Gambling law

Office Hockey Pools and Friendly Bets: What the Criminal Code Allows

Casino newsUpdated October 28, 2026

A bet between friends is generally lawful in Canada: section 204(1)(b) of the Criminal Code exempts private bets between people who are not in the business of betting. The trouble starts when someone profits from running the game, by taking a cut, charging a fee or making a living from pools. Pools run to raise money for a cause need a provincial lottery licence.

The short answer

Gambling in Canada is broadly prohibited by Part VII of the Criminal Code, with exceptions. British Columbia's Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch summarises the position in an enforcement bulletin: gambling is generally allowed only when it is conducted by the province or licensed through the provincial regulator. The same bulletin then adds the exception that matters for the office: the Code does not prohibit "private bets between individuals who are not in the business of betting."

So a $20 bet with a coworker on the Leafs, or a playoff pool where everyone chips in and the winners split the whole pot, sits close to that exemption. A pool where the organiser keeps a slice, charges an admin fee or runs pools for profit does not. The rest of this guide walks through the sections that draw that line. It is a plain-language explainer, not legal advice; if you plan anything larger than a friendly pool, the BC bulletin itself recommends getting independent legal advice first.

The sections that matter: 197 to 207

Section 197 sets the definitions. A bet is a bet placed on any contingency or event that is to take place in or out of Canada, including a sporting event or match. A game is a game of chance or of mixed chance and skill, so arguing that a hockey pool takes skill does not move it outside the definitions.

The same section defines a common gaming house. Beyond a place kept for gain, it covers any place kept or used for playing games where:

• a bank is kept by one or more, but not all, of the players;
• all or any portion of the bets or proceeds is paid, directly or indirectly, to the keeper;
• a fee is charged for the privilege of playing; or
• the chances of winning are not equally favourable to all players.

Section 201 makes keeping a common gaming house an offence, punishable by up to two years if prosecuted by indictment, and it also covers being found in one or knowingly letting a place be used as one.

Section 202 targets betting as an activity. Among other things it covers anyone who records or registers bets or sells a pool, and anyone who engages in book-making or pool-selling, or in the business or occupation of betting. A first offence carries up to two years.

Section 204(1)(b) is the escape hatch: sections 201 and 202 do not apply to a private bet between individuals not engaged in any way in the business of betting.

Sections 206 and 207 deal with lotteries. Section 206 makes it an offence to run a scheme where people pay money for a chance to win a prize. Section 207 then carves out who may run such schemes lawfully: the province itself, a charitable or religious organization under a provincial licence that spends the proceeds on charitable or religious purposes, and certain other licensees such as fairs. Note that the private-bet exemption in section 204 is written for sections 201 and 202 only; it does not mention the lottery offences in section 206.

Where the line sits for an office pool

Read together, these sections give a fairly clear test. The questions below map to the wording of the Code. They are not a guarantee about how police or a court would treat any particular pool.

The common thread is profit and imbalance. As soon as one person gains from organising rather than from winning, or the pool becomes a regular commercial activity, the exemption for private bets stops fitting. The BC bulletin's list of indicators of a common gaming house reads the same way: kept for gain, a fee to play, a portion of proceeds going to the person in charge, a bank not equally held, and chances not equally favourable.

Charity and fundraising pools need a licence

Many hockey pools are run as fundraisers, with part of the pot going to a minor hockey association or a local cause. That changes the analysis completely. Money is being raised from the players, so the pool is a lottery scheme under section 207, and it has to be conducted under a licence issued by the province.

Only eligible organizations can get one. In Ontario, the AGCO's charitable gaming page makes clear that to conduct a lottery or raffle you need a licence, and that only eligible charities and religious groups qualify. In Newfoundland and Labrador, Sports Betting Lotteries form their own category of charitable licence, alongside bingo, breakopen tickets and ticket lotteries, and licences go only to eligible charitable, religious and incorporated non-profit organizations with charitable purposes. Rules, fees and reporting differ by province, so the organizer should contact the provincial licensing office before taking any money.

For an informal office group, the practical takeaway is simple: either everyone gets every dollar back as prizes, or you are fundraising and need a licence. There is no middle option where a cut quietly goes to a cause.

Keeping an office pool on the right side

1. Pay out everything. Every dollar collected goes back to participants as prizes. No organiser cut, no "admin" fee, no prize for the house.
2. Same deal for everyone. The organiser pays the same entry and plays under the same rules as everyone else.
3. Keep it among people you know. A pool among coworkers is very different from advertising entries to strangers or running pools for other offices.
4. Write the rules down before the season starts. Entry amount, scoring, payout split and tie-breakers, sent to everyone.
5. Keep a simple ledger. Who paid, when, and what was paid out, so nobody has to rely on memory.
6. Raising money? Stop and get a licence first. If any share is meant for a team or charity, it is a lottery scheme and needs a provincial licence.

When the employer runs the pool

A pool funded or run by the employer raises a separate question: tax. The Canada Revenue Agency's folio on lottery winnings explains that a prize is normally not taxable, but carves out employer schemes. Where an employer that usually pays bonuses sets up a draw among employees to split the bonus money, the CRA treats it as not a lottery, and the prizes are employment income. The folio allows an exception only where employees make up a small share of participants, get no favoured treatment and contribute the same as everyone else. A pool where staff put in their own money and split it among themselves is a different thing; our page on gambling law and taxation in Canada covers the general tax position.

Workplaces may also have their own policies on betting, fundraising or using company email for pools. Those are employment rules, not criminal law, but they are worth checking before sending the spreadsheet round. If a coworker's betting is going beyond a friendly pool, our responsible gambling page lists provincial support lines.

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