Tobique: what it covers and what it means for players

For players in Great BritainUnder the Gambling Act 2005, section 33 makes it an offence to provide facilities for gambling without a Gambling Commission operating licence. Since the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014, section 36(3) and (3A) apply this to remote gambling facilities used in Great Britain even where none of the operator's equipment is in Great Britain, if the operator knows or should know they are being used here. A Tobique licence is not a Gambling Commission licence and does not permit an operator to offer gambling to people in Great Britain. The Tobique Act itself makes registered players responsible for checking that gambling is lawful where they live (s.29(2)). Advertising unlicensed gambling to people in Great Britain can also be an offence under section 330. How to check a site.

Licence types

Tobique Gaming Act 2023 s.23 lists: Direct Licensee authorization; bookmaker's licence; betting intermediary's licence; wagering operator's licence; wagering machine licence; lottery promoter's licence; pools promoter's licence; gaming software licence; gaming software aggregator licence; social gaming licence; game of skill licence (all authorise remote gambling only)
Temporary licence of up to six months, which may be issued to a foreign operator while an application is processed (s.23(6))
The TGC's published register classifies licences as B2C or B2B

What players get

Minimum age 18; licence holders must take all reasonable steps to keep under-age players out (Act s.37)
Licence holders must offer self-exclusion, name a person responsible for responsible-gambling policy, warn players not to gamble beyond their means, and link from the home page to at least one problem-gambling support organisation (Act s.28)
Players must register with name, residential address and age before gambling (Act s.29(1))
TGC General Code of Practice: licensees are liable for customer funds and must segregate them (para 8.11)
Complaints go to the licence holder first and are then redirected to a dispute resolution office chosen by the Commission or the Direct Licensee (Act s.40); the TGC says it will only process complaints submitted through the link in the Tobique Shield

How to check a licence

Check the company name against the 'License Holders' page at thetgc.ca/license-holders/, which shows the licence type (B2C or B2B) and expiry date. Licensed sites display a 'Tobique Shield' in their footer; the TGC says a genuine shield links to validate.thetgc.ca. The TGC also keeps a list of sites falsely claiming its licence at thetgc.ca/unlicensed-sites/.

Recent changes

2023-10-13: Tobique Chief and Council enacted the Tobique Gaming Act 2023, creating the Tobique Gaming Commission (per the licensing facilitator's press release).
2024-02-05: Creation of the TGC announced, with a London-based firm appointed as the 'Direct Licensee' to accept and review licence applications on the TGC's behalf.
2024-04: Version 2.0 of the Tobique Gaming Act 2023 published; the first B2B licence was reported issued the same month (secondary).
2025-11 to 2026-07: TGC began publishing a running list of websites falsely displaying its licence, with downloadable reports.
2026-09: Updated General Code of Practice (v2.0), AML/CTF regulations and Remote Gambling AML Code of Practice (v3.0) published.

Context

The Act grounds the TGC's authority in Tobique First Nation's inherent right to self-government, citing section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 (Act s.1(2)). No Canadian federal or New Brunswick government statement on the TGC's online licensing was found.

Licensing is run with private partners: the Commission grants licences 'giving consideration to the recommendation' of a Management Company appointed by Chief and Council and its delegate Direct Licensees (Act s.23(1)). The appointed Direct Licensee describes itself as the 'sole and exclusively appointed Direct Licensee'.

The TGC publishes a long list of sites it says falsely claim its licence, mostly discovered from late 2025 onward.

Little independent reporting on the TGC exists. Most coverage comes from licensing consultancies and B2B suppliers selling the licence, and those sources were not relied on here.

Not yet verified

The enactment date (13 October 2023) and the February 2024 launch come only from the appointed Direct Licensee's press release, not from a Tobique First Nation or government document.
The Act's commencement depends on a date to be appointed by Chief and Council (s.1(2)); no commencement notice was found.
The identity and ownership of 'TGC Management Co.' and the membership of the Commission are not published on thetgc.ca.
No statement from the Government of Canada, New Brunswick or its gaming regulator about the TGC's online licensing was found.
Whether the TGC limits which countries licensees may serve was not found; the Act puts the onus on players (s.29(2)).
No public dispute-resolution statistics or enforcement actions against licensees were found.

We could not confirm these from a primary source, so we have not stated them as fact.