The British Columbia Lottery Corporation claims the headaches it is already getting from online sportsbooks and internet casinos regulated outside the province could get even worse if Alberta launches an Ontario-like iGaming market.
BCLC – owner of British Columbia’s only authorized iGaming platform, PlayNow – voiced those concerns in budget-related documents released last week.
Upper Canada complaints
Canada has been hit by a wave of ads for online gambling sites licensed only in Ontario since that province launched a regulated iGaming market in 2022, according to the government-owned lottery and gaming company.
The B.C. Crown corporation alleged in its latest three-year service plan that these ads nudge players outside of Ontario to “international-affiliated sites of the same brand."
Those sites are not regulated in British Columbia and are therefore unlawful, the lottery claims.
“PlayNow competes with these sites as well as illegal gambling operators from outside of Canada,” BCLC added. “Increased demand for advertising from these sites has driven up the cost of advertising and sponsorship opportunities that BCLC uses to enhance the brand’s presence and draw players to the only regulated option in our province. Alberta has indicated that it is considering licensing private-sector online gambling sites, which could exacerbate these challenges.”
Although BCLC has mentioned its Ontario-related issues in previous service plans, this year's mention of Alberta as a potential concern is new.
Alberta is indeed eyeing the launch of an Ontario-like iGaming market. That would permit private-sector operators (some of which are likely already taking bets in the province) to come under local regulation and compete against Alberta's BCLC equivalent, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission, with the blessing of the province itself.
'Grey' be gone
A spokesperson for Alberta’s iGaming minister told Covers in a statement that interprovincial advertising is “typically” regulated at the federal level, while oversight for gambling falls under provincial jurisdiction.
“One of the key goals in developing Alberta’s online gambling strategy is to ensure that Albertans who choose to gamble online are protected by important social responsibility and consumer protection standards,” said Brandon Aboultaif, press secretary to Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally. “In this regard, it’s important for Alberta to consider the Ontario approach and the success it has had in channeling unregulated operators into the regulated market, where standards and player protections can be ensured.”
Ontario’s iGaming regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, told Covers in a statement on Friday that it values “our long-standing, positive working relationships with lottery commissions and gaming regulators in other provinces.”
“The AGCO is also focused on further reducing unregulated gaming,” a spokesperson said in an email. “Building on early channelization success, we continue to collaborate with stakeholders to combat the unregulated market and remain engaged with our counterparts in other jurisdictions on this issue.”
The government-owned Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., which went from being the province's only authorized sports betting and iGaming operator to one of 50, is getting a new sportsbook tech provider: Kambi.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) February 25, 2025
OLG's transition from FDJ to Kambi expected to be done in H2 of 2025. pic.twitter.com/rPzyyh3tE0
Nevertheless, the warnings in BCLC's service plan highlight the tension that has been created in Canada following the launch of Ontario’s competitive iGaming market in April 2022.
Ontario's iGaming market was developed to channel the widespread online gambling already happening in the province – some of it with a government-owned lottery, but likely most with "grey" sites based abroad or outside the province – onto provincially regulated and taxed platforms.
To accomplish that goal, Ontario’s market welcomed and licensed so-called “grey market” operators that were previously used by residents of the province. However, some of those operators remain accessible beyond Ontario’s borders.
This is an issue because Ontario is still the only Canadian province that authorizes private-sector operators of online sportsbooks, casinos, and poker rooms to take action within its borders. There are 50 such operators in Ontario at the moment, including bet365, DraftKings, and FanDuel.
Alberta is taking steps toward an Ontario-like system of its own, with hopes high it could launch at some point this year.
“More details on Alberta’s iGaming strategy will be released later this year,” Aboultaif said.
Not everyone wants to be Ontario
But B.C. has taken no such steps yet, and BCLC’s PlayNow remains the only authorized iGaming site in the Western Canadian province.
Moreover, while Ontario has trumpeted its iGaming market as a success and an effective way to reduce gambling with grey market websites that have long been accessible in Canada, not everyone has been so thrilled.
Canadian lotteries like the BCLC have alleged and continue to allege that Ontario-licensed brands have been using their Ontario-regulated sites to attract gamblers from other parts of Canada.
"Operators regulated in Ontario only offer their Ontario sites to players physically located in Ontario," a BCLC spokesperson said in a statement to Covers on Friday. "However, these same operators frequently redirect players in B.C. and other jurisdictions to the international version of their sites, which are unregulated by any jurisdiction in Canada and pose significant risks, including fraud, access by minors, lack of responsible gambling controls, potential risk of money laundering, and failure to contribute to provincial gambling revenue."
The non-Alberta and Ontario lotteries have also been getting more active about trying to protect their turf from entities regulated outside their borders – whether that’s in Ontario, Antigua, or elsewhere.
For example, the lotteries’ allegations about unwanted iGaming activity were aired during discussion in Ottawa of a Senate bill seeking to rein in advertising for online sports betting.
Similar concerns were voiced in a legal proceeding in November in Ontario. The proceeding was part of the province's reference to its Court of Appeal asking if it can let its online gamblers play against bettors from outside of Canada.
“These companies advertise across Canada and use their legal Ontario sites to push traffic to parallel, unauthorized sites in the rest of Canada,” a lawyer appearing on behalf of members of the Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC) told the appeals court.
(The Attorney General of British Columbia was a party to Ontario’s court reference as well, and aired similar grievances, but withdrew from the case before the November hearing.)
I'm putting a team together
The BCLC is a member of the CLC, which also includes the government-owned Atlantic Lottery Corp., Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan Corp., Loto Quebec, and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corp.
BCLC said in its latest service plan that the coalition “is focused on raising awareness of the implications associated with misleading advertising and operation of illegal gambling websites, which do not provide employment or financial benefits to the Province and present risks related to money laundering, gambling addiction and game integrity.”
Another member of the coalition, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries, is seeking an injunction in its provincial court system to stop offshore sportsbook Bodog from advertising or operating in the province. That application was filed on behalf of the CLC.
Yet there has been pushback to some of the claims of illegality made by the CLC members.
For instance, during the November court hearing in Ontario, a lawyer appearing on behalf of FanDuel and PokerStars-owner Flutter Entertainment PLC, said it could be “unfair” and "dangerous" for the court to discuss the legality of operators that may offer online gambling in other parts of Canada.
“No Canadian court has ever said that that business model is unlawful,” they said.
The Manitoba hearing could provide clarity. Another hearing in the matter has been set for May.
PlayNow or play not at all
However, the Manitoba proceeding is also aimed at an operator that isn’t authorized anywhere in Canada, including Ontario.
A spokesperson for BCLC reiterated their view that PlayNow (versions of which are also used in Saskatchewan and Manitoba) “is the only legal and regulated, online gambling website in B.C.”
They added that the promotion of Ontario-regulated iGaming sites beyond Ontario “delivers the false impression to British Columbians that these websites are operating legally within the province.”
“This is not the case and leaves B.C. players more vulnerable to the illegal market,” BCLC’s Matt Lee said in a statement to Covers on Friday. “When British Columbians choose PlayNow, net profits generated through this legal and regulated gambling activity flows back to the province to help fund critical government services, like health care, education and community programs. The money spent on unregulated gambling sites goes directly to illegal operators and does not stay in B.C.”
