly controlled in Nova Scotia, but you can still enjoy many alternatives to the limited betting options available from the NSPLCC, ALC, and the Great Canadian Casino Corporation.
