Gambling market timeline

Lei 13.756/2018 signed

Creates fixed-odds betting (apostas de quota fixa) as a legal lottery category, but without a working licensing system, so the market stayed unregulated in practice until the 2023 law.

Sources Lei 13.756/2018 (Câmara dos Deputados legislative archive) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Lei 14.790/2023 signed, creates the SPA

Supplies the licensing system Lei 13.756/2018 lacked: the Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas (SPA) in the Ministry of Finance authorises, supervises and sanctions betting operators nationwide.

Sources Lei 14.790/2023 (Câmara dos Deputados legislative archive) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Portaria SPA/MF 827/2024 sets licensing rules

Set the licensing process, technical/compliance requirements and baseline advertising standards operators had to meet before the market could go live, and confirmed the mandatory .bet.br domain.

Sources Apostas de Quota Fixa (Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas / Ministério da Fazenda) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Regulated fixed-odds betting market goes live

From this date only SPA-authorised operators could legally accept bets from Brazilian consumers, each required to run its Brazil-facing site on a .bet.br domain.

Sources Apostas de Quota Fixa (Secretaria de Prêmios e Apostas / Ministério da Fazenda) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Bill C-218 (Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act) receives royal assent

The federal Criminal Code amendment legalizing single-event sports betting becomes law, removing the last federal barrier to provinces authorizing it (and, in Ontario's case, to opening a competitive online market).

Sources LEGISinfo, Parliament of Canada — Bill C-218 (43-2) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

iGaming Ontario established as an AGCO subsidiary

The entity that would conduct and manage Ontario's planned competitive online market is formally created, roughly nine months before the market opens.

Sources AGCO — "Ontario Government launches iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the AGCO" (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Bill C-218's Criminal Code amendment comes into force

Single-event sports betting is removed from the Code's list of prohibited activities nationwide, leaving its regulation to the provinces and clearing the way for Ontario's open-market model.

Sources Canada Gazette, Part II — Order Fixing August 27, 2021 as the Day on Which that Act Comes into Force (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Ontario's competitive iGaming market launches

Private operators registered with the AGCO and under an iGaming Ontario operating agreement can legally offer online casino and betting products to Ontario players for the first time in Canada.

Sources iGaming Ontario — "Ontario's New iGaming Market to Launch April 4, 2022" (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

AGCO ban on athletes in iGaming advertising takes effect

Registered Ontario operators are barred from using active or retired athletes in iGaming marketing (except for responsible-gambling messaging), tightening advertising standards aimed at protecting minors.

Sources AGCO — "AGCO to ban athletes in Ontario's igaming advertising to protect minors" (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

iGaming Ontario becomes independent of the AGCO

The iGaming Ontario Act, 2024 is proclaimed, ending iGO's status as an AGCO subsidiary and making it a stand-alone Crown agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming; the AGCO remains iGO's regulator.

Sources AGCO — "Roles of the AGCO and iGaming Ontario" (official source) · Canadian Gaming Business — "iGaming Ontario Now Officially Independent From AGCO" (secondary)

Checked 25 September 2026

iGaming Alberta Act (Bill 48) introduced in the Legislative Assembly

The government tables the bill that will create the Alberta iGaming Corporation and open a competitive private online gambling market.

The official first-reading print of Bill 48 (docs.assembly.ab.ca) leaves the reading-stage dates blank in the version retrieved, so the exact day could not be confirmed from a primary source. Secondary press disagrees: some report first reading on 26 March 2025 (matching the history-gambling-canada guide), others on 31 March 2025. Logged as a conflict.

Sources Legislative Assembly of Alberta — Bill 48, iGaming Alberta Act (2025 Bill 48, First Session, 31st Legislature) (official source) · Chambers and Partners — "Alberta Introduces Bill 48: A New Regulatory Framework for iGaming" (secondary)

Checked 25 September 2026

iGaming Alberta Act (Bill 48) receives royal assent

The statute authorizing a competitive, privately operated online gambling market in Alberta and creating the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) becomes law.

Sources Alberta King's Printer / Open Government — iGaming Alberta Act, SA 2025 c I-0.2 (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Alberta's regulated iGaming market launches

Alberta becomes Canada's second open, competitive private online gambling market, with 22 operator sites live on day one under AGLC regulation and AiGC's conduct-and-manage role.

Sources Alberta.ca — "Alberta's iGaming Strategy" (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

BCLC launches PlayNow.com

British Columbia's Crown lottery corporation opens PlayNow.com, a government-run online gambling site for BC players.

BCLC's own history gives only the year 2004; we have not confirmed the month or day from a primary source.

Sources BCLC — Our History (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Loto-Québec launches Espacejeux.com

Quebec's government lottery corporation opens its own online casino/poker platform as a regulated alternative to unlicensed offshore sites; pre-registration opened 19 November 2010 and the site went fully live 1 December 2010.

Sources Loto-Québec press release (Newswire) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

AGLC launches PlayAlberta.ca

Alberta's government-run online gambling site opens. It kept operating when the competitive iGaming Alberta market launched in July 2026.

Press reports give 1 October 2020; the official PlayAlberta.ca site is archived live on 3 October 2020.

Sources PlayAlberta.ca, archived 3 October 2020 (official source) · Global News — "PlayAlberta, regulated online gambling website, launched Thursday" (secondary)

Checked 25 September 2026

PlayNow.com launches in Saskatchewan via SIGA

Saskatchewan players get a regulated online casino and sportsbook through PlayNow.com, run in partnership with the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA).

Sources Government of Saskatchewan — "SaskGaming celebrates the launch of the PlayNow.com online gaming platform" (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Atlantic Lottery launches regulated online casino in Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador players get a government-run online casino through Atlantic Lottery's ALC.ca.

Sources Government of Newfoundland and Labrador — "Residents Provided with a Regulated and Responsible Space for Online Gaming" (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Ley 643 de 2001 enacted

Sets the national framework for Colombia's gambling monopoly and creates the 'juegos novedosos' (novel games) category, the category later used to authorise online betting.

Sources Ley 643 de 2001 (Función Pública / Alcaldía de Bogotá gestor normativo) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Decreto 175/2025 imposes 19% VAT on online betting deposits

A 19% VAT applies to deposits into online gambling accounts, adopted under emergency economic powers.

Sources Corte Constitucional, Sentencia C-431/25 (reviewing Decreto 175 de 2025) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Constitutional Court upholds gambling VAT, strikes Coljuegos blocking power (C-431/25)

The Constitutional Court upholds the deposit VAT but strikes down the clause that let Coljuegos order internet providers to block unlicensed sites.

Sources Corte Constitucional, Sentencia C-431/25 (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Ley N.º 31557 enacted

Created Peru's first legal framework for remote games and remote sports betting, under MINCETUR authorisation, with a 12% tax on operators' net gaming income.

Sources Ley N.º 31557 (El Peruano official gazette) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

DS 005-2023-MINCETUR (reglamento) published

Publishes the implementing regulation for Ley 31557: the licence terms and rules operators must meet before licensed operation can begin.

Sources Decreto Supremo N.º 005-2023-MINCETUR (El Peruano official gazette) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Decreto Legislativo 1644 extends ISC to foreign platforms

Extends Peru's selective consumption tax (ISC) to remote games and betting offered by operators based abroad.

Sources Decreto Legislativo 1644 (El Peruano) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

City of Buenos Aires (CABA): LOTBA authorises online gambling

LOTBA, the City of Buenos Aires lottery, creates online games of chance, games of skill and sports betting in the city, to be offered by licensed operators.

Sources Resolución 321/2018 (Boletín Oficial de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Buenos Aires Province: Decreto 181/2019 regulates online gambling

Approved the Title VIII regulation of Ley 15.079, letting the Instituto Provincial de Lotería y Casinos (IPLyC) license online casino games, sports betting and lotteries in Buenos Aires Province.

Promulgated 25 March 2019 (published 29 March 2019); some secondary press describes online operations under the registry only becoming fully effective around 2021 — see conflicts.

Sources Decreto 181/2019 (Normas GBA — Buenos Aires Province official regulations database) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Córdoba Province: legislature passes an online-gambling law

Córdoba becomes one of the provinces that regulate online gambling under their own law.

Sources Se sancionó la ley que regula el juego online en Córdoba (Legislatura de la Provincia de Córdoba, official site) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

National Chamber of Deputies passes gambling-advertising/minors bill

The Chamber of Deputies approves a national bill on online-betting advertising and minors' access to gambling sites. It is not law unless the Senate also passes it.

Sources Obtuvo media sanción un proyecto de prevención de ludopatía y regulación de las ciberapuestas (HCDN — Cámara de Diputados, official site) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

National government sends Congress a gambling-addiction bill

The national government submits its own bill on preventing gambling addiction. It is not yet law, and online licensing stays with the provinces.

argentina.gob.ar confirms the submission occurred but does not give an exact day; secondary press dates the message (No. 179-2026) to 25–26 May 2026.

Sources El Gobierno nacional presentó un proyecto para prevenir la ludopatía (Argentina.gob.ar, official government portal) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Ley Federal de Juegos y Sorteos published

Still the governing federal statute: it prohibits gambling except where it allows it, and every later casino and betting permit is issued under it.

Sources Ley Federal de Juegos y Sorteos, Cámara de Diputados (archived) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Reglamento de la Ley Federal de Juegos y Sorteos published

The first implementing regulation for the 1947 law, setting out the federal permit system that casinos and betting venues operate under.

Sources Reglamento de la Ley Federal de Juegos y Sorteos, Cámara de Diputados (archived) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Decree amends the federal gaming regulation

The Reglamento under which Mexico issues every federal gaming permit is amended by presidential decree, changing the rules permit holders operate under.

Sources DOF, 16 November 2023 (archived) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Decree sets a 50% special tax (IEPS) on gambling, including online

The IEPS rate on gambling and draws is set at 50%, and the decree states that games offered online by operators resident abroad are covered.

Sources IEPS reform, DOF 7 November 2025, Cámara de Diputados (archived) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Veikkaus, RAY and Fintoto merge into a single company

Finland's three separate gambling monopolies (betting/lottery, slots/casino, horse-race totalisator) are consolidated under one state operator, Veikkaus Oy — the entity the 2026-27 reform now partially opens to competition.

Sources Veikkaus Group — Our story (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Parliament passes the new Gambling Act

Eduskunta approves the Rahapelilaki and related amendments ending Veikkaus's exclusive right to betting, online casino games, online slots and online money bingo, sending the law to the President for confirmation.

Sources Eduskunta (Parliament of Finland) — EV 170/2025 vp (Parliament's reply containing the Gambling Act) (official source) · Rahapeliala ry — "Eduskunta hyväksyi uuden rahapelilain" (secondary)

Checked 25 September 2026

President confirms the new Gambling Act

Rahapelilaki 10/2026 becomes law, formally starting the transition away from the Veikkaus monopoly for betting and online casino games, with a staggered timetable set out in the Act's own commencement clause.

Sources Rahapelilaki 10/2026 (Finlex) (official source) · Finnish Government (Valtioneuvosto) — "Finland to open some gambling services to competition" (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Gambling-licence applications open

Operators can apply to the National Police Board for the new Finnish gambling licences, the first practical step toward ending the Veikkaus monopoly on betting and online casino games.

Sources Rahapelilaki 10/2026 (Finlex) (official source) · Finnish Government (Valtioneuvosto) — "Finland to open some gambling services to competition" (official source) · Police of Finland — Licences under the Gambling Act (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Licensed betting and online casino competition begins

Any operator holding a Finnish gambling-game licence can legally offer betting, online casino games, online slots and online money bingo to Finnish players for the first time; supervision transfers from the Police Board to the new Lupa- ja valvontavirasto.

Future date, but fixed in the Gambling Act's own commencement clause (not merely a target), hence 'scheduled' rather than 'expected'.

Sources Rahapelilaki 10/2026 (Finlex) (official source) · Finnish Government (Valtioneuvosto) — "Finland to open some gambling services to competition" (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Ley 19.995 creates the Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego

Creates the casino regulator (SCJ) and the licensing regime for land-based casinos. It provides no licences for online casinos.

Sources Marco normativo (Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego, official regulator site) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Senate Finance Committee approves the online-betting bill in general

Boletín 14.838-03 clears the Senate Finance Committee in general and moves to the Senate floor. It is not yet law.

Sources Senado de Chile, 6 August 2025 (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

SII Resolución Exenta 69 lets offshore betting platforms register for VAT

Foreign online betting and casino platforms with no Chilean establishment can register with the tax authority and pay VAT on services to users in Chile. Tax registration is not a gambling licence.

Sources SII emite Resolución para que plataformas extranjeras de apuestas en línea paguen IVA Digital (Servicio de Impuestos Internos, official site) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

IR Promotion Act enacted

A framework law commits the government to legislate detailed integrated-resort/casino rules within about a year, the first legal step toward permitting any casino gambling in Japan.

Sources House of Representatives (Shugiin) official law database — 特定複合観光施設区域の整備の推進に関する法律 (Law No. 115 of 2016) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

IR Development Act ("IR Implementation Act") promulgated

Sets the actual licensing rules for up to three casino resorts, entry fees and visit limits for Japanese residents, and creates the Japan Casino Regulatory Commission — the substantive law behind the 2016 framework act.

Sources National Diet Library Houreisakuin — 特定複合観光施設区域整備法 (Law No. 80 of 2018) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Japan Casino Regulatory Commission established

The independent Article-3 regulator responsible for licence screening, supervision of any future casino operator, and technical/addiction-prevention regulation begins operating as an external bureau of the Cabinet Office.

Sources National Personnel Authority (jinji.go.jp) — Japan Casino Regulatory Commission recruitment notice (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Osaka's Yumeshima IR plan certified by the national government

The national government certifies Osaka's integrated-resort plan for Yumeshima, the step that allows construction of Japan's first legal casino to go ahead.

Sources Japan Tourism Agency (MLIT) — "大阪・夢洲地区のＩＲ区域整備計画を認定" (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

Ban on promoting illegal online-casino sites takes effect

Presenting, advertising or linking to illegal online-casino sites for people in Japan becomes unlawful in its own right. Playing at such sites was already illegal under the Penal Code.

Sources National Police Agency — notice on promulgation of the Basic Act on Gambling Addiction Countermeasures amendment (Reiwa 7 Law No. 76) (official source) · House of Councillors (Sangiin) — bill status page for the amendment (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026

MGM Osaka targeted to open

Japan's first legal casino, part of the Yumeshima integrated resort in Osaka, is targeted to open. It is a land-based casino; online casino gambling stays illegal.

Autumn 2030 is a target stated by Osaka City, not a date fixed in law, and could move.

Sources City of Osaka — 統合型リゾート 大阪IR (official municipal IR page) (official source)

Checked 25 September 2026