5 entities call for crackdown on illegal operators
In Canada, five provincial gambling companies have formed a groundbreaking coalition to fight illegal online casino gambling in the country. They intend to pressure the federal governments to take concrete action against unlicensed activities. The entities in question are the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, the Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC), the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation, Loto-Québec and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation.
Coalition to fight illegal online casinos in Canada
In Canada, a coalition composed of various state operators has been created. Its goal: to demand that the competent federal governments work with provincial authorities and regulators to fight against illegal websites and the deceptive advertising that is currently rampant. According to the group, ” (…) Misinformation and misleading marketing can lead to consumer harm from online gambling “.
It should be noted that online gambling is illegal in Canada, unless it is controlled by a regulator appointed by the provincial governmentas is the case in Ontario. The coalition believes that only a regulated market can protect gamblers by providing, for example, more supervised gambling environments, protection from predatory practices, age control, and resources to promote responsible gambling.
It should be noted that all of the provinces represented by the members of the newly formed coalition operate monopolies. Unlike Ontario, which has chosen to license both public and private operators, the former do not accept any competition, with a state-controlled operator having full power.
“The majority of players do not know how to differentiate between legal and illegal sites”
The coalition said that in each province where one of its members offers legal gambling, one or more offshore operators are operating illegally and advertise on free-to-play mirror sites, especially during major cultural and sporting events. Because these advertisements run nationwide, the coalition said this blurs the line between provincially regulated gambling sites and illegal operators.
To combat this, the coalition expressed its willingness to raise public awareness about the prevalence of illegal operators and to inform media platform owners of their duty to comply with applicable laws and regulations by refusing to accept deceptive advertising.
” Research shows that the majority of gamblers don’t know if an online site is legal or not in their province “said Patrick Daigle, President and CEO of the Atlantic Lottery Corporation. Daigle added, “The research shows that the majority of players do not know whether or not an online site is legal in their province. The money that is unfairly received by fraudulent operators, which leaks to tax-free areas, could be used to fund public services. Instead, these sums are diverted and Canadian Internet users end up paying the price for the laxity of governments “.
