Atlantic Lottery, along with British Columbia Lottery Corporation, Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation and Loto-Québec joined forces in 2022 to form the Canadian Lottery Coalition to help tackle the growing issue of illegal online gambling.

The coalition always knew it would take time to start seeing meaningful change, but that day finally came with the first major legal win in the fight against illegal gaming operators who are targeting customers in our own backyard.

In February 2025, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation (MBLL), on behalf of the Canadian Lottery Coalition, launched legal action with the Manitoba Court of Kings Bench against Bodog, a major player in the offshore gambling space.

The ruling was made on May 26, when The Honourable Jeffrey Harris, Judge of the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba ordered an immediate and permanent ban on the illegal gambling site Bodog in Manitoba, citing that it has no lawful authority to offer online gambling products and services, or to advertise to persons located in the province. They were immediately required to employ geo-blocking technology on their bodog.eu site to prevent anyone located in the province from accessing, viewing, purchasing, or engaging with any of their online gambling products or services.

Justice Harris released his reasoning for the ruling earlier this month, stating that Bodog has no legal authority to operate in Manitoba and that its solicitation and acceptance of bets in Manitoba violates the Criminal Code of Canada. Further to this, Justice Harris held that Bodog has been misleading Manitobans as to the lawfulness, character and quality of the www.bodog.eu and the www.bodog.com platforms.

This is exactly why illegal operators have become so prevalent. Since the introduction of single-event sports betting in Canada in 2021, there has been a significant increase in both illegal online gambling sites and the advertisement for them. Using misleading statements that make players believe they are a regulated, legal online gambling provider, aided at times by big celebrity endorsements, gives these sites a false air of legitimacy.

Illegal operators, such as Bodog, have no obligation to implement responsible gambling features, pay taxes, or comply with anti-money laundering requirements in Canada.

The Criminal Code of Canada gives provinces the exclusive right to conduct and manage gaming, including online gaming, within their respective jurisdictions. In Manitoba, MBLL is the designated authority and PlayNow is the only legal online gambling site, just as Atlantic Lottery is the designated authority and alc.ca is the only legal online gambling site authorized to operate in the Atlantic provinces.

The reason this matters is simple. Illegal gambling operators do not offer the same level of care or protection for their players. Provincial oversight helps protect players by offering controlled environments to play, protection from predatory practices, age-gating, resources and tools to support healthy play, and accountability to the public. Beyond this though, is where the profit goes.

Provincial lottery corporations like Atlantic Lottery and the other members of the Coalition return 100 per cent of profit back to the provinces they operate in to help fund important programs and services. What’s played here, stays here. While this practice benefits all Canadians, illegal operators are taking their profits with them, outside of the country, to benefit solely themselves.

This is why the court decision in Manitoba is not just a win for the Coalition as we seek to create a responsible and regulated online gaming environment across the country, but a win for Atlantic Canadians too.