As Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, enters its fourth year of free market regulated iGaming, British Columbia (BC) looks poised to follow suit, concur most experts.
Following Ontario’s successful launch on April 4, 2022, “there’s a growing consensus that BC will be the next province [after Alberta] to go beyond lottery and embrace competitive gaming,” asserts top gaming lawyer and Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) board member, Peter Czegledy.
Today Ontario, population 16.17 million and Canada’s richest province, is a resounding iGaming success, with 49 operators running 84 betting sites.
Last Full Year 2024, Gross gambling revenue (GGR) topped CA$3.2 billion (£1.72bn/US$2.33bn) – up 32 per cent, year-on-year.
And with a channelisation rate to die for of nearly 90 per cent, Ontario has successfully drawn players away from offshore sites.
The industry has also contributed over CA$1.4 billion (£752m/US$1.019bn) in taxes to the provincial government.
In short, the market is thriving and surpassing expectations. And with oil-rich Alberta finalising regulations after legalising iGaming in May 2024, and a launch expected in 2025 or 2026, Czegledy is convinced that BC is poised to follow suit.
Currently, PlayNow, the province’s state-run platform, is the only legal gambling site in BC.
Unregulated Operators
“British Columbia is a sizeable jurisdiction [third biggest by population, fourth by GDP] with an established gaming industry, which is often targeted by unregulated operators, resulting in sizeable foregone provincial revenue and missed player protection,” says Czegledy.
“It has a sophisticated and strong regulator [and] with the proper mandate and funding, can readily manage the expanded responsibility of a competitive market.
“And because the government adopted changes to its gaming legislation as recently as 2023, it implies that gaming is an ‘active’ file.”
Although he cautions: “As with any province, the situation is complex, and until clear direction is provided, the timeline is uncertain.”
Until recently, many Canada watchers expected Francophone Quebec to follow Alberta as the third province to legalise open licenced iGaming.
But the provincial government, which operates the jurisdiction’s only regulated option, Loto-Québec, is not on board – despite growing pressure and ramped-up lobbying from the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition (QOGC).
Opponents
Opponents in Quebec argue that market liberalisation should be approached cautiously, and argue that the monopoly model ensures stronger oversight and prioritises player protections over profit.
Czegledy explained that transitioning from a state-run monopoly to a competitive model requires years of legal and political groundwork.
And he agrees that despite Ontario’s success, Quebecois concerns should not be underestimated.
As a province that has traditionally emphasised its uniqueness, he expects Quebec’s approach to gambling to be no different – “done on its own terms and timeline”.
For many, including the CGA’s high-profile CEO Paul Burns, the question is not whether other Canadian provinces will liberalise their markets, but when?
Both Czegledy and Burns agree that Canada’s illicit market has already rendered the still-dominant state monopoly model obsolete and uncompetitive.
Journey
A recent CGA-commissioned survey by Ipsos found that in Alberta, for example, some 77.3 per cent of consumers gambled exclusively on unregulated sites, with only 10.4 per cent of players reporting that they used the government’s PlayAlberta platform.
In BC, only 39.6 percent of gamblers surveyed had used the regulated government site, PlayNow, while 60.4 percent played offshore.
In Quebec, survey data from Mainstreet Research in 2023 reported that 73 percent of Quebec players chose offshore sites over Lotto-Québec, with 67 percent supporting a liberalised market.
Ontario’s near-90 per cent channelisation rate is proof-manifest that a regulated, competitive market can bring players back onshore under proper oversight, asserts Czegledy.
For the moment with Alberta preparing to go live, all eyes have turned to BC and Quebec.
Canada’s journey to a fully competitive gambling landscape remains cautious. But inevitable.
