Ontario Premier Doug Ford just wants his citizens to be able to play real online poker against the rest of the world. (Image: The Canadian Press / Alamy Live)

The Ontario provincial government, led by Premier Doug Ford, is seeking a court ruling on whether regulated Ontario online casino sites can allow players in Ontario to play in the same games with people from outside Canada.

The ruling, which was triggered by an order-in-council issued by the provincial government in February, would have the biggest impact on online poker sites in Ontario, which currently serve only a segregated market of players in the province. Other games in which individuals compete against each other, such as daily fantasy sports contests, would also be impacted.

Province Asks Court for Clarification on Criminal Code

In the order, the Ontario government asks the Court of Appeal for Ontario to answer the following 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 as described in the attached Schedule? If not, to what extent?”

Online gaming firms, including GGPoker, have lobbied Ontario in an effort to get the province to reconsider whether the Criminal Code truly prohibits international play on its regulated gaming sites.

“The federal Criminal Code is not sufficiently clear on whether Ontarians can participate in online gaming with players in other countries, Jack Fazzari, press secretary for Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey, told CBC News in an email. “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.”

There has also been concern from some gaming industry officials that high stakes Ontario poker players may be moving to unregulated sites to find bigger games.

“There is a much greater diversity of poker game types and player experiences available in the international market compared to a closed market such as Ontario,” lawyers for NSUS Group, the owners of GGPoker, wrote in a court filing. “The diminished online poker experience available in Ontario…drives players to unregulated black market operators who are able to offer better experiences in the international market.”

Provincial Authorities Line Up Against Proposed Change

The plan proposed by Ontario officials would not allow players from other provinces from joining in Ontario’s online games. However, that hasn’t placated gaming officials around Canada, who have lined up against the proposal. 

The Atlantic Lottery Corporation, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan, and the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation filed documentation to the Court of Appeal in June, arguing that Ontario’s plan could lead to the proliferation of illegal gambling across Canada. 

“[A coalition of provincial gambling regulatory bodies] has observed a marked proliferation of illegal online gambling in provinces other than Ontario alongside the launch of the Ontario iGaming market,” the document reads. “To the Coalition’s alarm, many iGO Operators are among the most prominent illegal operators advertising online gambling to Canadians outside of Ontario.”

Ontario became the first province to allow private companies to apply for gaming licenses in April 2022 via iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. To this date, it is still the only province to offer such an option, though many others offer regulated online gambling via government-controlled sites. 

Currently, iGaming Ontario lists 47 companies as licensed operators in the province. Ontario collected approximately $790 million in online gambling revenues and taxes in 2023.