Shared Poker Player Pools Between Ontario and Rest of World Are Legal, Court of Appeal Says

^{The highest court in the province has backed a proposed plan to allow Ontario gamblers play peer-to-peer games such as poker against international players}

Online poker rooms in Ontario could soon see a surge in popularity, after the Court of Appeal stated it would be legal for sites to accept international players.

In a 4-1 judges’ decision announced yesterday, the move allows for the possibility that online poker sites in Ontario would remove geofencing and offer their services to gamers worldwide, dramatically increasing their player pool.

Supporters of cross-boarder play included the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA), PokerStars owner Flutter and GGPoker owner NSUS.

While the Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC) and the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) were opposed.

Proponents who put their weight behind the shared-player model argued that because the Ontario side of things would be overseen and regulated by iGaming Ontario (iGO), such a system would fall within the law.

However, opponents stated that as all play would not be located within the province, a shared player pool would be illegal.

In the end, the court’s decision pointed to the Criminal Code’s language, which states:

“It is lawful for the government of a province, either alone or in conjunction with the government of another province, to conduct and manage a lottery scheme in that province, or in that and the other province, in accordance with any law enacted by the legislature of that province.”

A long-awaited opinion, the provincial government first asked the Court of Appeal whether online gambling would remain legal if Ontario platforms shared player pools with those outside it back in 2024.

Currently, as the only province in Canada to have its own legalized iGaming market, Ontario operates a ‘ring-fenced’ model, where players only compete against other Ontario residents.

Known as ‘liquidity’ in the poker world, a sizable player pool is crucial to the long-term financial success of any poker site, as well as the long-term enjoyment of its customers.

Simply put, more players means more rake for the poker room, the ability to offer more varied stakes and game types, larger tournament prizes and busier tables.

Return of the poker boom? 

With a total population of 14.2 million, Ontario already has healthy liquidity yet online poker in the province has somewhat stagnated since the market’s launch in April 2022.

Accounting for just about 2% of Ontario’s online gaming market, both casino and sports betting saw significant growth over the 2023-2024 period, while poker remained largely the same.

For players of a certain age, the existing set-up is a far cry from the ‘glory days’ of online poker during the mid 2000s to the early 2010s.

During the ‘poker boom’, international sites like PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and PartyPoker were accessible to players from all over Canada and the rest of the world.

The intense competition between operators and huge global player pools benefitted users, as promotion wars saw sites offer huge welcome bonuses, rakeback deals and tournament guarantees, as well as fast improvements in software and features.

At present, players in Ontario can access online poker through six different brands: BetMGM, bwin, partypoker, GGPoker, 888poker and PokerStars.

All six are regulated by iGO and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission.

While GGPoker, 888poker and PokerStars are completely separate entities, BetMGM, bwin and partypoker are all owned by Entain so share the same network and are just ‘re-skins’ of the same product.

No luck for the rest of Canada

Unfortunately for the rest of Canada, should Ontario open its digital doors to international players under the proposed new model, it would still restrict Canadians living outside of Ontario from joining in.

Given it’s at early stages, there’s no definitive timeline for when Ontario-based poker platforms will begin to offer their peer-to-peer gaming services to players abroad, though implementation could take time due to possible appeals and regulatory agreements.

Questions such as how operators will partner with foreign regulators and how identity verification and age limits will work across jurisdictions will also need to be answered.

As things stand, it’s understood that while Ontario players will access their local poker sites under the jurisdiction of iGO, non-Canadian participants would do so through platforms under their own jurisdiction’s oversight.

Not solely consigned to poker, daily fantasy sports (DFS) could also be reintroduced in Ontario under the new measures.

As things currently stand, Ontario has no provincially regulated real money DFS options after DraftKings and FanDuel pulled the plug on their DFS offering prior to Ontario's April ‘22 launch, due to the existing restrictions on player pools, and revenue sharing requirements.

Despite now offering fully-legal online casino, poker and sports betting, it’s estimated that 20% of all online gambling in Ontario takes place at sites not regulated by the province.

Should regulated Ontario poker platforms begin to accept overseas players, along with paid DFS sites, this figure may well come down.