Monday’s election in Quebec produced some promising results for bettors who want more provincially regulated options for online sports wagering.
- Quebec’s election could pave the way for legalizing and regulating private online sports betting platforms.
- The PQ and Liberals support reform, while the Conservatives may also back an end to Loto-Québec’s online gambling monopoly.
- A minority government could slow any changes, but the potential for more tax revenue may give iGaming reform political momentum.
As of Tuesday morning, the Parti Québécois was leading in 59 ridings. The result puts the PQ in line to form a minority government in Quebec, the legislature of which has 127 seats.
Running second was the Quebec Liberal Party, ahead in 40 ridings and poised to become the official opposition in the legislature. Meanwhile, the previously governing Coalition Avenir Québec looks to have been completely wiped out, as its candidates were ahead in exactly zero ridings as of Tuesday morning.
All of the above bodes well for a potential shakeup of online sports betting in Quebec. While the PQ and Liberals may not agree on much, one thing their party leaders do agree on (weirdly enough) is online gambling.
The separatist Parti Québécois has won Quebec’s provincial election, returning to power a party that has promised another referendum on independence from Canada. https://t.co/1yRyLKwDRi
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 6, 2026
During the campaign, Quebec Liberal Party leader Charles Milliard proposed licensing and regulating private-sector gambling platforms. Milliard also wanted to task provincial watchdogs with filling "the regulatory gap surrounding prediction markets."
Alberta and Ontario are the only two provinces in Canada with competitive markets for online gambling. However, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said during the Quebec election campaign that he’d adopt Milliard’s iGaming proposal.
"Mr. Milliard says—and he’s right, I’ve looked into it—that online sports betting in Quebec is like the Wild West,” St-Pierre Plamondon said in an interview. “American companies come in, run ads, and operate without regulation.”
The PQ leader noted nearby Ontario "decided to clean up the sector" and was seeing increased tax revenue as a result.
In other words, Quebec's incoming government and official opposition are in agreement on expanding the province's regulated market for online gambling.
This could eventually lead to provincial bettors gaining access to online sports wagering apps and sites that are currently unavailable to them, such as BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel, among potentially many others.
From one to one of many
At the moment, the provincially owned Loto-Québec is the only authorized provider of online sports betting and internet casino gambling in the province.
Yet in Quebec, as in other Canadian provinces, there is a fair amount of online gambling that happens with entities that are not authorized by local authorities. This includes online sports betting done with companies based offshore or beyond the reach of provincial regulators.
There are competing estimates for how much "grey market" gambling is going on in Quebec, but the Liberals and PQ seem to think it is significant enough to merit licensing and regulating operators.
The Quebec Online Gaming Coalition, whose members include BET99, DraftKings, and FanDuel-owner Flutter Entertainment, has been trying to make the case for more regulated competition in the province for years. Its spokesperson says that Monday’s election results show there is “a large consensus” in Quebec for the regulation of private-sector operators of online gambling.
“Even in the context of a minority government, there's a strong alignment of interests here,” the coalition’s Ariane Gauthier told Covers.
A sign, via data collected by @GeoComply, of interest in an Ontario-like online sports betting market in Quebec. GeoComply says it blocked 105K attempts from Quebec to access Ontario-regulated sportsbooks since the start of this NFL season. (h/t @GamingNewsCA) https://t.co/AtZzRjxcmb
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) November 22, 2023
Another interesting twist in the election was that Quebec's Conservative Party looks like it will win 19 seats in the legislature. While the Quebec Conservatives haven’t been on the record as supporting iGaming reforms, their political philosophy could get them onside as well.
Gauthier said that the coalition had sent a series of questions to all parties during the campaign, and the response back from the Conservatives was that they generally don’t believe in giving monopolies to provincially owned companies.
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Teamwork makes the dream work
Which is exactly what Quebec has right now in terms of online gambling.
“Philosophically, generally, I believe [the Conservatives] will be constructive stakeholders to build this new regulatory framework around online gaming in Quebec,” Gauthier said.
How quickly the ball could get rolling is hard to say at this point. There are always a lot of competing political priorities at any given moment in any given jurisdiction. Quebec is no different in that regard, even as the predominantly French-speaking province is different from a lot of other North American jurisdictions.
Launching a competitive iGaming market like those in Alberta and Ontario is not something that can be achieved overnight either. Laws and rules could have to be tweaked, and a new regulator empowered to oversee the sector.
There is also the fact that the PQ is a sovereigntist party that wants to eventually hold another referendum on Quebec independence. The PQ’s minority government status will make that tougher to pull off, and St-Pierre Plamondon has already said he would delay any vote on separation until 2029 or 2030.
A coalition of gambling companies is lobbying the Quebec government to launch something similar to what Ontario has, which is a competitive market for online sports betting and casino gaming. BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel are among those involved: https://t.co/tjkunJx2k4 https://t.co/CsQW2cKuSF
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) May 23, 2023
Gauthier pointed to a few factors that could move iGaming up the political pecking order. One is that a minority government situation will put the PQ in a position where they need to find common ground with other parties to stave off another costly election. The PQ and Liberals are seemingly in alignment on online gambling, so that could be an easy collaboration.
The PQ also wants to move more quickly toward a balanced budget than the other parties, Gauthier noted. The coalition has said that the province is costing itself more than $300 million in tax revenue annually by sticking to a single-operator model, so iGaming may prove popular both fiscally and politically.
“It's a strong motivator to bring reform forward,” Gauthier said.
