Segev LLP founders see Quebec, Atlantic Canada and Alberta shaping Canada's iGaming growth

Canada's regulated iGaming market is expected to keep changing in the coming years as provinces move at different speeds, according to Ron and Alon Segev, founders of Segev LLP. They spoke with host Martin Lycka on the Safe Bet Show about the current state of play across the country.

Ron Segev addressed Quebec first. The Parti Québécois won a minority government on 5 October, returning to power for the first time since 2014. During its campaign the party said it favoured liberalising iGaming in the province. Segev put the launch of a regulated market there at two, maybe three, years away. He cautioned that Quebec is "not like the rest of Canada": it operates under a civil code instead of common law, and online gambling remains a government monopoly run by Loto-Québec. Building a licensing framework for private operators would need significant regulatory and legislative work, so a fast rollout like Alberta's is unlikely. Even so, he said "the juice is worth the squeeze", and added that Atlantic Canada is also moving, so "the dominoes may be falling".

Alon Segev turned to Alberta, where the market has been live since 13 July. He said it has started more strongly than Ontario did when measured by account sign-ups, revenue and spend per capita, even though Alberta has roughly five million residents against Ontario's 16 million. He attributed this to lessons taken from Ontario's launch and to conditional approvals granted to early operators.

The brothers also discussed a court case on whether provinces may share liquidity with jurisdictions outside Canada. Ron Segev said the dispute centres on the "conduct and manage" principle in the federal framework, under which gambling is illegal unless a province conducts and manages it. He expected the ruling to favour Ontario and noted that some opponents' submissions concentrated on black-market worries rather than the constitutional question.

Advertising was another concern. Ron Segev pointed out that a sports betting ad aired every 90 seconds during the World Cup. He supported proposed guardrails in the draft digital safety legislation and said an entertainment product should be enjoyed "with some more moderation".