Ontario Premier Doug Ford has asked a Toronto court to rule on whether it is legal for casinos to allow Ontarians to play games alongside foreigners. If the court agrees, the Ontario online gambling landscape could get a major shakeup. It would also pressure the federal government to address gambling laws in Canada.
International Casino Players Issue Explained
Parliament amended the Canadian Criminal Code in August 2021 to legalize online casinos and sports betting in Canada. Since then, the online gambling industry has exploded. There are now dozens of legal online casinos and sportsbooks available throughout the country.
The amended Criminal Code isn’t perfect, though. Parliament didn’t address many issues related to governing gambling in Canada. As a result, regulating the industry has been left up to the provinces.
In February, Ford and his cabinet issued an Order in Council 210/2024 asking a court to clarify one of the many things that the 2021 amended Criminal Code didn’t address.
The order-in-council asked the court to decide on this question: “Would legal online gaming and sports betting remain lawful under the Criminal Code if its users were permitted to participate in games and betting involving individuals outside of Canada?”
The Court of Appeal for Ontario will provide their ruling on this issue sometime this fall.
Other Canadian Provinces Oppose Expansion Plan
It’s too early to say which way the Toronto-based Court of Appeal for Ontario will rule. However, it appears that many people are split on how the court should rule.
Ford’s February order-in-council sent shockwaves through the Canadian gambling industry. iGaming operators welcome the news. Poker players celebrated these developments too. Being able to enjoy gaming alongside internationals means getting access to higher-stakes live poker games than the ones currently available in Ontario.
The other provinces, though, did not receive Ford’s order-in-council as well.
The Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC), British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), Lotteries and Gaming of Saskatchewan (LGS), and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation (MBLL) submitted a joint motion to the Court of Appeal for Ontario, opposing Ford’s request.
They say that if Ontario casinos online are allowed to host international players alongside locals, that it could have ramifications in their provinces.
The lottery companies said in their Motion for Leave to Intervene that allowing international players “could lead to the further proliferation of illegal online gambling in the jurisdictions in which they operate.”
Ontario says it would restrict gamblers from other provinces to play alongside Ontarians if the court allows Ontario gambling sites to accept international players.
Ontario Is Looking to Further Develop Online Casino Industry
In April 2022, Ontario became the first Canadian province or territory to allow privately owned online casinos and sportsbooks into its market. A new government agency, iGaming Ontario, was created to regulate this new market.
Aside from some complaints about sports betting advertising, iGaming Ontario has been a regulatory success story.
In the first year of legal online gambling in Ontario, the province brought in $469 million in tax revenue. That number grew even bigger in year two. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, iGaming Ontario earned an estimated $790 million in tax revenue – a 68% increase year-on-year. Early projections estimated that the 2024-25 fiscal year could be even bigger.
It’s no wonder then that Doug Ford and the Government of Ontario are looking for ways to make hay while the sun shines. Allowing international players could have a massive impact on growing the industry.
“The federal Criminal Code is not sufficiently clear on whether Ontarians can participate in online gaming with players in other countries,” said Ontario Attorney General spokesperson Jack Fazzari.
“It’s important that we get this right to provide the most legal certainty to operators and players as this new industry grows in Ontario,” Fazzari explained.
An unnamed iGaming spokesperson echoed this sentiment, saying that allowing international players will help Ontario expand its daily fantasy sports and peer-to-peer online poker sites. Arguments were also made that diversifying the market is the best way to bring more users to legal online gambling sites.
“An open and competitive market that players want to participate in is the single biggest thing iGaming Ontario can do to reduce the unregulated market and shift players into the regulated one,” they said.
The Court of Appeal for Ontario will hear these arguments, and the arguments from other provinces, this fall.
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