B.C. alleges Ontario iGaming sites are targeting out-of-province users – Politics Today

A B.C. government investigation of unlawful access to international online gambling sites has found extensive alleged work-arounds by gaming companies and seemingly intentional advertising campaigns directed at B.C. residents, according to court documents filed in Ontario.

The investigation was revealed in Ontario Court of Appeal filings related to that province seeking a reference decision on the legality of online poker players outside Canada betting against Ontario players.

B.C.’s Ministry of the Attorney General filed evidence as an intervenor, alleging many companies linked to Ontario’s licensed online gambling platforms are providing — and encouraging — illegal access to international gaming sites by B.C. residents, sometimes even by using Ontario sites as portals.

The evidence includes an affidavit by Sam MacLeod, who is the head of B.C.’s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB) and an assistant deputy minister in the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

Citing evidence collected by GPEB investigators, MacLeod argued that allowing international players to bet against Ontario players would “further exacerbate the impacts of unregulated online gambling in British Columbia by further incentivizing international gambling websites affiliated with Ontario Operators to advertise and acquire players” from B.C.

The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) opposed the release of MacLeod’s affidavit, saying the information contained within could be damaging to companies’ reputations, and arguing the evidence from B.C. was irrelevant to the question at hand, which was specifically about regulation in Ontario.

However, an Ontario Court of Appeal judge ruled last month that B.C.’s evidence package should be public record. BC Today obtained a copy on Monday.

CGA president Paul Burns called many of the GPEB’s allegations “unfounded,” telling BC Today the proposed Ontario rule changes for poker would not impact what he termed “grey market” access in B.C.

“It’ll make no impact in my opinion,” he said.

B.C. Attorney General Niki Sharma’s office declined to comment on the case while the matter is still before the courts.

Gaming rules in B.C. only allows for residents to participate in online gambling through a lottery corporation website called PlayNow.com. The site offers all kinds of betting, from sports to horse racing to lottery games.

Ontario’s rules are much different. In 2022, that province launched iGaming, a government agency that allows and regulates private online gaming sites.

MacLeod had two investigators from the GPEB review the gaming sites registered in Ontario to see if they could be accessed in B.C.

Though the websites restricted actual gambling by people accessing them from B.C, they could still be visited and many provided people from B.C. links to international sites with similar names.

Only two out of 77 Ontario operators were found to restrict access to both their Ontario and international sites for people geographically located in British Columbia.

In the case of 18 of the sites, a pop-up window appeared when B.C. users accessed them, offering a redirect to an international affiliate gambling website.

Investigators also found many of the international sites capitalized on confusion about gaming rules and used language to make it seem like the sites are legal in B.C.

An example given from one such site reads: “Playing online casino games and betting on sportsbook events is not prohibited for Canadian residents. Therefore, enjoying our versatile choice of casino games is absolutely legal for all players that visit our platform from Canada.”

Some of the gaming companies involved told investigators the Ontario sites are not operated by the same companies as their similar-sounding international counterparts. However, investigators found that many were actually part of the same ownership groups.

A spokesperson for iGaming told BC Today the agency has a “rigorous” requirement for operators to comply with reporting rules and submit to third-party audits, as well as for them to monitor players’ geolocations.

He would not comment on the case specifically while it is before the courts.

A major component of MacLeod’s affidavit is the assertion that these companies are also advertising directly to people in B.C.

While national television advertising is something that could be explained away as actually targeted to Ontarians, GPEB investigators found many cases where physical advertising has occurred in B.C. as well.

Ads spotted by the probe included QR codes linking directly to the international sites associated with licensed Ontario operators.

In one case, a company was found to be conducting an extensive advertising campaign in B.C., including in sports arenas and on CHEK TV on Vancouver Island. Though it promoted itself as a free-to-play gaming platform that supported charity, once registered, investigators received emails linking to an international pay-to-play version.

That same company was found to have posted a job looking for a marketing employee “for Western Canada with a focus on B.C.” to join “Canada’s Premiere Online Sportsbook and Casino” that is “exponentially growing” its customer base.

According to Burns from the Canadian Gaming Association, the grey market for online gambling predates the Ontario iGaming rules that came into effect in 2022.

Thus far, there has been lax enforcement by the B.C. government, he said.

The only way to fix the issue, according to Burns, is to regulate the private market.

“We know that there’s an active grey market in Canada,” he said. “We’re very aware of that, and that’s why we as an association have called on provincial governments to take the steps to create regulated marketplaces for online gaming.”

Tackling the grey market of online gambling was Ontario’s main justification for rolling out its iGaming agency, which facilitated $63 billion in wagers during the last fiscal year. The vast majority of bets were made on casino games, like online slots.

Ontario’s reference case on poker rules is expected to heard this fall.