Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MBLL) is seeking a legal injunction to block offshore gambling operator Bodog from taking bets and advertising in the province. Meanwhile, the Progressive Conservative opposition party is pressing the ruling New Democrats to follow through on promises of expanding legal gambling options in the province.
In an application filed last week in the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench, the regulator—which has sole authority over gambling in the province—accused Bodog.eu and its “free play” counterpart, bodog.net, of breaking provincial laws.
As a result, MBLL argues its legal online gaming platform, PlayNow.com, is losing out on “significant” revenue.
Bodog’s illegal activities are diverting customers in Manitoba away from MBLL’s legitimate operations. Significant revenue that would otherwise be generated by MBLL has been diverted to Bodog.
The effort follows a recent promise from Premier Wab Kinew to “bring the hammer down” on those behind the drugs—and casino-related money laundering—infiltrating Manitoba communities. It also comes after pressure from the Opposition PCs to hasten the expansion of Manitiba’s legal market after a protracted pause.
Lottery Coalition looks to establish precedent
In an email to CBC, MBLL said it filed on behalf of the Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC), an advocacy group representing five regional lotteries.
With the legal effort, the coalition—representing BC, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Atlantic Canada, and Manitoba lotteries—aims to set a precedent in its battle against illegal online gambling.
CLC’s executive director, Will Hill, told CBC that the application was the first for the coalition formed in 2022 to resist illegal gambling.
In an interview, Hill told Bonus the intent of the effort is twofold:
This is about taking actual action locally, with an injunction against an operator within Manitoba, but also validating the coalition’s general position on illegal gambling.
As it stands, he said, provincial gambling providers’ “noble pursuit” has been complicated by the need to “deal with hundreds of illegal operators.” The impact is regrettable as provincial lotteries return 100% of proceeds to “benefit provincial priorities,” he added.
Ultimately, Hill said, speaking with Bonus, it’s about making online gambling safer for Canadians.
The reality is that our members are imbued and vested both by the Canadian criminal code and through provincial gaming legislation, with the sole legal authority to operate certain gaming activities within their home provinces, but they’re forced to contend with illegal operators, their unregulated websites, and their misleading advertising.
Essentially, these organizations which have previously or largely worked independent of one another within their own provincial boundaries, decided to team up to do something about it. And so this is just part of a broader patchwork of efforts dedicated to creating a safer online gaming landscape for Canadians.
PCs say pause remains active despite 2023 order
Taking a different tack, Manitoba’s opposition party have questioned the province’s delay in licensing new provincial gaming facilities and VLTs. The criticism comes after MBLL told a legislative committee last week that it is still talking with stakeholders about any upcoming changes.
In 2023, the NDP ordered Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries to “lift the pause on gaming expansion in a targeted fashion.” However, since the NDP gave that direction, MBLL has only managed to replace some of the province’s outdated VLTs. As yet, there are no plans to add more.
That stasis, argued Progressive Conservative Liquor & Lotteries critic Konrad Narth, means the moratorium on gaming expansion is still in effect.
During the meeting, Narth directed his comments to Glen Simard, the minister responsible for the Crown corporation.
Essentially, what you’re saying is that you’ve upheld the pause for the last year, outside of possibly refreshing some of the technology around the digital games.
Further, while Simard reported that MBLL is still meeting with stakeholders, the province already cancelled one proposed gambling facility in Sioux Valley Dakota Nation.
During last week’s meeting, Simard said the province is approaching gambling expansion carefully amid pent-up demand left unaddressed during the pause.
What lifting the gaming pause effectively is is a conversation … where it takes time to develop whatever strategy may come out of those discussions.
Manitoba’s 2018 moratorium inhibited ability to stay current
Manitoba’s gambling pause—which began in 2018 to provide time to review the industry—originated under the previous PC government. During the break, Manitoba’s former premier, Brian Pallister, tabled a report that argued the provincial gambling market suffered from an oversupply.
In a CBC interview, MBLL CEO Gerry Sul said they are considering expansion in a “meaningful way,’ to ensure no “negative impacts on the province.”
He further told the committee that the most significant impact of the gaming pause was the inability to update its older machines.
We saw our revenues erode over that time because we’re not offering something fresh to the consumers.
Money laundering fight only complicated by illegal gambling
Indeed, illegal gambling only complicates Manitoba’s intention to confront money laundering and the illicit drug trade.
Previously, MBLL only shared details of suspicious transactions with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). Sul told CBC that MBLL reported over 400 suspicious transactions with reasonable grounds to suspect ties to money laundering last year.
Thanks to the Premier’s announcement from Winnipeg’s Club Regent Casino on Monday, Manitoba law enforcement will now receive suspicious activity reports directly from MBLL. The lottery operator will still report to FINTRAC, but this change will permit police and RCMP to help tackle money laundering crime sooner, said Kinew.
The new policy adheres to the NDP’s public safety strategy of being tough on crime and its causes.
Addressing money laundering will deter criminal’s ability to flood the province with fentanyl and other drugs, Kinew said on Monday.
By taking action on money laundering, we’re combating fentanyl and some of the other toxic drugs that are causing so much damage to people from every walk of life in every area of the province of Manitoba.
However, MBLL’s reports only account for transactions made through legal operators, not offshore sites like Bodog—which is just one of many available.
Tackling illegal gambling operators and ensuring Manitoba’s legal options are robust will only make that fight more manageable.
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