Gaming Sector Lawyer: Supreme Court Appeal Likely After Landmark P2P iGaming Decision
Posted on: November 13, 2025, 12:20h.
Last updated on: November 13, 2025, 12:40h.
- Ontario Court of Appeal decision opens door for online poker and DFS players to compete with people outside Canada
- P2P has seen little revenue growth since Ontario’s regulated market went live in 2022
- Prominent gaming sector lawyer expects appeal to Supreme Court of Canada
A prominent Ontario gaming sector lawyer said he expects that Wednesday’s landmark Ontario Court of Appeal decision opening the doors for Ontario-based online poker and daily fantasy sports (DFS) players to compete against people outside Canada will be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.
In that landmark decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal, in a 4-1 ruling, decided that Ontario can legally offer international liquidity — a ruling that will shake up the igaming industry in the province. The legal question for the court was whether legal online gaming and sports betting remain lawful under the criminal code if its users were permitted to participate in games and betting involving individuals outside of Canada.
Players in other Canadian provinces and territories can’t take part in games or betting unless there are interprovincial agreements that allow it.
I expect that it will be appealed but I was not surprised by the majority decision,” said Don Bourgeois, a lawyer with Fogler Rubinoff, with 25 years of experience in the gaming sector, primarily in executive positions, including casinos, internet gaming, horse racing, lottery and charitable gaming. “Both the majority and minority reasons were well written and thought-out. There is now greater clarity around what can be done but also the minority decision noted some issues to be taken into account in filling out the details.”
The decision means that there’s now a legal pathway for Ontario-based DFS and poker players to compete against peers abroad — a significant victory for the industry in Ontario, said Canadian Gaming Association President and CEO Paul Burns, bringing back a valuable option for consumers who enjoyed pooling gaming activities.
DraftKings and FanDuel Had Shuttered DFS Operations in Ontario
“The majority decision … affirmed this authority,” said Burns. “However, many operational aspects of the proposed model remain undefined. Additionally, no timeline has been provided for when Ontario may initiate the model.”
The Ontario Court of Appeal also said on Wednesday that many “practical details” about how the proposed model would work have yet to be determined.
DraftKings and FanDuel shut down their DFS operations in Ontario in 2022 after the province’s new iGaming laws kicked in, which cracked down on unlicensed fantasy sports platforms.
The Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC), which comprises British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Lotteries & Gaming Saskatchewan, Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, and Atlantic Lottery, argued against allowing for the pooling of players of peer-to-peer games. Mohawk Council of Kahnawàke also opposed.
No Timeline on Rollout
The CLC has 30 days to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. Casino.org reached out to the CLC for a reaction, but has yet to hear back. The CLC did tell the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) that it is still reviewing the court decision.
We believe that the strength of the verdict will encourage a measured response,” said Burns.
Now that there’s a pathway to expand the market for online poker and DFS outside Ontario, it’s expected that will provide a revenue boost for companies in those businesses. Up to now, that liquidity has been restricted. The new open global landscape will allow players to compete in larger pools.
Smaller Market Share
In September, according to iGaming Ontario financial data on the provincial market, Ontario generated CA$8.55 billion in total cash wagers in September, a 5% month-over-month increase, with revenue at CA$329.4 million (a 2% month-over-month drop).
P2P poker generated CA$144 million in cash wagers, a 4% decrease from August, for a 2% market share, and CA$5.1 million in revenue, a 25% month-over-month decrease, from August, also for a 2% market share. That segment of the iGaming market has been stagnant on the growth end since the regulated market went live in April 2022.
The decision was a positive one for the industry and for its customers,” said Bourgeois. “It encourages the continued channelization of players from the “grey” or “illegal” market into the regulated market – while channelization rates were in the high 80% based on surveys, a number of players preferred the grey market for peer-to-peer games because of the larger liquidity for poker and similar games.
Bourgeois added that “Ontarians who participate in this form of entertainment will have both larger pools into which they are playing, but also the benefit of Ontario’s regulatory structure, including RG and AML programs.”
He further explained that the existing regulatory structure, which requires geolocation to ensure that the player is in Ontario to participate in the Ontario lottery scheme, “also addresses to a significant degree the concerns expressed by the Coalition.”
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