Ontario pooled-liquidity reference (Court of Appeal): Allegations, Court Orders and Status

On November 12, 2025 the Court of Appeal for Ontario answered yes, by four judges to one, to the Province's question whether legal online gaming and sports betting would remain lawful under the Criminal Code if Ontario users could play with people outside Canada (Reference re iGaming Ontario, 2025 ONCA 770).

The lottery corporations appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada as of right. It heard the appeal on October 7, 2026 (file 42141) and has reserved judgment as of November 14, 2026. No payout exists.

What this case is about

Reference re iGaming Ontario (Court of Appeal for Ontario, COA-24-CV-0185) is a request for a legal opinion, ordered by Order in Council 210/2024 under Courts of Justice Act s. 8. Nobody alleges anything and nobody is ordered to do anything, so the usual complaint-versus-orders distinction does not apply. The court's opinion is the only decision.

The reference question Ontario put to the court

The question concerns Criminal Code s. 207(1)(a), whose conduct-and-manage requirement was also at issue in the Kahnawà:ke case. The reference is one of the licensing and administrative court cases we track, where operators, provinces and regulators argue over who may run gambling and on what terms.

Why pooled liquidity matters: players outside Canada in Ontario games

Pooled liquidity means players in Ontario sit in the same game as players elsewhere, which gives poker and similar games enough players to run. The question's own wording covers games and betting involving individuals outside of Canada.

The court was not asked about market size, revenue or player numbers, and this page states none. The question is narrow: whether letting Ontario users play with people outside Canada would make Ontario's regulated gaming and sports betting unlawful under s. 207(1)(a).

Who is covered

The opinion covers no individual claimants; it answers a legal question for the Province and every party that took part.

Who took part: the Attorney General, the interveners and the panel

The Lieutenant Governor in Council of Ontario referred the question, and the Attorney General of Ontario was the applicant side. Flutter intervened too, and every case against that company is collected under Flutter lawsuits. Five judges sat, and van Rensburg J.A. dissented, as the Supreme Court docket records.

The panel:

• Tulloch C.J.O.
• Gillese J.A.
• van Rensburg J.A. (dissenting)
• Hourigan J.A.
• Dawe J.A.

The interveners:

• Canadian Gaming Association
• Flutter
• NSUS (GGPoker)
• Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke
• Attorney General of British Columbia (later withdrawn, per a secondary report dated September 2024)
• Canadian Lottery Coalition (Atlantic Lottery, BCLC, Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries)

Who is affected: Ontario players and the other provinces

Players in Ontario's regulated poker and daily fantasy markets are affected most, because the question was whether they may be matched with players outside Canada.

Players in other provinces could join those games only by agreement, which is the second assumption behind the answer. No payout or claim reaches any of these players through this reference.

Is there a payout?

No payout exists: this is a reference opinion on a legal question, with no plaintiff, no defendant, no damages, no settlement and no claim form. The record shows a fund of zero. Nothing can be filed, and the page tracks a legal question rather than a claim.

What happens next

The next event is the Supreme Court of Canada's judgment, and no date for it is published.

The Supreme Court of Canada appeal: heard October 7, 2026

Atlantic Lottery filed a notice of appeal as of right on December 10, 2025 against the Court of Appeal's opinion, and the Supreme Court heard the appeal on October 7, 2026. BCLC and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries are co-appellants, and Loto-Québec joined from April 2, 2026.

The interveners at the Supreme Court are the Canadian Gaming Association, Flutter Entertainment, NSUS Group and the Attorney General of Alberta, whose leave of April 13, 2026 supports Ontario. The appeal has its own record, covered on the page for the Supreme Court appeal on Ontario pooled liquidity.

Some intermediate dates rest on secondary reports; see the sources below.

What changes, and what does not, until the Supreme Court rules

Until judgment, Ontario poker and daily fantasy sports remain ring-fenced to players in Ontario.

We checked the Supreme Court docket on November 14, 2026 and judgment was still reserved. We make no prediction about the result. Other pending judgments from high courts are listed on the tracker of appeals and high court rulings in gambling cases.

Timeline

The reference took one year from hearing to opinion and has been before the Supreme Court since December 2025.

Several dates above come from the court's own pages and the Supreme Court docket, while the hearing start and the British Columbia withdrawal rest on secondary reports.

What the court has decided so far

One substantive opinion exists: 2025 ONCA 770 of November 12, 2025, an answer of yes by four to one.

What the Court of Appeal answered, 4 to 1

Four judges answered the reference question yes under Criminal Code s. 207(1)(a); van Rensburg J.A. dissented, as recorded in the Supreme Court docket. The author of the majority reasons is not confirmed in the court record.

We could not open the opinion text on November 14, 2026, so this page describes the answer from the docket and a law-firm summary, and labels it so. Pending cases of this weight are gathered on the list of landmark gambling court cases.

The three assumptions behind the answer

The yes rests on three assumptions, as a law-firm summary reports them:

• the current Ontario scheme is lawful
• players in other provinces join only by agreement
• iGaming Ontario keeps conducting and managing the games

The first assumption rests on the Superior Court's 2024 decision in the Kahnawà:ke case (2024 ONSC 2726), which dismissed the challenge to the scheme.

Documents and sources

Every date and figure on this page comes from the court's own pages and the Supreme Court docket, listed here with the copy we read. The opinion text itself was unreachable on November 14, 2026.

• Court of Appeal for Ontario reference page, notice and endorsement of May 3, 2024 (primary)
• Supreme Court of Canada docket 42141 (primary)
• The opinion, 2025 ONCA 770 (primary; citation read, text not read)
• BLG note on the decision (law firm, secondary)
• Canadian Gaming Business report (press, supporting)
• Legal500 Court of Appeal summaries, November 10 to 14, 2025 (secondary)

Related cases

Related Canadian cases show where this reference sits.

The Supreme Court appeal and the Kahnawà:ke case

The appeal is a separate record on the Supreme Court docket, tracked as the Atlantic Lottery appeal at the Supreme Court.

The 2024 decision the Court of Appeal assumed is the Kahnawà:ke challenge to Ontario's iGaming model, dismissed by Brownstone J. on May 13, 2024 (2024 ONSC 2726) and not appealed.

Other Ontario and Canadian gambling cases

Two other Ontario cases and one Quebec case show the courts' usual approach to provincial gambling schemes.

• Casino Rama First Nations Fund upheld
• First Nations casino revenue-sharing arbitration v. OLG
• Loto-Québec OK Poker visible-cards class action

Each has its own page with its own record and status.

Questions people ask

What did the Ontario Court of Appeal decide in the iGaming reference?

By four to one on November 12, 2025, it answered yes to Ontario's question about pooled liquidity under Criminal Code s. 207(1)(a), on three stated assumptions. Every Canadian case and court is listed under gambling lawsuits in Canada.

Can Ontario poker players now play against people in other countries?

Not until the Supreme Court rules: poker and daily fantasy sports stay ring-fenced to players in Ontario. The Court of Appeal's answer is under appeal.

Is the Supreme Court of Canada reviewing this decision?

Yes; Atlantic Lottery appealed as of right on December 10, 2025 and the appeal was heard on October 7, 2026. The file has its own page, the Supreme Court appeal on Ontario pooled liquidity.

When will the Supreme Court of Canada decide?

Judgment is reserved and no date is published as of November 14, 2026.

Is there a payout or class action?

No; a reference opinion has no damages and no class.

Can I sue an online casino in Canada?

That depends on the claim. Our guide explains how to sue a casino or lottery corporation in Canada.

Filing a claim is free. GamblingLawsuits.org is not a law firm and not a claims administrator. Last checked November 14, 2026.