A minority government in Quebec City may finally end Loto-Québec's exclusive hold on legal online gambling in the province. The Parti Québécois won the Oct. 5 election with 59 of 127 seats, falling short of a majority, while the Quebec Liberal Party took 40 seats to become the Official Opposition. Both parties campaigned on licensing private operators, a position the defeated Coalition Avenir Québec had rejected outright.
Two Parties, Two Different Plans
The Liberals have the more developed proposal. Leader Charles Milliard wants to expand the mandate of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux, the body that already regulates alcohol and racing, so it can license and supervise all online gambling platforms operating in the province. Under this model, licensed operators would face defined rules on advertising, addiction prevention and protections for minors, alongside an industry-funded body to support people dealing with gambling problems.
The PQ's position is less specific. Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon backed opening the market during the campaign, pointing to Ontario as a model for how licensing can generate tax revenue he says Quebec currently forfeits. He described the current state of online sports betting in the province as unregulated and chaotic. But the party has not released a detailed framework, and no bill or timeline has been tabled. Because the PQ fell short of a majority, any legislation will require support from another party, making the coming negotiations between St-Pierre Plamondon and other leaders consequential for whether reform actually advances.
Why the Monopoly Model Is Under Strain
Loto-Québec operates the province's only legal online casino and sportsbook, Espacejeux. The Quebec Online Gaming Coalition argues that most online gambling activity in the province actually happens on unlicensed offshore sites that operate outside any Quebec oversight - meaning the monopoly, in practice, does not function as one. In a pre-budget brief, the coalition called for an independent regulator overseeing every operator, including Loto-Québec itself, and estimated the province is missing out on significant tax revenue it could collect under a licensed, taxed framework similar to Ontario's.
Loto-Québec disputes the scale of that gap, citing Léger research indicating the large majority of online players in Quebec already use its platform. Spokesperson Renaud Dugas has emphasized that revenue generated through Espacejeux stays entirely within the province, a point that underscores the real policy tension: a provincial monopoly keeps proceeds in public hands, but may struggle to compete with unlicensed operators on product range, marketing and user experience.
What Comes Next, and What It Would Mean
Quebec currently lacks an independent online gambling regulator, which is one reason the Canadian Gaming Association expects a slower path than coalition advocates hope for. The coalition's own spokesperson suggested early movement could come within roughly a month of the election, but building a licensing regime from scratch - setting technical standards, advertising limits, responsible-gambling requirements and enforcement powers - is a multi-year undertaking elsewhere in Canada.
- Ontario opened its licensed private market on April 4, 2022, through a dedicated regulatory structure.
- Alberta followed on July 13, 2026.
- Quebec would become the third province to license private operators if reform proceeds.
For consumers, the stakes are practical rather than abstract. A licensed market under RACJ oversight would bring enforceable rules on how operators advertise, verify age, and intervene when a customer shows signs of problem gambling - protections that unlicensed offshore platforms are not obligated to provide. Whether Quebec moves toward that model now depends less on public appetite, which both major parties say exists, than on whether a minority legislature can agree on how strict the new rules should be.