Sweepstakes poker platform ClubWPT Gold has officially gone live with online poker Canada. The launch took place on Thursday afternoon, and the platform is now open to players across all Canadian provinces, with the exception of Quebec.

This marks the first international expansion beyond the US for ClubWPT Gold.

Canadian online poker players now have access to the same games available to US players, including both ring games and tournaments, and they share the same player pool with their American counterparts.

Interestingly, the platform also includes players from Ontario, Canada’s largest province. Ontario’s participation is notable because it operates under a regulated online gaming framework where only locally licensed operators can legally serve poker players. Ontario is a ring-fenced market, meaning only those physically located within the province are eligible to compete in its games.

However, ClubWPT Gold does not function as a traditional regulated poker operator. Instead, it operates under sweepstakes laws, which enable it to legally offer sweepstakes poker across North America. It is presumed that ClubWPT Gold uses the same legal framework in Canada (except Quebec) as it does in most US states, allowing it to operate without a local gaming license.

Before ClubWPT Gold’s arrival, Global Poker, the pioneer of dual-currency sweepstakes poker, had been accepting players from Canada, though it recently exited the Canadian market. At present, no other sweepstakes poker platform is open to Canadian players, making ClubWPT Gold the only active sweepstakes poker site available in the country.

Long-Awaited Access for Canadians

For Canadian poker fans, this moment has been a long time coming.

When ClubWPT Gold was first introduced last year, the company announced simultaneous launches in both the US and Canada (excluding Quebec). Pre-registration was made available to players from both countries, but when the preview version launched, only US users gained entry. The operator stated that Canadians would be granted access upon the full rollout.

That full launch took place in February 2025, but Canadian users were again excluded.

According to an FAQ section on the ClubWPT Gold website, although Canadians were allowed to pre-register and participate in promotional giveaways, “due to legal advice,” the operator revised its policy to permit only US residents—excluding some US states—to play games and tournaments. The site did note, however, that it “hoped the situation would change in the future.”

Now, that change has finally materialized, with ClubWPT Gold expanding its presence across North America.

Finding Opportunity in Adversity

This expansion is particularly significant for the operator and its players, as it is expected to improve liquidity at a time when the overall sweepstakes poker market has been facing challenges due to heightened regulatory scrutiny in several jurisdictions.

Over the past year, more states have moved to ban sweepstakes gambling, forcing ClubWPT Gold and similar operators to withdraw from major markets such as Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Nevada, and Delaware.

Recently, California, the largest sweepstakes poker market, joined that list when Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 831 into law on October 11. The legislation explicitly prohibits all forms of online gambling that rely on a dual-currency sweepstakes model.

Despite this, ClubWPT Gold has stated that it intends to continue operating in California. To comply with the new regulations, the operator has overhauled its business model by discontinuing its dual-currency structure, which previously used Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, and rebranding itself as a poker training platform.

Under this new setup, players can purchase Hand Analysis (HA) credits, granting them access to poker training materials and an integrated GTO (Game Theory Optimal) coaching tool. With each purchase, players also receive gameplay chips that can be used to enter both ring games and tournaments.

Whether this restructured model successfully avoids California’s new legal restrictions remains uncertain. Still, ClubWPT Gold insists that its updated operations are fully compliant and that California users will continue to be served even after the new law takes effect.

For both the operator and Canadian players, the Canadian expansion represents a much-needed boost that could increase player volume and help create larger tournament prize pools.

However, ClubWPT Gold has alerted Canadian users to a few technical issues involving Interac payments, which are not yet fully supported on the downloadable desktop client. These transactions, however, work smoothly via the browser version on both mobile and desktop. The operator has assured players that it is actively working to resolve these limitations as soon as possible.