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Taxes in Canada

What to keep track of. Not tax advice.

3 min readChecked on Oct 31, 2026

In Canada, winnings from gambling as a pastime are generally not taxed. That includes sports betting.

Say you bet for fun. A winning year is generally not income you report. A losing year is generally not a loss you can deduct.

This is different from the United States, where gambling winnings are taxed. So advice written for US bettors often doesn't apply here.

When it can be different

Things can change if your betting is run like a business. Then profits can be treated as business income. Canadian courts have looked at the whole picture, including things like:

  • whether betting is how you make your living, or something you do alongside a job
  • how organised it is: a set method, detailed records, a lot of time spent
  • whether you use special knowledge or skill to make a profit
  • whether you act like a business: separate accounts, paid tools, betting at a large scale

No single thing decides it. If betting starts to look like your job, get advice before you file, not after.

If it is treated as a business, losses and costs may be treated differently too. That is exactly the kind of question for an accountant.

Example

Two bettors, same tools

  1. Sam works full time and bets on weekends for fun. This year: 150 bets, $9,000 bet in total, up $420.
  2. For someone like Sam, gambling winnings are generally not taxed in Canada. A losing year would not be deductible.
  3. Riley left their job to bet every day. Riley uses a strict system, runs it like a business and bets far more. This year: up $42,000.
  4. Riley's profit could be business income. Riley should talk to an accountant about it.

The names and numbers are made up to show the idea. Your situation decides the answer, not the size of your profit alone.

Other things to know

  • Interest is still taxed. Interest or investment income you earn on your winnings is taxed as usual. That is true even when the winnings themselves were not.
  • Betting outside Canada can be different. Other countries have their own rules. Some keep tax on winnings when they pay out. This lesson is only about Canada.
  • Rules change. Check with the Canada Revenue Agency or an accountant for the current rules.

Keep records anyway

Even if you never owe tax on your betting, good records help in three ways:

  • They show where the money in your bank account came from.
  • They make your real results clear to you.
  • They are the first thing an accountant will ask for.

What to keep:

  • For each bet: the date, site, bet, amount, odds, result and profit or loss.
  • Money you put in and take out at each site.
  • What you pay for betting tools.

WynFynd's My bets keeps every bet you log. You can download them as a spreadsheet file (CSV) from My bets. Your account page has all your data.

Try it