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Canada’s online gambling scene is changing, but monopoly structures remain the norm for most provinces. Specialists state that more competition may hold the answer to lower black market consumption and better consumer protection.
The gaming industry in Canada is at a key crossroads today in 2025. Provinces have advanced online gaming regulation, but monopoly-style structures still constrain the market’s ultimate potential. Today, increasing voices across the industry are demanding meaningful transformation, beginning with transparent competition. Leading this change is the notion that monopolies can instead cause more harm than good. With black market bettors still drawing Canadian players, industry players are calling for the reexamination of the legacy provincial-run model. Online sites such as Zamsino, for instance, have proved it is possible to provide an attractive, safe alternative to unlicensed sites through astute regulation and consumer-centric design.
The Current State of Monopolies
Most Canadian provinces have been using the single-operator model for years, in which the only entity allowed to provide online casino gaming or sports betting is the government platform. Although this method was initially intended to exert control, safeguard the consumer and bring public revenue, its failure is increasingly clear.
Players now want greater choice, improved features and more competitive gameplay—demands to which monopoly platforms are not often able to respond. Because there is no meaningful competition, there is no pressure to innovate, enhance odds, or provide attractive content equal to that offered by private operators in international markets. Consequently, Canadians opt for alternatives, even to the extent of visiting unregulated offshore sites.
Why Online Casino Monopolies Contribute to Black Market Gambling
Among the key reasons against the preservation of monopoly structures is the reality that they unwittingly urge customers to look for alternatives. If there is merely one operator in charge of governing a provincial sector, players can feel constrained through limited gaming options, slow payments, or poor promotions.
Offshore sites, on the other hand, offer a tantalizing selection of features ranging from high bonuses to advanced design. Though such unregulated platforms provide more attractive interfaces, they fail to provide the consumer protections and regulation found with markets under licensure. Monopoly systems have inadvertently created a vacuum that the black market happily exploits. By limiting the availability of licensed private operators, provinces drive willing customers to products and services that do not meet Canadian standards of safety and fairness. Opening the marketplace to greater competition would remedy this imbalance. If there are several well-regulated sites to choose from, each with attractive offers and strong consumer protections, there is much less temptation to bet outside the system.
Understanding the Black Market Threat
Black market gambling is dangerous on various fronts. Consumer safety is the most obvious: unlicensed sites may not provide safe deposits or responsible gaming features, subjecting users to potential economic loss or addiction. Black market sites are beyond the reach of Canadian regulations, so players have no remedy if there is a problem with the site, such as with a disputed win.
There’s also the wider economic cost. Provinces lose out on potential tax intake and licensing charges when players use unregulated platforms, money that they can reinvest to support public services.
Additionally, because there is no transparency, it’s impossible to monitor player conduct, enforce age limits, or guarantee fairness to the games. It’s not only a player’s problem—it’s the country’s problem. By maintaining its clampdown on market access through monopoly structures, Canada leaves the field wide open for offshore markets to flourish.
How the Future Under Regulation Might Look
Most industry leaders and advocacy organizations say the solution is easy: open the marketplace to licensed private players under a robust regulatory framework. This is not a call to abandon government regulation; it is to broaden it to embrace more players, enhance enforcement and increase protections for players. A competitive marketplace has the potential to provide the best of both worlds. Players get greater choice, improved bonuses and increased innovation. Meanwhile, regulators get to impose high standards for fairness, security and responsible play. By letting several operators compete legally, provinces have the resources to guide players away from underground choices and toward safe, regulated playing. This aligns with international trends among nations that have adopted free-market forms of structure, with positive results. And the groundwork for such change is already being laid in Canada.
Learning from Ontario
Ontario’s iGaming model, implemented in recent years, is an apt test case to see what liberalization of the market would look like nationwide. Rather than holding to the model of monopoly, Ontario instituted a system whereby private companies can become licensed and join the marketplace, provided they adhere to high standards and fall under the watch of provincial regulators. This balanced framework has not only given players more options but has also ensured greater safety, accountability and public confidence in the online gambling industry. Although each province must adapt its model to regional requirements, the Ontario model demonstrates that opening the market is not to surrender but to strengthen it. As the rest of Canada observes Ontario’s success, the pressure is building for the other provinces to follow suit. The demands for the cessation of monopolies are not merely to bring fairness to the situation; they’re to create a safer, more vibrant and sustainable online gaming future for the nation.
Reviewed and edited by Albert Fang.
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Article Title: Canadian Gaming Association Chief Advocates for Ending Monopolies to Combat Black Market
https://fangwallet.com/2025/06/10/canadian-gaming-association-chief-advocates-for-ending-monopolies-to-combat-black-market/The FangWallet Promise
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