An Ontario court has allowed poker rooms to join global player pools

A Game-Changing Court Decision

In the summer, prominent lawyer Jeff Ifrah reported on social media that, according to his information, Ontario's Attorney General had filed an appeal with a Canadian court asking for confirmation of the possibility of merging the province's player pool with that of U.S. poker rooms.

On November 12, the rumor was confirmed in full.

In a 4–1 decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that, under the Criminal Code of Canada, provincially regulated online gaming sites may offer peer-to-peer games between Ontario players and users located outside Canada

For local poker sites, this opens the door to merging their player pools with their global networks. For example, the GGPoker.ca Ontario platform will allow access to all tables and tournaments on GGPoker.com.

The province launched its own regulated market in April 2022. The core rule at launch was straightforward: Ontario players could only play with each other, and all sites were required to operate under a local license.

Currently, the following branches operate in the province:

• GGPoker
• PokerStars
• partypoker
• 888poker
• BetMGM Poker.

Now, the Court of Appeal has effectively removed several key restrictions. It ruled that Ontario players' participation in international pools does not violate either the Criminal Code of Canada or provincial laws. The main requirement is that the operator remains under the supervision of the Ontario Gaming Commission and complies with player verification rules.

Of course, for poker rooms to implement this new opportunity, they will have to resolve a number of technical and legal issues:how to classify out-of-province and international players, what data to collect, and who bears responsibility for cross-border transactions. 

We believe that by 2026, all operators will be merging Ontario pools with pools from US states, and eventually with global pools.

Implications

For poker rooms, this decision could be a breath of fresh air. Low traffic and limited liquidity have long been major challenges in the Ontario market. The ability to integrate first with player pools in the US (where sites also have liquidity issues), and then with global pools, would mean a jump in traffic and increased tournament guarantees.

Ontario players would also clearly benefit from this development. They would gain access to more tables, tournaments, and new promotions.

On the other hand, it remains to be seen how quickly operators will be able to implement these opportunities. They will need to agree on new technical requirements, clarify tax regimes, and ensure that international partners comply with data-security standards. Resolving all these issues with licensed US poker rooms will be much easier.

The Ontario ruling could become a model for other Canadian provinces. If the system works without legal challenges, Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta will likely begin to consider creating a legal online poker market and similar agreements.

The Ontario court's decision is the biggest step forward for Canadian online poker in recent years. Once the pool consolidation begins, the market will gain new momentum for development, and players will gain long-awaited access to the global poker ecosystem.

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