Manitoba judge sides with lottery coalition against offshore gaming firm
A local judge has ruled in favour of Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MBLL), the lottery and gaming operator of the Canadian province of Manitoba, in its legal action against gaming firm Bodog.
A complaint was filed by the MBLL on behalf of the Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC), an organisation representing the MBLL, Loto-Quebec, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan (LGS) and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC). The organisation was founded in 2022 with the stated goal of combating illegal gambling.
Bodog is registered in Antigua and Barbuda but is active internationally, operating different platforms, chiefly the real-money site bodog.eu and the free play domain bodog.net. The CLC asserts that the company has been advertising and offering its products in Manitoba, violating long-established Canadian laws around betting and gaming.
With the exception of Ontario, which became the only province to launch a regulated, mulit-licence betting market in April 2023, gaming in Canada is tightly restricted to the crown corporations and/or provincial regulators, such as the four outlined above.
In Manitoba’s case, the MBLL’s PlayNow.com is the only platform legally allowed to operate lotteries and gaming products in the province. The CLC and MBLL argue that Bodog has been infringing on this legal precedent, and filed a legal challenge against the company back in February.
Three months down the line, the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench has sided with the CLC/MBLL and granted an injunction against Bodog. This will, in theory at least, block Bodog’s gaming websites, affiliates, employees and representatives from operating in Manitoba.
The firm has been told that it must use geo-blocking technology to prevent Manitoba residents from accessing the bodog.eu domain.
As the CLC/MBLL’s legal action also cited advertising that the duo alleged Bodog was carrying out in Manitoba, the injunction has also stated that the offshore firm will not be able to advertise via TV, streaming, social media, the radio or public forums.
The court filing, as seen by SBC Media’s Canadian Gaming Business, read:
“This court orders and declares that the respondents have no lawful authority to offer online gambling products and services, whether through bodog.eu, bodog.net or any other related successor or replacement websites, or to advertise such online products and services to persons located in Manitoba, as such activities are contrary to sections 201, 202, and 206 of the Criminal Code.”
The court’s decision further pushes Bodog out of the Canadian market, with the firm having already abandoned activity in Quebec and Nova Scotia. In both provinces, lottery and gaming operations are, again, restricted to the activity of the Loto-Quebec and Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) crown corporations.
The firm is reportedly active in Ontario, which as stated above is the only multi-licence regulated betting market in Canada. However, it does not have a licence with the provincial regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
The monopolies held by Canada’s various crown corporations are strong, though as Ontario showed they are not guaranteed to last forever. Alberta seems to be on the cusp of launching a regulated market like Ontario, with the iGaming Alberta Act having passed the third reading of the provincial legislature early this month.
https://lotterydaily.com/2025/05/29/highlighted/manitoba-lottery-bodog/