New Brunswick is considering whether to allow private companies to offer regulated online gambling in the Canadian province, according to the Telegraph-Journal.
- New Brunswick is exploring whether to license private online gambling operators, with no decision or timeline announced.
- The ALC estimates unregulated gambling websites generate over CA$250 million annually from the region.
- New Brunswick's government lottery revenue has fallen by approximately CA$8 million compared with two years earlier.
Finance minister Rene Legacy said the government is exploring its options as regulated and unregulated online gambling continues to grow. Officials are also looking at how other provinces and jurisdictions regulate the industry, but no timeline for a decision was announced.
Allowing private operators could end the Atlantic Lottery Corporation's (ALC) monopoly on legal online gambling in New Brunswick. The Crown corporation is jointly owned by New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
In contrast, Ontario and Alberta have introduced online gambling frameworks that allow private gambling companies to obtain licenses and operate in their markets.
The review comes as the ALC faces growing competition from gambling websites operating outside of Atlantic Canada’s market.
Atlantic Lottery estimates outside gambling websites generate more than CA$250 million in annual revenue from Atlantic Canada without contributing to the region's provincial governments.
New Brunswick’s government lottery revenue has also fallen by CA$8 million over the past two years, according to budget documents.
Regulatory models, consumer protections
Michael Naraine, an associate professor of sport management at Brock University, told the Telegraph-Journal that New Brunswick should consider licensing private operators with safeguards to protect consumers and generate provincial revenue.
Naraine highlighted New York's mobile sports betting model, which limits the number of operators and taxes gross gaming revenue at 51%. He also suggested the Atlantic provinces could partner with Quebec to create a larger regulated online gambling market.
The Canadian Alliance for Regulated Gaming hasn’t taken a position on which market model provinces should adopt.
Its executive director, Molly Cormier, said effective oversight, player safeguards, and enforcement should remain priorities with New Brunswick sports betting and online casinos, particularly as advertising for gambling platforms reaches consumers in provinces where those operators are not licensed.
Atlantic Lottery spokesperson Greg Weston said decisions about the region's gambling framework ultimately rest with the provincial governments that own the corporation.
