The Quebec Online Gaming Coalition, comprising Betway, Bet99, DraftKings, Entain, Flutter, Games Global, and Rush Street Interactive partnering with Apricot Investments, says it is committed to working with the Quebec government and local stakeholders to develop a new regulatory framework for the province.
Crown corporation Loto-Québec is the exclusive operator of any kind of legal betting and gambling in the province. A Mainstreet Research survey in December said 27 percent of Quebec players use Loto-Québec’s Espace Jeux for online gaming and sports betting. The rest play on unregulated platforms.
At the Canadian Gaming Summit held in Toronto in June, Loto-Québec President & CEO Jean-Francois Bergeron, when asked about a new regulatory regime for the province, said his job was not to get into that. Instead, it was to run Loto-Québec in the most efficient way possible.
“To be honest, competition is good, actually really good, because it forces us to be better,” he said. “Competitors are a great source of inspiration. And we find great operators out there. We even use some of them as a go-to model.
“As crown corporation operators, we have a clearly defined mandate. It’s certainly not up to us to defend that model, but to operate it successfully within the current law and legislation and rules. The Criminal Code is clear. It’s up to the provincial governments to conduct and manage gaming in Canada. There is no gray zone and the government of Quebec has decided to entrust Loto-Québec with that mandate. In Quebec, if it’s not Loto-Québec, it’s not legal.
“In Ontario, you decided to entrust that responsibility to private operators. That’s fine. That’s their right and their own choice and we respect that. But it doesn’t give the rights to these operators to operate elsewhere in Canada, with legality. I honestly respect everyone who is advocating for an open market. I wish good luck to these operators. But they should respect the Criminal Code.”
A Quebec Online Gaming Coalition spokesperson confirmed yesterday that the composition of the coalition hasn’t changed. Betway, in particular, is still involved, with the news earlier this month that Betway Sportsbook is closing down its U.S. sports-betting operations.
Nathalie Bergeron, who had been the lead spokesperson for the coalition since they started up in May 2023, has moved on to a new opportunity.
CDC Gaming reached out to the communications department of the coalition, asking for their thoughts on what is playing out in Alberta, and received this response from a spokesperson. “Alberta saw the benefits of a regulatory model and is capitalizing on the opportunity. The Coalition believes the Québec government is missing an important opportunity to not only generate additional revenues that could help counter the effects of the budget deficit, but also to offer the same high standards of responsible gaming measures to all Québec players, whether they chose to play with private operators or with Loto-Québec.”
Last month, the coalition issued a statement in response to Loto-Québec’s report on the 2023-24 fiscal year, where Loto-Québec trumpeted paying out more than $3 billion, including $1.51 billion to the Quebec government and $1.58 billion to winners, which the crown corporation said were the best results in 20 years. That’s a slight 2.2 percent decrease from the previous fiscal year. Results by sector: $958.8 million from lottery, $1.109 billion from casinos and gaming halls, $885.5 million gaming establishments.
The coalition, though, issued a statement focusing on the decline in gross online gaming revenues in fiscal year 2023-24 of $438 million.
Quoting the Mainstreet Research survey claiming Loto-Québec is capturing just 23 percent of the market, and with the Quebec government claiming an $11 billion budget deficit, that’s opportunity lost, the coalition says.
“The Coalition is proposing a solution that will enable Quebec to significantly improve its public finances, while ensuring that Quebec players have access to the same responsible-gaming measures whether they choose to play with private operators or Loto-Québec,” the statement said.
“What is the government choosing to do? Instead, it protects the monopoly of a government-owned enterprise and ignores the advice of public-health experts and the clear preferences of gamblers who overwhelmingly choose to play with private operators. Quebec must act to regulate online gaming to the benefit of public services and Quebec society.”
The next Quebec election will take place on or before Oct. 5, 2026. With a new igaming regime sure to be a campaign pillar as we get closer to that date, our money remains on Quebec to follow Ontario and soon Alberta.
