BCLC's Sports Action

Want to bet in Canada’s westernmost province? In 2025, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) remains the sole regulator of legal gambling in the province, overseeing sports betting, casinos, slots, and more.

For online wagering, BCLC runs the PlayNow platform, which long ago replaced the old Sports Action site. PlayNow provides odds on all major sports and a streamlined interface that lets you place bets easily from your phone or computer.

This article will prime you on how to bet at PlayNow. Let's start with the types of bets you'll likely come across:

How to Bet on BCLC’s PlayNow

One thing is for sure: betting options are abundant on PlayNow. This isn't a comprehensive list by any means, but here's the most common betting types on-site:

Oddset 3-Outcome

While this title is a little self-explanatory - we prefer to call these wagering types parlays. Parlays are multi-leg wagers where you select multiple outcomes of games to increase your odds.

With the PlayNow Oddset 3-Outcome, you are doing just that - you are selecting three or more games you want to bet on and select whether you think the visitor will win, the home team will win or a tie. You will mark the options you want to bet on, V for a visitor, H for home, and T for the tie. You then place your wager, and if all of your predictions are correct, you will win your bet.

Different sports on PlayNow have their own rules for what counts as a “tie” in Oddset bets. For example, in hockey the tie option may include overtime or require the game to reach a shootout, while in other sports a tie is defined by a narrow scoring margin rather than an exact draw. The exact thresholds vary by sport, so it’s important to check the PlayNow rules before placing a tie wager.

Oddset 2-Outcome

Another popular betting option on PlayNow is the Oddset 2-Outcome wager. It follows the exact sample principles as the Oddset 3-Outcome, just two options.

Oddset Combo

Oddset Combo allows you to play multiple sports on one slip. These are just other parlay options essentially, you just will have all of your wagers on one betting slip. You could see a “Go for 2” option on your bet slip, and you just select that to combine your wagers into a combination bet.

Point Spreads

Point spreads are fairly common in the sports betting industry and well known around the world. PlayNow point spreads even the odds between two teams so that the underdog team has a fighting chance. The underdog will have odds with a positive number next to it, and the favored team will have a negative number next to it.

If we’re looking at an NHL matchup between two Canadian Teams:

  • Toronto Maple Leafs +1.5
  • Vancouver Canucks -1.5

This spread means the Canucks are favored to win by at least two goals. If you bet on Toronto at +1.5, your wager wins if the Leafs either win the game outright or lose by a single goal. If you take Vancouver at -1.5, your bet only pays if the Canucks win by two goals or more.

Totals (Over/Under)

If you’re playing the over/under, it’s a pretty standard and safe bet to make. If you aren’t a huge sports fan and don’t know a lot about the teams playing, it is a great option because you are betting on the final outcome of both teams combined.

If you’re looking at the same matchup as above, you will need to predict the total number of goals scored by both the Leafs and Canucks collectively. If the Canucks are favored to win by more than 3 goals, we might see a total set at 6.5 by the PlayNow oddsmakers.

Your job is to determine if you think that both teams will score more or less than 6.5 collectively. If you pick the over and the final score is 2-1, you will lose your wager. If you picked the over and the score was 5-3, you will win.

Toto

Toto wagers are very risky and not for the faint of heart. You will be choosing the outcomes of 13, 12 or 11 games, and you will need to be correct on all predictions to win the cash prize. PlayNow has this option, and while you can create 13 game parlays at any sportsbook to win a huge prize, not many sports bettors do this successfully.

Props

PlayNow has some prop bets available, not as many as you’d see on an online sportsbook, but you can get some decent value from their menu if you already have an account.

Prop bets are events or instances in the game that have nothing to do with the final outcome of the game. Anything under the sun that you didn't bet on above, is up for grabs. For example, you can bet on if there will be power-play goals, who scores next, or any player props they might have available.

If you’re betting on power-play goals, and the line is set at 0.5, and you choose the over, you will need one team to score at least one goal in the power play for your bet to cash.

Betting on PlayNow

Just visit the PlayNow site to get started. You'll quickly get bombarded by all of its betting options that are listed on the front page, including various different jackpots including Lotto Max (currently advertising a C$10 million jackpot) and Lotto 649 (with a current Gold Ball jackpot of C$26 million). In September 2025, one Canadian bettor reportedly won PlayNow's C$31 million Lotto Max jackpot.

Beyond its casino, PlayNow also offers a comprehensive sportsbook, online poker, and even bingo!

While a decent option for British Colombia bettors, PlayNow has serious competition in the form of offshore sportsbooks. While not licensed via BCLC like PlayNow, these offshore sites do work — and really well too. We advise you to read our sportsbook reviews to determine if these alternative sites are worth your time and money. We've linked up-to-date reviews in the underneath table!