Many consider Quebec, and Montreal more specifically, to be the party capital of Canada, much like Las Vegas is to the United States. Quebec neighbors Ontario, as well as four U.S. states, and is the second-largest province in Canada by population. As the only province that has French as the official language, Quebec has always run their province a little differently than the rest of Canada – and that includes Quebec sports betting.
Along with regular guidelines the rest of the country must follow, the provincial lottery, Loto-Quebec operates and regulates sports betting in Quebec. Mise-O-Jeu is the sports betting product in Quebec and is similar to Pro-Line (which you’d find in Quebec’s neighboring provinces, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces).
While Mise-O-Jeu has the same hurdles as any sports betting product in Canada, not allowing single-game wagers due to the Canadian Criminal code. Some sports betting is better than no sports betting – and Canadians are appreciative of it – even if that isn’t their only option.
With a population of over 8 million Quebec residents, there are plenty of sports fans, as well as sports bettors, and as the home of several professional sports teams like the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL, Montreal Impact of the MLS, and their resident CFL team the Montreal Alouettes.
Quebec Sports Betting Laws
Online sportsbooks are much superior to any product you will find in Canada, but many shy away from betting on offshore sportsbooks because they feel it’s illegal. There is no law or regulation about betting offshore from Quebec or the rest of Canada for that matter. The only mention in the laws regarding operating your own sportsbook without a license within Canada or Quebec borders.
What Quebec has going for them, is that they have the lowest age of majority in North America, as bettors can be 18 years of age or older to be able to gamble (as well as Alberta and Manitoba). This draws plenty of tourism from neighboring provinces and even from the United States, as they can bet on sports and drink alcohol four years prior to becoming the age of majority in the U.S.
Quebec Sports Betting Venues
Luckily, sports betting is legal in casinos, as well as Mise-O-Jeu in most places you can buy a lottery ticket, like gas stations, convenience stores, and grocery stores. This means offline sports betting is easily accessible at every street corner. While Quebec doesn’t have any specific sportsbook locations, it would be a great addition to their huge casino market.
They have thousands of VLTs (video poker machines) at the four major casinos such as the Casino de Charlevoix, Casino de Mont-Tremblant, Casino du Lac-Leamy, and Casino de Montreal.
Loto Quebec Sports Betting
All things Québec sports betting related are offered by the Loto-Québec, which was founded in 1969. Sports players can view live gambling odds, 24 hours prior to most events, and they can print their betting slip through the Loto Québec website. From there, the ticket must be submitted and paid for at any of a number of sports betting retail outlets that dot the region. The four land based Casinos in Québec house kiosks that also serve sports punters from ‘La Belle Province’.
Loto Quebec Mise o Jeu
From the main gateway at lotoquebec.com bettors have easy access to the Mise o Jeu family of sports betting. Still slightly behind the sports wagering times,the MiseOJeu website is an odds posting board and sports handicapping information site. Live sports betting through Loto-Québec, similar to what can be found in British Columbia, is rumored to be on the way to the Québec gambling community.
Loto-Quebec’s Mise-O-Jeu
Each province has its own sports betting program, and Quebec’s lottery corporation has Mise-O-Jeu both online and offline. The program is fairly standard in terms of what you’d find across the rest of the provinces - sub-standard odds, no single-game wagers, and offline/online betting available.
If you want to sign up at Mise-O-Jeu, you will need to create an account, live in the province, and prove you reside there, as well as your age. You can use a major credit card to fund your account - which is nice, some offshore sportsbooks have limited card options - but many do accept MasterCard and Visa. The one benefit to Canadian sportsbooks is that they accept Interac Debit transactions as well.
To bet offline, you will fill out a bet slip and receive a transaction number you can take to your local Loto-Quebec kiosk where you can submit your bet. You must have all of your prediction numbers correct and double-check!
As all Canadian lottery retailers do, Mise-O-Jeu only accepts parlay wagers, and you cannot place a single-game wager in Quebec. You must create a multi-leg wager, of two to eight predictions on a single bet slip to place a wager in Quebec. All of your predictions must be correct for your bet to cash.
This can be challenging as you may only see value in betting on one game that day, and forcing parlays really only benefits the house because of many struggles with predicting the outcome of multiple games.
Another thing you may not be used to, and seems to be exclusive to Mise-O-Jeu, is your potential winnings will include your stake. Many sportsbooks or sports betting sites do not include your stake in the potential winnings - so if you bet $20 to win $150, you would only get $150 back, on other sites you’d receive $170 in winnings.
If you are looking for a sign-up bonus, don’t bother with Mise-O-Jeu. Head to an online sportsbook where you can double your initial deposit. Mise-O-Jeu also has a very limited offering of sports - sticking to the most popular North American sports - and that’s about it.
Top Online Sportsbooks for Betting on Sports in Quebec
While having a province-run sports betting option is great, the program in Quebec isn’t up to par with any of the top online sportsbooks you can find offshore. The best part about betting in Canada is that there has never been an actual law (like the United States had with PASPA) against betting on sports offshore. You can sign up at an offshore sportsbook and play til your heart’s content. Many Canadian sports bettors prefer offshore books because of the perks and the odds are significantly better.
When betting in Quebec on Mise-O-Jeu, you will be almost losing 20 cents to the dollar on the odds. You can create a bet slip on both Mise-O-Jeu, and let’s say Everygame, and see for yourself. If you’re betting on sports, you may as well go with the software that’s going to make you the most money in the long run.
We aren’t trying to sell you on offshore sportsbooks, but we want you to be aware of your options before you bet on sports in Quebec, so that you can make the best decision for you. Online sports betting sites have great deposit options, huge bonuses, and promotions where you can double your deposit or even free bets from time to time.
Maybe you’d prefer to bet on eSports which isn’t covered by many lottery run sportsbooks, or Aussie rules football? There are many sports happening all over the globe at any given time and can be fun to bet on. There are just so many more options available on online sportsbooks.
We recommend reading detailed online sportsbook reviews before selecting an offshore sportsbook if that’s the route you choose to go. There are great options available and finding one that offers everything you need in terms of odds, bonuses, deposit, and withdrawal options should be your top priority.
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