What records should I keep throughout the year if I want to be prepared in case a tax professional asks about my gambling activity?

Good recordkeeping around gambling is one of those things that feels unnecessary right up until a tax professional actually asks about it — so the time to build the habit is throughout the year, not at the end of it. Here's a practical breakdown of what to track and why it matters for Ottawa players using Ontario's regulated online casinos.

Start with the Canadian tax baseline

Lottery winnings — and, by extension, recreational gambling winnings — are generally listed among the amounts that are not reported or taxed in Canada. That's the default position for most casual players. But the picture gets more complicated depending on how you play. Gambling activities can constitute a source of income — that is, carrying on the business of gambling — and determining the commerciality of gambling can be challenging. The CRA has noted that gambling with a view to profit is an intention "shared by all who gamble," and the presence of that intention alone does not lead to the conclusion that all who gamble are carrying on a business. In practice, the CRA looks at factors like the systematic nature of the activity, the degree of skill involved, and whether you're pursuing it in a businesslike way. A recreational slots player in Ottawa is in a very different position than someone who plays high-volume poker with a structured approach — but both benefit from having records, precisely because the line isn't always obvious.

The core documents a tax professional will want to see fall into a few categories:

• Account transaction histories from each regulated operator. Ontario's licensed online casinos maintain detailed records of your deposits, withdrawals, wagers, and balances. Download and save these periodically — monthly or quarterly — rather than relying on the platform to keep them available indefinitely. You are responsible for keeping information about your internet-based transactions in your own records, since third parties may not keep the information for the period required by law.
• Bank and payment records. Keep bank statements and any other proof that documents the flow of funds, and keep your tax documents and records for at least six years. The six-year window is the CRA's general standard for personal records.
• A personal gambling log. This is especially important if you play regularly or across multiple platforms. Record the date, the platform, the game type, the amount deposited or wagered, and the result. A simple spreadsheet works fine. The CRA has observed that a taxpayer may often recall wins but have to be prompted to recall losses — a contemporaneous log removes that problem entirely and shows a complete picture rather than a selective one.
• Withdrawal confirmations and e-transfer records. These corroborate your account history and demonstrate the actual amounts that moved into your personal finances.
• Any correspondence from the operator confirming account status, identity verification, or significant transactions.

If your gambling activity is clearly recreational and small in scale, this documentation mainly serves to confirm that it falls outside taxable income. If it grows in volume, becomes more systematic, or if you start treating it as a serious skill-based pursuit, lottery and certain other winnings are non-taxable in Canada — however, if the taxpayer is in the business of gambling, the proceeds and losses are considered for income tax purposes. At that point the records become genuinely critical, and a tax professional will want to see the full picture — wins and losses both.

One practical note: only play on operators registered with iGaming Ontario. Regulated sites display both the iGaming Ontario and BetGuard logos, which is your quick confirmation you're on a legitimate, licensed platform. The full registry lives at iGaming Ontario's official site. Playing on a registered operator also means your account records are held by an accountable entity — far easier to retrieve than records from an unregulated offshore site, if it even keeps them at all.

Keep your records for six years from the end of the last tax year they relate to — that's the CRA's standard retention window and a safe rule of thumb for gambling records too. If you ever find yourself unsure whether your activity crosses into taxable territory, that's exactly the kind of question to put to a qualified Canadian tax professional; the answer depends on your specific pattern of play, and the CRA's guidance on this is genuinely fact-specific. Ontario residents can reach ConnexOntario at 1-866-531-2600 if gambling ever becomes more than entertainment.