Quebec Liberals and Parti Québécois back private online gambling regulation
The Quebec Online Gaming Coalition has welcomed the policy stance.
Canada.- The Quebec Liberal Party and the Parti Québécois have signalled that they would regulate private online gambling platforms if elected. The stance was welcomed by the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition ahead of the province’s October 5 election.
Quebec currently authorises only Loto-Québec to offer legal online gambling, through Espacejeux and its Mise-o-jeu sports betting product. Milliard has proposed expanding the mandate of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux so that it could license and oversee all online gambling platforms operating in the province. Platforms would be subject to rules on advertising, addiction prevention and the protection of minors.
The Liberal platform also proposes the creation of an independent prevention and support body funded by the industry.
St-Pierre Plamondon, Parti Québécois leader, said: “Sports betting in Quebec is a Wild West situation, there’s Mise-o-jeu, but all the American companies are getting involved, putting out ads, but they are not regulated.
“Ontario decided to clean house and started collecting taxes on those activities and got an extra $300 million. It’s an excellent idea that passed under the radar because it’s quite original. But imagine if we took $300 million and invested in the issues of homelessness, for children with learning disabilities.”
The Quebec Online Gaming Coalition, whose members include Apricot, Bet99, Betway, DraftKings, Entain, Flutter and RushStreet, argues that Loto-Québec’s monopoly no longer controls the market. It cites a 2025 report by research firm Blask estimating that Loto-Québec captures only 17 per cent of the online gambling market despite more than 15 years in the segment. The Coalition also claims that the single-operator model forgoes more than C$300m (US$216m) a year in potential tax revenue.
Ariane Gauthier, spokesperson for the coalition, said: “The Quebec Online Gaming Coalition is pleased that the election campaign is providing an opportunity to discuss the modernisation of the regulatory framework for online gaming. The positions taken by the various political parties demonstrate that a broad consensus is emerging in Quebec in favour of establishing clear rules that must apply equally to both Loto-Québec and private companies offering online gaming.”
The Liberals have also proposed giving the province’s financial and gambling regulators a joint mandate to address what the party describes as a regulatory gap around prediction markets in Quebec. Canadian securities regulators, including Quebec’s, have recently rejected the authorisation of sports-related event contracts for trading.
Ontario was the first Canadian province to open a competitive online gambling market. Alberta followed with the launch of regulated igaming on July 13 of this year..
