Court Ruling Opens the Door to Shared Liquidity for Ontario Online Poker

What the Court of Appeal Actually Decided…

Last week, the Ontario Court of Appeal, or better put the majority of the five-judge panel, held that Ontario’s current iGaming model meets the requirements of the federal Criminal Code. This means that in their opinion, Ontario still “conducts and manages” the gaming activity, even in those cases where private operators run the day-to-day product.

While this interpretation seems like the court is just splitting hairs, it matters because it determines who has legal authority over games that involve players outside the province. In practical terms, the court said Ontario is permitted to let its residents play peer-to-peer games, including online poker and daily fantasy sports contests, against international opponents, as long as Ontario remains in charge of regulation and oversight.

The court did draw a clear line on one issue though: Ontario can’t go and automatically link up with other Canadian provinces now. Any shared player pool within Canada would require formal agreements between governments, something that doesn’t currently exist.

…and What This Means for Online Poker Right Now

As far as Ontario online poker goes, the ruling puts the idea of shared liquidity back on the table for the first time since Ontario launched its regulated market. Before 2022, Ontarians played in the global pool; since then, every operator has run a ring-fenced client (PokerStars Ontario, GGPoker Ontario, BetMGM Ontario, and so on).

If Ontario would reconnect with international pools, this would mean larger tournaments, more cash games throughout the day, and increased revenue for both operators and the province.

Still, the road to shared liquidity is nowhere near finished. The court confirmed that Ontario has to retain “actual operational control” over any cross-border setup. That now leaves some things unresolved, like whether or not Ontario can rely on foreign regulators for processes like identity checks, geolocation, and anti-money-laundering compliance. Those details weren’t ruled on directly, which means legal challenges are almost inevitable.

Then there’s the issue of Canada’s other provinces. Because most of them currently appear inside the global pools, any plan to integrate Ontario would force operators to remove all other Canadian players from those pools unless their provinces sign agreements with Ontario. For now, that’s highly unlikely.

What Other Canadian Provinces Had to Say

Remember, this ruling was not unanimous, and the reaction across Canada has been mixed. The Canadian Lottery Coalition, which represents gaming regulators from British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and all four Atlantic provinces, opposed Ontario during this legal battle. After the ruling came down last week, the group said it was encouraged that the judges emphasized the need for inter-provincial agreements before players from other provinces could join Ontario.

Whether the Coalition appeals is still up in the air, but several legal experts say Ontario shouldn’t rule it out as a possibility. One gaming lawyer, Don Bourgeois, called the decision well-argued, but said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if opponents ask the Supreme Court of Canada to weigh in. Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General, on the other hand, is staying quiet during the 30 day appeal window.

If an appeal is filed, the process drags on further. Even without one, the regulator would still need to write new rules for how cross-border poker will work, decide which jurisdictions Ontario is willing to link with, and build new compliance standards all of which takes time.

So, for now, nothing’s going to change over night and while this is definitely a step towards shared liquidity, there’s still a long way to go.