Effective April 4, 2022, Canada’s fourth-largest province, Ontario, will officially ban poker players from playing online in the international pool. The decision was not spontaneous — the first steps to split the pool of Ontario were taken back in 2019 when the provincial government presented a budget for future years. At that time, the privatization of iGaming Ontario, the division that oversees the online gambling of the province, was written.
At first glance, the situation only applies to Canadians, but if you dig deeper, it becomes clear that the appearance of such a clause in Canada can cause serious damage to global online gambling and poker in particular. So that you don’t waste your time with Pragmatic Play and seeking information, we’ve compiled the key facts related to the Ontario government’s decision and its implications for the industry.
Why Did Decide to Make Ontario a Gambling Reservation?
Among the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, Ontario ranks 4th in the area and first in terms of population. At the end of 2021, 14,223,942 people are officially registered there, but experts estimate the number of real residents at 15M — this is slightly less than 50% of all Canadian residents.
In 2021, amid a sharp surge in interest in gambling due to the pandemic, the Canadian government has gradually expanded the list of legal gambling, starting with the lifting of the ban on sports betting in the country. At the same time, due to Covid-19 restrictions and related problems in the operation of public places and a reduction in the flow of tourists, live casinos and other gambling organizations began to close in the country, due to which budget revenues decreased.
At that time, in the United States, such issues were levelled by online gambling — there it just exists in a reservation format, so that players’ money and company taxes do not flow to other countries. Canada, if I may say so, was less fortunate: playing in the international pool and rooms outside the jurisdiction of the country, Canadians successfully “got rid” of some money, losing it to opponents, casinos, and bookmakers of other countries, and the budget should count on taxes from them didn’t have to.
According to the laws of Canada, all legal gambling must be “conducted and managed” by the authorities of the provinces and territories where it takes place, while not all entities even have regulatory authorities for such activities, and where these authorities exist, they must prove to the government of the country that it can be considered “conductive and governing”. Since Ontario is the main supplier of gamblers in the country — the province of Quebec, the closest to it in terms of population, has only 8.5M inhabitants — it was from it that the authorities decided to start creating reservations similar to the American model, but with minor changes.
For example, at first, it was assumed that online gambling would become available only to Canadians, but from any province or territory, and citizens and residents themselves would be banned from playing in rooms and casinos with an international pool. However, in the process of preparation, the restrictions were revised, making them tougher: only residents and residents of Ontario can play in the pool of the province, and access to international gambling companies from it will be closed.
The decision sparked controversy among the country’s gambling regulators. In particular, Great Canadian Gaming, which works closely with the government in terms of organizing games and tourism, spoke out against their introduction — according to the results of its study, it turned out that the reservation regime would cause even more damage to the country’s budget. Experts believe that now players will most likely choose legal operators for gambling, which operate through offshore companies without regulation and taxation.
After receiving negative feedback and protests from operators, the government of Canada and the authorities of Ontario softened their statements a little, noting that if other subjects of the country follow the example of the largest and also become reservations, then with a high probability they will be able to unite in a common pool.
Canada already has a precedent for creating a legal pool of this kind, OK Poker and PlayNow Poker rooms host games with the participation of residents:
- Quebec (8M population);
- British Columbia (5M population);
- Manitoba (1.3M population).
How Will Such Tightening Affect Online Poker in Ontario?
According to preliminary estimates, for Ontario residents, the size of the pool will be reduced by about 10-20 times, which means that the guarantees and prize funds of the organizers of the games will become smaller. Also, the number of playgrounds and rooms available for playing will sharply decrease — from April 4, companies that do not have time to conclude an operating agreement and obtain a licence to work in the province will be forced to stop serving customers. Those who fail to do so will be blacklisted by the province, which may prevent them from appearing on the market in the future even if all requirements are met.
At the same time, this event will also become a source of losses for international rooms. Now active and solvent Canadians play mainly from this province and supply an action to all the largest rooms and networks, including:
- PokerStars;
- partypoker,
Some companies have already begun to fuss about legalization in Ontario — for example, Stars owner Flutter has announced plans to move its FanDuel fantasy sports division to Ontario, which may well be followed by speedy legalization in the province and the PokerStars room.
The “closure” of Ontario will result in a slight reduction in traffic in each room – but it is difficult to estimate exactly by how much. At the same time, there is an interesting nuance here. According to the laws of Canada, offshore gambling companies, including poker rooms, belong to the “grey zone” and are not recognized as illegal. This means that in the current situation, there is a high probability of a flow of Canadians there.
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