Manitoba Court Slaps Injunction on Grey Market Operator
Posted on: May 28, 2025, 10:00h.
Last updated on: May 28, 2025, 10:21h.
- Court issues injunction banning Bodog
- PlayNow only legal platform in Manitoba
- Hundreds of millions diverted to illegal operators
Grey market operator Bodog has been told by a Manitoba court that it must cease operations in the Canadian province, the latest salvo launched against the Caribbean-based company.
Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MBLL) had filed an injunction with the Manitoba Court of King’s bench on behalf of the Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC) against Il Nido Ltd., Bodog’s operator, and Sanctum IP Holdings Ltd., which owns the Canadian trademarks, in January.
PlayNow.com is the only legal multiproduct gaming website in Manitoba. The injunction set out to ban Bodog from doing business and advertising its product in the province.
CLC represents a collaboration of the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Loto Quebec, MBLL, and Lotteries & Gaming Saskatchewan.
Geo-Blocking Required
CLC argued that a significant portion of revenues that would normally fall into its coffers was being diverted to Bodog. CLC had on two occasions asked Bodog to take down its site.
CLC Executive Director Will Hill said in February that PlayNow.com is forced to deal with illegal online gambling operators, unregulated sites, and misleading advertising daily.
Advertising Ban
“It’s significant, in the hundreds of millions,” Hill said in February of the revenue loss. “But what’s more concerning was that in the period of 2019 to 2023 there was a double-digit increase in the compound annual growth rate,” he added.
In Monday’s ruling, the court found that “the Respondents have no lawful authority to offer online gambling products and services, whether through bodog.eu, bodog.net or any other related successor or replacement websites, or to advertise such online products and services to persons located in Manitoba, as such activities are contrary to sections 201, 202, and 206 of the Criminal Code, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46.”
The judge issued a permanent injunction requiring Bodog to cease operating bodog.eu. They are to cease all advertising around the platform (saying that the advertising was false and misleading). The court also ordered Bodog to implement geo-blocking technology at bodog.eu to prevent anyone in Manitoba from accessing it.
AGCO Steps Up Against Bodog
The CLC wasn’t available for comment but the judge will be making public comments on the decision in the coming weeks.
In the end, the court’s ruling marked a significant win for the provincial lotteries against illegal sites like Bodog.
In May the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario issued a statement calling on media platforms promoting unregulated gambling platforms like Bodog to stop it.
The operators of Bodog are currently blocking players in Quebec and Nova Scotia from accessing their platform but are “advertising heavily” on traditional and digital platforms in Ontario, attracting players there.
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