Quebec election opens door to online sports betting reform
Quebec’s election result has created a potential opening for reform of the province’s online sports betting and gambling market, with the incoming Parti Québécois (PQ) government and the Quebec Liberal Party both having supported greater regulation of private online gambling platforms during the campaign.
The PQ won 59 of the Quebec National Assembly’s 127 seats in the October 5 provincial election, leaving it five seats short of a majority. The Quebec Liberal Party won 40 seats and is set to form the official opposition.
The result is significant for the gaming sector because both parties had expressed support for moving away from Quebec’s existing single-operator online gambling structure.
The Quebec Liberal Party, led by Charles Milliard during the campaign, proposed expanding the mandate of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux (RACJ) so the regulator could license and oversee online gambling platforms operating in the province. Its platform also called for requirements covering advertising, addiction prevention and protection of minors.
The proposal received support from PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon during the election campaign. The position puts Quebec’s incoming government and its opposition on broadly similar ground regarding the possibility of regulated private-sector online gambling.
Quebec online sports betting reform gains political momentum
The election result does not immediately change Quebec’s gambling laws.
Loto-Québec remains the province’s authorized provider of legal online casino and sports betting products. In an August 27 statement, the Crown corporation said that its website was the only legal casino and sports-betting website in Quebec and warned residents that sports-related prediction markets were also not legal under the province’s existing framework.
That means any competitive online sports betting market would require further government action, including changes to the regulatory framework.
The Liberal proposal would give the RACJ a larger role in licensing and supervising private platforms. It also proposed regulatory oversight for prediction markets involving the Autorité des marchés financiers and the RACJ.
The PQ's election victory therefore creates a political opportunity for the proposal to advance, but the timing and precise structure of any reform remain uncertain.
Loto-Québec monopoly faces potential challenge
Quebec’s online gambling model differs from the competitive structures established in Ontario and Alberta.
The Quebec Online Gaming Coalition, an industry group advocating for private-market regulation, welcomed the election positions of both the Liberals and PQ before the vote. The coalition has argued that regulating private operators could bring more activity into a provincially supervised framework.
The coalition has also cited a 2025 Blask estimate suggesting that Loto-Québec captures only a minority of Quebec’s online gambling activity. That figure is an industry-cited estimate rather than an official government measurement and should therefore be treated accordingly.
For international operators, the potential change would be important because a regulated private market could provide access to a province that has historically maintained a state-operated online gambling model.
However, the election result alone does not establish licensing requirements, tax rates, responsible-gambling standards or market-entry conditions for private operators.
Regulatory framework still needs to be defined
The incoming minority government will also need to work within a legislature where the PQ does not hold a majority.
That could make the implementation of any major gambling reform dependent on negotiations with opposition parties and the passage of new legislation or regulatory measures.
For the gaming industry, the immediate development is therefore less about a confirmed market launch and more about the political direction of Quebec’s online gambling policy.
If the new government proceeds with the approach supported by the PQ and Liberals during the campaign, Quebec could move toward a competitive regulatory model similar in broad structure to other Canadian provinces that permit private online gambling operators.
For now, Loto-Québec remains the legal online operator, while the election has established a stronger political case for reconsidering how Quebec regulates online sports betting and iGaming.
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Sources
CDC Gaming
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