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International poker liquidity in Ontario

Updated By the Ontario.gg Editorial Team

International poker liquidity, meaning tables that seat Ontario players together with players in other countries, is not in place in Ontario as of November 5, 2026. Whether the province may allow it is before the Supreme Court of Canada, which heard the appeal on October 7, 2026 and reserved judgment.

What you can play as of November 5, 2026

Play online on the 6 sites listed under Poker in iGaming Ontario’s catalogue, against other players who are physically in Ontario. On the five we’ve reviewed, you have to be 19 or older and in the province while you play.

The list with each site’s listed address is on our page of online poker sites in Ontario. The reference concerns online gaming and sports betting only, so casino poker rooms, on our list of live poker rooms in Ontario, are outside it.

The question Ontario asked

On February 2, 2024, Ontario’s cabinet referred a question to the Court of Appeal for Ontario by Order in Council 210/2024, under section 8 of the Courts of Justice Act.

The question: would legal online gaming and sports betting remain lawful under the Criminal Code if its users were permitted to take part in games and betting involving people outside Canada, as described in the schedule to the order? And if not, to what extent?

The model on the table

The schedule attached to the order describes how international play would work:

  • Players physically in Ontario would keep playing on the regulated sites run through iGaming Ontario, which would still verify their identity, age and eligibility.
  • Players outside Canada would play through the same operator’s site in their own jurisdiction, under that jurisdiction’s laws and regulator.
  • Players elsewhere in Canada would not be included unless Ontario reached an agreement with their province or territory.
  • The model covers peer-to-peer games, described as games of chance and of mixed chance and skill played for money, and sports betting. iGaming Ontario would decide which games are offered and could set a maximum rake for peer-to-peer games.
  • The AGCO’s standards, including those on inducements and anti-cheating, would still apply, and the AGCO would keep its oversight of iGaming Ontario, the operators and their suppliers.
  • iGaming Ontario would control wagering and payouts for Ontario players and keep its responsible gambling rules, including the self-exclusion registry and anti-money-laundering checks.

The Court of Appeal’s answer

On November 12, 2025, a majority of the Court of Appeal for Ontario answered the first question yes: legal online gaming and sports betting would remain lawful if Ontario players could play with people outside Canada under the proposed model (2025 ONCA 770). That made the second question unnecessary.

The case turned on section 207(1)(a) of the Criminal Code, the clause that lets a province’s government conduct and manage lottery schemes within its borders.

Justice van Rensburg dissented. She would have answered no, holding that Ontario’s part in the international side of the model would break the Code’s gaming prohibitions and fall outside section 207(1)(a).

The appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada

Atlantic Lottery Corporation, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation, and Loto-Québec are the appellants. The Attorney General of Ontario is the respondent.

The interveners are the Canadian Gaming Association, Flutter Entertainment plc, NSUS Group Inc. and NSUS Limited, and the Attorney General of Alberta.

The docket lists it as an appeal as of right, with the notice of appeal filed in December 2025.

NSUS Limited is the operator of GGPoker Ontario. The Supreme Court of Canada heard the appeal on October 7, 2026 and reserved judgment. No judgment had been posted by November 5, 2026.

What a ruling would change

If the Supreme Court agrees with the Court of Appeal

iGaming Ontario’s 2026–2029 business plan says that if the Court of Appeal’s decision is upheld, it can pursue international liquidity for peer-to-peer games, poker and daily fantasy sports included, and work with its operators on a way to permit pooled play.

The same plan says iGaming Ontario is working with other provinces on shared play between provinces.

So a ruling for Ontario would not by itself open international tables. Under the model, you would still play on an Ontario site, with Ontario’s age, location and self-exclusion rules, while players abroad would join through the same operator’s site in their own country.

If it answers no

The model could not go ahead as proposed. The question was whether today’s legal online gaming would remain lawful if the model were added; neither court was asked to rule on the Ontario-only tables that run now.

Timeline

  1. Ontario refers the question to its Court of Appeal by Order in Council 210/2024.
  2. The Court of Appeal answers yes, with one judge dissenting (2025 ONCA 770).
  3. December 2025 The notice of appeal is filed at the Supreme Court of Canada.
  4. The Supreme Court hears the appeal and reserves judgment.
  5. No judgment posted on the Supreme Court’s docket.

Questions about the case

Can I play poker against people outside Ontario on a regulated site?

Not as of November 5, 2026. The regulated sites seat only players who are physically in Ontario.

When will the Supreme Court rule?

No date is posted. The court heard the appeal on October 7, 2026 and reserved judgment.

Would players in other provinces join Ontario’s tables?

Not under this model unless Ontario reached an agreement with their province or territory. iGaming Ontario says it is working with other provinces on shared play.

Who appealed the Court of Appeal’s decision?

Atlantic Lottery Corporation, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation, and Loto-Québec. The Attorney General of Ontario is the respondent.

Change log

  1. First version.