Quebec Liberals and Parti Québécois back private online gambling regulation ahead of October 5 vote

The Quebec Liberal Party and the Parti Québécois have both signalled they would regulate private online gambling platforms if elected. For PSPs and operators watching Canada, that matters because Quebec is still a monopoly market on paper, but the political direction now points toward a licensing model.

1. The Quebec Online Gaming Coalition welcomed the shift ahead of the province’s October 5 election. Its members include Apricot, Bet99, Betway, DraftKings, Entain, Flutter and RushStreet.
2. 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 it could license and oversee all online gambling platforms operating in the province.
3. Under that proposal, platforms would face rules on advertising, addiction prevention and the protection of minors. The Liberal platform also calls for an independent prevention and support body funded by the industry.
4. Parti Québécois leader St-Pierre Plamondon said sports betting in Quebec is a “Wild West situation,” adding that American companies are advertising and operating without regulation. He pointed to Ontario, which he said collected an extra C$300 million after opening the market.
5. The coalition says Loto-Québec no longer controls the market. It cites a 2025 Blask report estimating that Loto-Québec captures only 17 per cent of Quebec’s online gambling market despite more than 15 years in the segment, and says the single-operator model leaves more than C$300m (US$216m) a year in potential tax revenue on the table.

The Liberals have also proposed a joint mandate for Quebec’s financial and gambling regulators to address a regulatory gap around prediction markets. Canadian securities regulators, including Quebec’s, have recently rejected authorisation for sports-related event contracts. Ontario was the first Canadian province to open a competitive online gambling market, and Alberta followed with regulated igaming on July 13 of this year.