Ontario’s International Liquidity Case Heads to the Supreme Court
A Court of Appeal win for pooled international poker/DFS play now faces a Supreme Court of Canada appeal
Last verified: 2026-10-01
The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled 4-1 for Ontario on international liquidity for peer-to-peer games in November 2025 (2025 ONCA 770); the appeal is now before the Supreme Court of Canada (File No. 42141), with a hearing reported for 7 October 2026.
Ontario’s international liquidity case heads to the Supreme Court
Overview
On 12 November 2025, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled 4-1 on a reference concerning “international liquidity” — whether Ontario can permit its peer-to-peer (P2P) gaming operators, including poker and daily fantasy sports, to pool players with operators outside Canada, rather than restricting play to an Ontario- or Canada-only player pool — finding in Ontario’s favour (cited by the parties as Reference re iGaming Ontario, 2025 ONCA 770). If the ruling stands, iGaming Ontario says it would let it pursue a model of pooled international liquidity for P2P games, expanding the effective player base and prize pools available to Ontario players.
The split decision gave the losing side an automatic right of appeal: the Atlantic Lottery Corporation and a joint British Columbia Lottery Corporation/Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation filing took the case to the Supreme Court of Canada as File No. 42141 in December 2025. The case has grown since: Loto-Québec was granted leave to join as a party in spring 2026, and Flutter Entertainment (owner of PokerStars and FanDuel) and NSUS Group (GGPoker’s parent) both appear as interveners in the case’s own filings, arguing alongside Ontario for the pooled-liquidity model. Trade press reports, not yet checked against the Court’s own hearing list in this pass, put a Supreme Court hearing date at 7 October 2026, with Alberta’s Attorney General — whose own province launched a regulated igaming market in July 2026 — also intervening on Ontario’s side. As of this research pass, the Supreme Court had not yet ruled.
The Court of Appeal’s 4-1 ruling, its ONCA citation, and the SCC appeal’s file number, parties and procedural history. [1]
iGaming Ontario’s own account of the ruling and appeal, as of its February 2026 business plan. [2]
Key facts
-
Verified
The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled 4-1 on the international-liquidity reference on 12 November 2025, concerning whether Ontario can permit peer-to-peer gaming operators, including poker and daily fantasy sports, to pool players with operators outside Canada rather than restricting play to a Canada-only pool; the parties cite the decision as Reference re iGaming Ontario, 2025 ONCA 770.
-
Verified
The split decision carried an automatic right of appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, which opened the case as File No. 42141, styled Atlantic Lottery Corporation, et al. v. Attorney General of Ontario, with Atlantic Lottery Corporation and a joint British Columbia Lottery Corporation/Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation filing as Appellants against the Attorney General of Ontario as Respondent.
-
Verified
Loto-Québec was granted leave to join the Supreme Court case as a party in spring 2026, and Flutter Entertainment plc (owner of PokerStars and FanDuel) and NSUS Group Inc./NSUS Limited (GGPoker’s parent) both appear as interveners in the case’s own factum filings, arguing in favour of the pooled-liquidity model alongside Ontario.
-
Unverified
Trade press reports a Supreme Court hearing scheduled for 7 October 2026, at which Ontario, Alberta’s Attorney General, the Canadian Gaming Association, Flutter Entertainment and NSUS Group are expected to argue for upholding the pooled-liquidity ruling, against the four provincial lottery corporations; as of this research pass, that hearing date had not been independently confirmed against a Supreme Court of Canada hearing-list page, and no ruling had been issued.
-
Verified
iGaming Ontario says that if the Court of Appeal decision is upheld, it would work with operators and Ontario government partners to develop a path forward to permit pooled international liquidity for peer-to-peer play in Ontario, which it describes as supporting continued growth in both channelization of legal play and the range of market offerings available to players.
Sources
- Supreme Court of CanadaPrimary source — Case Information — 42141, Atlantic Lottery Corporation, et al. v. Attorney General of Ontario — https://www.scc-csc.ca/cases-dossiers/search-recherche/42141/
- iGaming OntarioPrimary source — 2026-2029 Business Plan — https://igamingontario.ca/en/2026-2029-business-plan