Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to the Court of Appeal for Ontario we go
The provincial government takes the legal road in search of expanded gambling, and the Gaming News Canada newsletter welcomes a new editor who's a familiar face in the industry.
Dave Briggs brings his journo’s chops to Gaming News Canada
Thank you to Steve McAllister and the Gaming News Canada team for the opportunity to author the main content of the newsletter.
A quick background: I have been covering the gambling industry in Canada for nearly 30 years. Most of that has been in the horse racing industry. In January 2022, I was hired by Catena Media to be a managing editor. I worked on many sites over nearly three years before I was part of mass layoffs by the company in early October, but the one constant was covering Canadian online gambling first for PlayOntario and then PlayCanada when the former was folded into the latter.
I am a journalist by training and as part of trying to find my next job, I wanted to do something proactive. So, I started doing a free Substack newsletter called Canadian Content to keep up with the industry. The fine folks at GNC reached out to see if I wanted to continue doing that newsletter on their platform. I am honoured they asked. Hopefully, it’s a win-win, but it’s important to note I am not employed by Gaming News Canada in the traditional sense and I’m still open to work. If you want further background on it all, please check out my Substack post from Monday.
Enough on that. Now on with the newsletter…
Expanded DFS, iGaming on the court docket in Ontari-ari-ari-o
Yesterday, the Court of Appeal for Ontario in Toronto began hearing testimony to determine if it is legal for Ontario gambling operators to offer common betting pools beyond Ontario’s borders.
The province has asked the court for an opinion on the following:
Would 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? If not, to what extent?
Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS), in particular, was decimated in April 2022 when Ontario launched an open online gambling sector. Before legalization, DFS and poker operated in the “grey market” where Ontarians played illegally in large international pools.
When the legal sector launched, operators offering those products were restricted to Ontario-only pools, sharply decreasing the number of bettors and the money in those pools. It effectively killed legal DFS and regulated online poker makes very little revenue when compared to online casinos and sportsbooks.
Many of those in Ontario who wish to play in larger pools now do so in the grey market, which goes against one of the main goals of Ontario’s regulated sector: to attract as many operators and gamblers over to the legal sector.
As Covers’ senior news analyst Geoff Zochodne wrote last week, the court case is, “a contentious one. Ontario may see its proposal as legal, but others see it as dangerous. Extensive written arguments have already been made in connection with the court reference, including allegations of illegal activity, and [the] hearing could see more legal jousting by lawyers for both sides.”
Though, as we wrote recently, international common betting pools in Ontario aren’t new. Horse racing has been doing it for 20 years. The exception is betting on horse racing is regulated federally in Canada. Online gambling falls under provincial jurisdiction.
Zochodne covered yesterday’s court session and reported that Josh Hunter, a lawyer for Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General, argued that if international pools were allowed those playing from Ontario would fall under the province’s regulatory rules. Foreign players would be governed by the regulator in their region.
“Our position is the game is two schemes interacting with each other,” said Hunter said.
Most of the country’s lottery corporations are concerned about operators regulated in Ontario attracting customers from other parts of Canada.
“Although Ontario baldly asserts that Canadians outside Ontario would somehow be barred from participating under its ‘hypothetical’ scheme, no evidence supports that claim, and the record before this Court shows the opposite is true today,” the lotteries said in their factum to the court.
The case is expected to be before the courts through this Thursday (Nov. 28). At a minimum, a decision won’t come for weeks and, likely, months.
Sporttrade boss Alex Kane appears on the Gaming News Canada Show
This week, Sporttrade CEO Alex Kane made his debut appearance on the Gaming News Canada podcast for a wide-ranging interview with editor Steve McAllister.
Kane detailed how he founded Sporttrade in 2017, how the app differs from traditional sportsbooks and the company’s business strategy. He also discussed Ontario’s regulated market, Alberta preparing to launch and the state of regulated gambling in the United States.
Also worth a watch and listen from the GNC archives, here are our most popular shows from the past few months.
Grand Slam of Curling gets together with ALT Sports Data on sports betting deal, and more 🎙️ 🎥
CGA's Paul Burns on Bill S-269, Media Research, and iGO’s Next Leader 🎙️ 🎥
A sneak peek into PrimeTime conference’s sports betting panel 🎙️ 🎥
Inside the high-stakes shakeup with gambling affiliates 🎙️ 🎥
Sports Interaction goes NHL Coast to Coast on Amazon Prime Video 🎙️ 🎥
Bell bids adieu to MLSE ownership stake, leaving Rogers with majority 🎙️ 🎥
BCLC’s Ryan McCarthy joins Thursday’s podcast
Up next in the Gaming News Canada podcast guest chair is Ryan McCarthy, the Director of Player Health for the British Columbia Lottery Corporation.
McAllister’s interview with McCarthy will be available at GamingNewsCanada.ca on the morning of Thursday (Nov. 28).
People on the Move
Dylan Slaney is bidding adieu as the Chief Executive Officer of Light & Wonder’s igaming division.
Jay Kornegay announces he’s stepping aside as Vice President as Operations at Westgate SuperBook, but continues his role as VP of Marketing.
Christian Erlandson is the new Chair of the Board for Vixio Regulatory Intelligence.
Non-executive director Anna Massion is leaving Playtech after a five-year tenure with the company.
Global sports media company FloSports names former Marvel Entertainment senior executive Rob Steffens as Chief Financial Officer.
Stephen Andress departs The Lines to join Sidelines Group as Senior Content Editor for CBS Sports’ betting vertical.
Classified (Jobs) Information
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is in hiring mode to fill a position of the rather important type: Chief Financial Officer.
BVGroup is on the lookout for a Senior Acquisition Executive (Canada).
PointsBet Canada is on a seek-and-employ mission for a Payments & Fraud Manager.
Betty Gaming Canada is hiring a Customer Success Representative.
OLG is in the market for a Director, Digital Analytics.
Enthusiast Gaming has openings for a Social Media/Community Manager, a Partnerships Manager, and an SEO Specialist.
Niagara Casinos are on the search for a Conference Specialist.
Wanted by DraftKings: a Senior Analyst.
The fine folks at Hot Paper Lantern, which lends a helping hand to companies in all sectors of the gambling business to tell their stories, is seeking a Communications Specialist to join the HPL team.
Xtremepush is in hiring mode for an Account Manager.
New York-based Wavemaker is looking for a Manager, Gaming.
A company to be named later has a recruiting firm doing the proverbial due diligence for a Head of Affiliates, Canada/New Zealand.
And finally, your Toronto Blue Jays have a posting for a Senior Manager, Partnership Development.
(If your company has a job opening to promote, please email steve@gamingnewscanada.ca.)
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