For the Canadian gaming industry, 2024 brought numerous big-picture developments that could have a significant impact on what comes next in 2025.

From court cases to parliamentary proceedings, advertising to Alberta, here are some of the biggest storylines worth remembering from the year that was.

Alberta clears way for iGaming, delays launch

All the hypothetical talk of Alberta launching regulated commercial iGaming became a firm plan in motion in 2024.

March’s fiscal budget commissioned a review of the province’s Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Act, before Minister Dale Nally vaunted the plan for an open market at the Canadian Gaming Summit in June and began discussions with stakeholders in the summer. Eager talk of a launch by the end of 2024 proved unrealistic. Nally’s office told us in October that it was taking its time to facilitate further due-diligence talks with stakeholders. A launch is still expected in 2025, although in what quarter or even half of the year remains up for debate.

The most meaningful, iron-clad change came in May when the Alberta legislature passed Bill 16, thereby validating that the provincial government has the authority to conduct and manage gaming separately from Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC). In essence, that legally cleared the path for chosen third-party operators to offer gaming alongside the AGLC’s Play Alberta online sportsbook and casino.

Court upholds Ontario iGaming model

Alberta intends to establish a similar model to Ontario, wherein the commercial regulated industry is conducted and managed by a dedicated entity. But even two years into Ontario’s market, questions were raised over the way things were being done.

In a hugely significant court ruling, the Ontario Superior Court determined that iGaming Ontario’s (iGO) online gaming model was legal within the Criminal Code. The Quebec-based Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) had challenged the model, asserting it was “illegal and unconstitutional.” That argument was dismissed and Ontario’s model was upheld. The MCK chose not to appeal and confirmed it had ceased operating its Mohawk Online Ltd. subsidiary in the province as a result, ending its partnership with Entain on the Sports Interaction brand in Canada.

The court decision laid down a marker that Ontario’s open online gaming market, the first in Canada, has full legal standing. Other provinces will have observed with interest.

iGO to go independent in 2025

Until now, iGO has governed the regulated market as a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), but that’s about to change.

When Ontario approved its fall 2024 budget measures, it passed the iGaming Ontario Act, which officially ends the parent-subsidiary relationship. As a result, iGO will become an entirely standalone, fully independent board-governed agency in 2025 when the measure is enacted.

Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General told us that the change addresses a concern of a conflict of interest raised by the Auditor General. The AGCO regulates the offerings of Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG), the government corporation that was previously the only provider of approved Ontario online gaming. OLG’s commercial competitors have been regulated by the AGCO and, unlike OLG, conducted and managed by iGO. Independence from the AGCO is seen by some as a logical next step in the evolution of Ontario’s market. Under a to-be-named new leader, iGO will move forward with operational freedom in 2025.

National advertising debate moves through Senate

Betting advertising was a topic du jour in 2024 as the proposed National Framework on Advertising for Sports Betting Act went through hours of federal discussion.

Bill S-269 sponsor Sen. Marty Deacon noted at the initial committee hearing in June that federal lawmakers have “the privilege of sober second thought” as they reflect on whether Canadian sports betting advertising needs to be federally regulated, and if so, how.

Bill S-269 would require the Minister of Canadian Heritage to develop a national framework for sports betting advertising based around “reasonable limits” that could include restrictions on the timing, frequency and placement of ads, as well as what marketing can entail. After hours of committee debate, the bill progressed through the Senate in November and will be read in the House of Commons in 2025. When exactly is uncertain. The advertising issue is far from over.

Jontay Porter first post-PASPA NBAer banned for betting

Jontay Porter’s status as a Toronto Raptor made his lifetime ban from the NBA headline Canadian news in the spring.

When he was handed a permanent ban by the league in April, the two-way forward became the first active NBA player or coach to be expelled for gambling since Jack Molinas in 1954. Porter was found to have conspired to leave games early so that his co-conspirators could win ‘under’ prop bets on his performance.

Porter pleaded guilty to the U.S. federal crime of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and will be sentenced in May 2025. He could also face criminal charges in Canada, as he is being investigated by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). The scandal prompted betting numerous sportsbooks to stop offering certain ‘under’ prop bets on NBA players on two-way or 10-day contracts.

Is regulated international P2P play on the horizon?

One more legal issue to keep an eye on is the question of international liquidity. In the spring, Ontario filed a reference question with the Court of Appeal to clarify the legality of allowing in-province online poker and DFS players to compete against players outside Canada.

The matter was discussed formally in November with witnesses from the likes of FanDuel owner Flutter, the Canadian Gaming Association, the Canadian Lottery Coalition and more providing testimony. A decision will come sometime in 2025; in the meantime, we broke down what was discussed.

If international P2P play is determined to be legal, it could prompt the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings and FanDuel to re-fire the DFS operations they shut down due to a lack of cross-jurisdictional liquidity since Ontario’s iGaming market opened in 2022. And, on a larger scale, validating international P2P play could have seismic ramifications for how online gambling is conducted across Canada down the line.