Canadian Lotteries Say Supreme Court should Reject Ontario’s DFS, Poker Proposal

Ontario’s proposal to let Torontonians play online poker or paid DFS contests with Texans and other rivals abroad could be a slippery legal slope and should be rejected, a coalition of government-owned lottery corporations says.


- The Canadian Lottery Coalition is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to reject Ontario’s plan to share online gambling liquidity with international jurisdiction for "peer-to-peer" games like poker and DFS.


- The coalition argues the proposal runs afoul of Canada’s Criminal Code and could allow for further expansion of illegal gambling.


- Ontario officials have argued partnering with foreign jurisdictions could strengthen the competitiveness of regulated iGaming, but the legal battle now awaits a ruling from the country’s top court.


"While the issue today is international liquidity, the next case may involve a province seeking to assert authority to conduct lottery schemes that extend across the country," the Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC) said in a factum filed Feb. 13 to the Supreme Court of Canada. "And indeed, even if that is not what Ontario proposes de jure at this time, it is what it proposes de facto given the ubiquity of illegal gambling using International Sites among Canadians outside Ontario."


The factum is connected to the coalition’s effort to overrule a majority decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario that was released in November.


That four-judge majority said "yes" to the Ontario government’s question of whether it would be legal for the province's online gamblers to participate in "peer-to-peer" games like poker and DFS with people outside of Canada.


Well, looks like I do have one more Ontario DFS update to provide this year: the Atlantic, BC, and Manitoba lotteries have filed a notice of appeal with the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the Ontario iGaming liquidity reference. pic.twitter.