Betting firms join forces to launch coalition pushing for regulated online Quebec market

Betting and gaming giants including Flutter and Draftkings are joining forces to launch the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition (QOGC). The industry-led organization wants to use Ontario as a guide for setting up a regulated iGaming market in Québec.

Flutter said the QOGC is being launched with a commitment to actively work with the Quebec government and local stakeholders "to develop a new regulatory framework for the online gaming industry." Quebec’s legal sports betting market is at the moment only run through Loto-Québec's Mise-o-jeu online sportsbook.   

Assuming the local government agrees to expand iGaming and open the market to private companies, it would be a major development for the Canadian industry as Quebec is its second-most populous province with about 8.7 million residents.

The QOGC further said it is seeking to address growing concerns about consumer safety, responsible gaming, advertising, and substantially increasing government revenues "based on a new licensing regime for qualified private operators," Flutter said in a statement.

The company will join the other members in "promoting the benefits for the Government of Québec to create an independent regulatory body that will establish standardized controls on responsible gaming to protect vulnerable and underage players."

The QOGC is also committed to contributing to the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et Culture to study gaming behaviors and the ways in which the coalition "can protect and provide a safe and responsible gaming experience for Quebecers."

"The coalition would like to build on the Ontario model of online gaming regulation, which was successfully developed in collaboration with iGaming Ontario (IGO), the Government of Ontario and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and requires private online gaming operators to obtain a license in order to access to the Ontarian market," Flutter further stated.

Online operators forming the coalition include Betway, Bet99, Draftkings, Entain, Flutter, Games Global, and Rush Street Interactive, which have all joined and partnered with Apricot Investments for the effort.

The coalition cited a recent survey by Leger Marketing among the reasons for forming. The study shows two-thirds (66%) of respondents are in favor of regulating private online gaming operators by establishing a licensing and tax system, and that 71% of Quebecers believe that the government cannot block private online gaming operators.