Both sides presented their arguments last week in the Court of Appeal for Ontario around allowing province-based gamblers to play peer-to-peer games (free and paid daily fantasy sports and online poker tournaments) against players outside the province, without violating the Criminal Code.
Lawyers for the Ontario Attorney General’s office, the Canadian Gaming Association, gaming corporations, the Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC), and the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) made presentations to a five-judge panel over three days.
“It may be some time before a decision is available,” said a spokesperson for the court.
Gambling sites licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) can take wagers only from people in Ontario. When the market went live in April 2022, operators had the choice of building a separate Ontario-only DFS platforms or taking down the shingle. Operators like DraftKings, licensed in Ontario, had to close daily fantasy contests in the province.
The province’s AG argued for allowing licensed operators to allow Ontario players to connect with those outside the province, with the provincial regulator having oversight of international games in coordination with the corresponding jurisdiction’s regulator. In part, such a scheme would help drive Ontario players away from illegal gray-market sites, lawyers argued.
The CLC and MCK argued against allowing it. Last May, the Ontario Superior Court dismissed an application brought by MCK challenging the Ontario government’s move to allow online gaming in the province.
In Ontario, iGaming Ontario (iGO) works with the AGCO and the government of Ontario to regulate the industry, protect consumers in areas like responsible gambling, and provide more digital gaming choices. It was announced a few weeks ago that the status of iGO was being changed; it’s no longer a subsidiary of AGCO and the new iGaming Ontario Act to be proclaimed in 2025 makes iGO an independent agency, further distancing it from the provincial lottery corporation.
How the new agency fits into a potential new DFS and online poker structure is not clear, including entering into agreements with other provinces allowing for inter-provincial play.
