The highest court in Ontario has cleared the way for the province’s online gambling sites to be used by players in other countries, opening a pipeline for bets and games to flow across borders in a precedent setting judgement.
(Image sourced Torontopokergame)
The ruling from the Ontario Court of Appeal was a 4-1 split across the court’s bench, after it was asked a key question more than one year ago. The decision confirms that regulated sites offering online gaming and sports betting are lawful when they permit players from outside Canada to enter rooms or pools themselves.
As it stands, Ontario’s iGaming model limits play to within the province, with no cross-border play allowed. But the judiciary’s blessing of the proposed expansion would allow Ontario gamblers to play games like poker and daily fantasy sports against an international field.
(Image sourced Pokerindustrypro)
Foreign companies would participate in the ecosystem with their own platforms and applications, subject to full compliance with local laws and regulations. This setup ensures obedience without muddying jurisdiction.
Notably, the decision maintains firewalls against other Canadian provinces and territories. In other parts of the country, it’s still a no go unless reciprocal inter jurisdictional approvals are in place.
The decision ultimately turns on protections to ensure that non-Ontario Canadians don’t fall through the cracks, protections the court presumes will be rigorously applied.
Although the green light shines brightly, the court observed that the nuts and bolts of operations, such as which government body picks international partners or hammers out agreements, remain unfastened. These are details that will shape how the expanded model plays out in practice.
This judgment has the potential to reconfigure Ontario’s burgeoning online gambling landscape, featuring an innovative domestic mix of local energy and global competition at a safe distance.
