Ontario Court Greenlights Shared Liquidity for Online Poker with Conditions

The Ontario Court of Appeal has made a significant ruling that could reshape the landscape of online poker in the province. The court confirmed that Ontario can legally allow its players to compete with international participants in peer-to-peer games such as online poker, as long as the province retains full control over the gaming operation.

This decision is a major development because it opens the door for shared liquidity to return to Ontario online poker. Since the market launched in 2022, players in Ontario have been ring-fenced, meaning they could only compete against others inside the province. This ring-fencing made the Ontario pool softer but also less attractive for players due to lower liquidity, resulting in smaller tournament prize pools and fewer games running around the clock.

The court clarified that Ontario can legally allow its players to share tables with international players, but Ontario cannot automatically connect with other Canadian provinces. Any shared player pool within Canada would require a formal inter-provincial agreement. Additionally, Ontario players must continue accessing games through Ontario-dedicated sites or clients, the same setup that exists today (e.g., GGPoker Ontario for Ontarians and the GG dot-com platform for international players). The requirement for Ontario to maintain “actual operational control and responsibility” for the oversight of the market could prevent Ontario from joining the global player pool. Furthermore, the court noted that the involvement of private operators, acting under contract with iGO and subject to its ongoing oversight, does not change the conclusion that Ontario retains control over the gaming operation.