TLDR
- The Parti Québécois won Quebec’s Oct. 5 election with 59 seats, five short of a majority.
- The PQ campaigned on opening online gambling to private operators, similar to Ontario’s model.
- The Liberals, now the official opposition with 40 seats, backed the same idea.
- A study puts Quebec’s 2026 iGaming market at CAD $3.09 billion, with 73% of play unregulated.
- Industry groups say an independent regulator is needed first, which will take time.
Quebec has moved closer to opening its online gambling market to private companies. The Parti Québécois (PQ) won the provincial election on Oct. 5 on a platform that includes regulating private iGaming.
The party ended election night with 59 seats. That is five short of a majority, so the PQ will form a minority government.
The Quebec Liberal Party won 40 seats and will serve as the official opposition. The Liberals also promised during the campaign to create a private iGaming model.
Right now, Loto-Québec is the only legal place for people in Quebec to gamble online. Loto-Québec is a Crown corporation owned by the province.
Two Parties Back the Same Plan
During the campaign, the Liberals released a plan to expand the role of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux (RACJ). The RACJ is the provincial regulator for alcohol, horse racing and gaming.
Under the Liberal plan, the RACJ would license and oversee all online gambling sites. It would also enforce rules on advertising, addiction prevention and consumer protection.
The PQ told Radio-Canada it would take a similar approach. Troy Ross, president of TRM Public Affairs, said the two parties together hold more than enough seats to pass a law.
Ariane Gauthier speaks for the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition (QOGC). The group lobbies for operators including DraftKings, Flutter, Entain, Betway, Bet99, Rush Street and Apricot.
Gauthier said PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon even congratulated Liberal leader Charles Milliard for announcing the idea first. She said the reform is “gathering a large consensus.”
Regulator Must Come First
Industry leaders say the new system will not happen overnight. Gauthier said Quebec must decide on its rules and on which independent body will regulate all operators, including Loto-Québec.
“It will take some time to find the right approach,” she said. She added that the work must be done with stakeholders.
Amanda Brewer of the Canadian Gaming Association pointed out that Loto-Québec is not regulated by the RACJ. She said the province would need a regulator and likely a separate body to run the market, as Ontario and Alberta have.
“I wouldn’t use ‘fast’ to describe anything that may happen in Quebec,” Brewer said.
A private-sector study this summer valued Quebec’s 2026 iGaming market at CAD $3.09 billion. It found only 27% of play happens on regulated sites, leaving an estimated $2.3 billion in lost gross gaming revenue.
Loto-Québec says 81% of online players in Quebec use its platform. But a 2023 Mainstreet Research survey released by the QOGC found 73% of players chose private sites for casino games and sports betting.
Ontario opened its private market in April 2022. It now has 49 licensed operators running 84 websites, and it brought in CAD $4.04 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2025.
Alberta launched its own private market in July, with 36 websites now live.
On Oct. 6, St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters he is already moving ahead with several campaign promises. Loto-Québec did not respond to a request for comment.
