The main private online gambling companies, whose activities remain illegal in Quebec, are teaming up to increase pressure on Quebec and ultimately obtain the right to compete with Loto-Quebec’s monopoly.
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Through the voice of the new Quebec Online Gaming Coalition, companies such as Bet99, Draftkings, and RushStreet claim to want to work with Quebec to put in place a regulatory framework and thus allow it to increase its income through the establishment of a system of permits, taxes and fees.
Ontario, which adopted such a framework in 2022, would have managed – in the first year – to derive $ 380 million from the activities of these companies, argues spokesperson Nathalie Bergeron. “By taking the same route, that of a market access permit, we estimate that Quebec would have been able to draw $231 million.”
Yesterday, the president and CEO of Loto-Québec, Jean-François Bergeron, was unable to react to this announcement. Its spokesperson, Renaud Dugas, however, pointed out that the fact that members of the new coalition are already violating the Canadian Criminal Code [en offrant illégalement des jeux en ligne aux Québécois] raised “many doubts and questions as to their true interest”.
“In Quebec, he continued, there is no ambiguity, if it is not Loto-Québec, it is not legal. Loto-Québec is the only one able to operate a 100% legal online sports betting and casino site in Quebec.”
Our interview request to the office of the Minister of Finance, Éric Girard, head of Loto-Québec, remained unanswered at the time of writing these lines. In February, following reports on the devastation experienced by fans of online gambling, Mr. Girard said he was considering a way to prevent these companies from offering such games to Quebecers.
Recall that in 2016, the government of Philippe Couillard passed a law to force internet service providers to block access to sites considered illegal. The Superior Court of Quebec had declared this law unconstitutional in 2018, a decision confirmed three years later by the Court of Appeal.