Ontario court rules province can allow online gamblers to play with people outside Canada

The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that the province’s regulated online gaming websites can legally allow gamblers in the province to play with people outside of Canada.

The precedent-setting legal opinion — which was opposed by lottery and gaming agencies from nearly every other province in the country — could open the door to Ontarians playing peer-to-peer games, like online poker and daily fantasy sports, against players located outside of Canada.

Four judges ruled in support of the measure in a decision issued on the court’s website Wednesday afternoon, with one dissenting judge ruling against. 

Chief Justice Michael Tulloch wrote that the ruling is based on the court’s interpretation of the Criminal Code and “a majority of the court has concluded that online gaming and sports betting would remain lawful” under Ontario’s proposed plan.

What this means for the province’s immediate plans for online gaming isn’t totally clear. In an email, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Attorney General said they “cannot provide comment on a court matter that remains within the appeal period.”

An appeal of the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada is possible. The lottery and gaming agencies that opposed Ontario’s plan — those that manage gambling in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the four Atlantic provinces — say in a court document from the case that they were concerned that it “could lead to the further proliferation of illegal online gambling in the jurisdictions in which they operate.”

Appeal to Supreme Court possible, lawyer says

That group, called the Canadian Lottery Coalition, said in a statement to CBC News Wednesday that it was “encouraged” that the court’s decision “recognized that players in our jurisdictions cannot be permitted to participate in games or betting, unless an agreement is in place with our provinces.”

The statement goes on to say that the group’s members “will continue to review the court’s ruling” and have no further comment at this time.

Gaming expert Don Bourgeois, a lawyer with the Toronto-based firm Fogler, Rubinoff LLP, said he wouldn’t be surprised to see the decision appealed at the Supreme Court of Canada.

“I expect it will be appealed — but there may be dynamics in play that say, ‘OK, let’s move on,'” he said.

Bourgeois also called the arguments both for and against contained in the decision “really good, detailed, cogent analysis of the law and the facts.”

“But ultimately, it comes down to the majority deciding that the model that was presented to the court was within the law,” he said.

Billions in revenue at stake

The case was triggered by an order-in-council from Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet last year. 

That cabinet order asked the court to rule on this 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?” 

While the court’s decision could pave the way for increased options for Ontarians to gamble, Andrew Kim, assistant professor in the department of psychology at Toronto Metropolitan University, also warned that increased accessibility comes with dangers too.

“Essentially by allowing international players, it’s another one of those things where it’s going to increase engagement — and the more engagement you have, the more risk for potential harm for Ontarians,” said Kim, who is also a Canada Research Chair in addictions and mental health co-morbidity.

Also at stake here, according to industry insiders, are hundreds of millions of dollars in potential wagers on online poker and daily sports fantasy betting sites, which currently cannot legally allow Ontarians to mix with their global pools of players.

Online gaming companies say many Ontario poker players are skipping provincially regulated sites and opting for international options in search of higher stakes games. Wednesday’s ruling, however, could allow Ontario players to mix with non-Canadians and would bring those gamblers into the regulated system — and along with them, more revenue to the province.  

According to provincial figures, there was $82.7 billion made in wagers and $3.2 billion in gross gaming revenue in Ontario between April 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) poker games accounted for a relatively smaller piece of that pie, coming in at $1.7 billion in wagers and $66 million in revenue.

P2P poker revenue was the same over that time period as it was in 2023-24, compared to a 36 per cent increase for casino gaming revenue and a 23 per cent increase for betting gaming revenue.