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Ontario's International Poker Liquidity Plan Faces Supreme Court Test
- The Supreme Court of Canada will hear an appeal on Ontario’s plan for international online poker liquidity.
- Four provincial lottery corporations argue the proposal violates the legal requirement for provincial-only gaming.
- Ontario claims the plan would draw players to regulated platforms and enhance player protections.
The Supreme Court of Canada was scheduled to hear an appeal on October 7 over Ontario’s plan to pool online poker liquidity internationally.
The Supreme Court of Canada was scheduled to hear an appeal on October 7, 2026, concerning Ontario's plan to allow players on its regulated online poker and casino platforms to compete against players outside Canada.
Four provincial lottery corporations are challenging a 2025 Ontario Court of Appeal decision that supported the proposed model.
The case, Atlantic Lottery Corporation, et al. v. Attorney General of Ontario, centres on whether Ontario can legally introduce international pooled liquidity while continuing to operate its regulated gambling market through iGaming Ontario.
The outcome could affect the structure of Ontario's online poker market. However, players remain restricted to Ontario-only games until the court issues its ruling.
Ontario's regulated iGaming market launched in April 2022 with restrictions limiting players to competing against others located within the province.
The proposed international pooled liquidity model would allow Ontario players to share poker games, cash tables and tournament fields with players in other countries.
On November 12, 2025, a four-judge majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the proposed arrangement would be lawful.
Four Provincial Lottery Corporations Challenge the Ruling
The appeal was initiated by Atlantic Lottery Corporation, British Columbia Lottery Corporation and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation, which filed a notice of appeal in December 2025. Loto-Québec joined the challenge in April 2026.
The four corporations operate government-owned gambling sites in their respective provinces. Their appeal challenges the Ontario Court of Appeal majority's interpretation of the Criminal Code.
In their written arguments, the four lottery corporations contend that the Ontario Court of Appeal majority failed to follow the principles established in the Supreme Court of Canada's 2003 Reference re Earth Future Lottery decision.
That ruling held that a provincially licensed lottery scheme must be conducted and managed within the province's geographical boundaries to qualify as being conducted "in that province."
Ontario Defends International Poker Liquidity
Ontario's legal position presents the proposed model as a way to direct players towards regulated gambling platforms.
The province argues that international play through iGaming Ontario's regulated platform could attract people who currently use unlawful gambling websites.
According to Ontario's written submission, bringing those players onto the regulated system would help protect them from fraud, addiction and other harms associated with unlawful gambling while generating additional public revenue.
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