The ruling could give other provinces the sort of legal cover they need to pursue a similar regulatory framework and create Ontario-like markets elsewhere in Canada.
An Ontario court has thrown out a legal challenge to the province’s competitive market for online sports betting and internet casino gambling, a shot of confidence for what is a first-of-its-kind regulatory framework for Canada.
Superior Court Justice Lisa Brownstone wrote in her reasons for judgment, released Monday, that she found the Quebec-based Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) had the “public interest standing” needed to bring the challenge, but the application itself was dismissed
The MCK, which has longstanding ties to the online gambling industry, had asked the court to void two sections of Ontario law enabling the province’s competitive iGaming market.
According to the council and its lawyers, the provisions clashed with the federal Criminal Code, because they allegedly made it so that private-sector gambling operators, and not the province, are actually “conducting and managing” that iGaming.
Justice Brownstone disagreed, saying she found federal lawmakers aimed to decriminalize gambling in instances where provinces “exerted a sufficient degree of management and control to maintain public safety, fairness, and integrity in gaming.”
Exactly how to do so was to be left up to the provinces and their ways of doing things, Brownstone wrote.
“Ontario has established such a system,” Brownstone said. “It has not delegated its powers to private operators but has retained its position as operating mind of the igaming scheme. It has carefully constructed the igaming scheme to ensure safety, integrity, and fairness. There can be no frustration of purpose when the province has acted within its constitutional authority in a manner that is consistent with the exemption provided for in the Code.”
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https://www.covers.com/industry/ontario-court-igaming-sports-betting-challenge-dismissed-may-2024
