The launch of a regulated iGaming market in Alberta is imminent, and the province’s Attorney General has asked to intervene in the Supreme Court appeal regarding Ontario’s ability to pool online poker and DFS players across state and international borders.
The Ontario Court of Appeal made a decision on this issue back in November 2025, concluding that Ontario’s regulated operators would not be breaking Canada’s Criminal Code if they were to share their player pools with operators in other countries.
Yet, the case has now gone to the Supreme Court, as multiple appeals against the decision were made in December by provincial lottery operators such as British Columbia Lottery (BCLC), Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MBLL), and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC), all members of the Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC).
With the current decision allowing for Ontario online poker operators to merge player pools across borders, it leaves open the possibility of Ontario and Alberta merging their player pools once Alberta online poker launches in the coming months, a move that would have significant impact on online poker in Canada.
How Does the Ontario Decision Impact Alberta?
Should the Ontario Court of Appeal decision be upheld by the Supreme Court, iGaming Ontario (iGO) would still need to broker deals with various provincial regulators in order to share player pools across provincial borders.
In the case of provinces like British Columbia and Manitoba, this seems highly unlikely, but Alberta is a different story. The province is now just months away from launching its own regulated iGaming market, which is set to resemble Ontario’s in many ways, and rumors of the two provinces looking to share their player pools are already circling.
iGO’s President and CEO Joseph Hillier told Canadian Gaming Business that such a merger would be on the table once Alberta’s market is up and running.
With all that in mind, Alberta’s AG Mickey Amery made a formal motion to the Supreme Court to intervene in the appeal, citing vested interest in the issue as the iGaming Alberta Act gets enacted.
“The iGaming Alberta Act allows for provincial regulation of a lottery scheme similar to the ‘proposed model’ in Ontario, which gave rise to the reference question underlying this appeal.”
“Consequently, this appeal will have a significant impact on determining the legality and operation of the iGaming Alberta Act … The issues relate to the legality and operation of validly enacted provincial legislation.”
Alberta and Ontario Will Push for Cross-Border Play
Both Ontario and Alberta representatives will be approaching the Supreme Court with the hopes of getting the go-ahead for inter-provincial and international player pool sharing.
Alberta’s AG commented: “Alberta and Ontario have exercised their constitutional legislative authority to enact provincial internet-based gaming schemes. In the absence of clear and express language to the contrary, harmonious interpretations that allow federal and provincial laws to coexist should be favoured.”
The motion filed with the Supreme Court by Alberta states that the province has a fundamental interest in the case and the interpretation of the Criminal Code, as it will greatly impact the way in which the iGaming Alberta Act is enacted.
Alberta’s Minister Dale Nally joined iGO in the sentiment that the two provinces could seek to share liquidity at some point, but stated that the matter should not impact the timeline for the launch of the regulated iGaming market in the province.
Canadian Lottery Coalition Filed a Claim Against Ontario Operators
The latest move on the part of Alberta’s AG comes a month after Atlantic Lottery, a member of the CLC, filed a factum in which it claimed nefarious actions on the part of Ontario’s regulated operators.
The factum claimed that Ontario operators advertise heavily in other provinces, despite having no legal standing there.
The filing further claimed: “There is every indication that Ontario means to partner with the international affiliates of current iGO operators who today operate the international sites that illegally solicit Canadians outside Ontario … The undisputed evidence shows that the private gambling operators with whom Ontario has already joined hands use their legal platforms in Ontario as springboards to promote illegal international websites to Canadians outside Ontario.”
The final Supreme Court decision on this case could take months to arrive, and the case will likely not be settled by the time Alberta’s regulated iGaming market launches later in the year.
