Crypto-Native Operators Lead Canada’s Offshore iGaming Surge as World Cup Approaches

Provincial patchwork leaves dominant offshore operators outside Ontario

The main operators are unlicensed offshore brands run by Bet and Roobet. This trend continues even though Canada has reached an estimated online gaming activity of $9.5 billion in 2025.

The provincial breakdown shows that the dominance of these operators varies significantly across jurisdictions in Canada: Saskatchewan operates an offshore market share of 93%, while Alberta and Manitoba both occupy 88%. These provinces use monopoly models in which government-run platforms compete with unlicensed international brands without the product depth or interface flexibility of competitive markets.

David Henwood, director of H2 Gambling Capital, described the structural mechanism in a 2024 study: “There is a lot of conjecture that one of the main reasons why customers use offshore betting sites is because they offer a wider range of products than those available on-shore. The study results reinforce this view. Limiting the choice of onshore betting types – including live betting – is fundamentally counterproductive.”

Ontario is the counterexample. Since launching its competitive open market in April 2022, the province has achieved a regulated pipeline rate of 85%, although controversies remain over its implementation regarding advertising rules. Alberta’s transition to a competitive market like Ontario starts July 13. The launch date falls five weeks after the start of the FIFA World Cup on June 11 in Mexico City, while Canada will play its first match on June 12 against Bosnia-Herzegovina at BMO Field in Toronto. When the tournament kicks off, Alberta’s regulated competitive market will not yet be operational, leaving the province’s 88 per cent flight overseas intact through the group stage and into the quarterfinals.

Outside of Ontario and the eventual launch in Alberta, all other Canadian provinces operate under a lottery company monopoly model with no near-term path to competitive licensing. PlayNow manages British Columbia and Manitoba, Mise-o-jeu operates in Quebec and PlayNow Saskatchewan operates under SIGA through a partnership with BCLC. None of these monopolistic platforms have signaled an imminent transition to competitive licensing, leaving offshore operators positioned as the dominant access channel through the World Cup window.

The federal void remains intact: Canada has no national gaming regulator, no national licensing framework, and Bill S-211, the National Framework for Sports Betting Advertising Act, was passed by the Senate but not the House of Commons, with no comprehensive solution expected by the time the World Cup – co-hosted by the Great White North – begins this summer.