Even though it's difficult to narrow down Canadian gaming stories from 2025 to a Top 5, we're willing to try.

What happened, for instance, to the National Sports Betting Solution, which was launched by the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) and British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) last spring with the intention of competing with private sector operators by introducing a new, unified national sports betting solution? ALC and BCLC announced that they were collaborating to develop the new "best in class" platform and that BCLC was using the MERX platform to conduct a call for proposals. The submission deadline was extended to May 5.

"Atlantic Lottery, along with the other provincial lotteries partnering on this RFP, continue to finalize an agreement as part of the standard procurement process,” a spokesperson from ALC told us just before Christmas. “The results will be publicly posted when a successful proponent has been identified.”

That easily would have made our Top 5, if the crown corporations got it going.

"It’s kind of gone down the rabbit hole,” said an industry source. “If this is how long it takes for you (lottery corporations) to make decisions no wonder you have 11% market share in sports. It shouldn’t take this long to evaluate and decide.”

1. Canadian Gaming: Hi, Alberta.

The last time we received an official update from a representative of the Alberta government regarding the timetable of the introduction of a new gaming regulation in that lovely Western province was in the sweltering summer of June. At the Canadian Gaming Summit, an annual industry gathering in Toronto, Dale Nally, the Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, took the stage to give an update to the audience.

How many operators are going to go in immediately? According to the iGaming Ontario website, there are presently 48 licensed igaming operators in Ontario. To what extent will it resemble the Ontario model? We are aware of Albertans' passion for video games.

"There’s lots of you today that want me to tell you about our advertising, about our tax rate, about things like that,” said Nally then. “We haven’t answered those questions yet. So in terms of next steps, we’re participating in consultations.

“In term of timeframes, I can’t give you a month, but I can tell you early next year, we’re going to be cutting the ribbon on iGaming in Alberta, and we’re very excited to be able to offer that. We’re going to have more to share with you in the near future.”

2. How is Ontario doing? There are a billion reasons why things are going well.

A senior industry insider informed us last week that a jurisdiction's ability to meet customer demand decreases with the number of restrictions it places on its marketplace. He was discussing why, unlike in the United States, where FanDuel and DraftKings are launching their own versions of what Polymarket and Kalshi have been doing, there hasn't been a surge in support for allowing prediction markets in Ontario.

The provincial financial reports that iGaming Ontario releases on a monthly basis reflect the fact that Ontario never capped the number of licensees in this area. Let the market, not governments or regulators, decide where the players will go. According to the industry insider, this is the reason why prediction markets and sportsbook operators are at odds in many U.S. jurisdictions.

It was a doozy November. That month's total cash wagers reached CAD $9.33 billion, another record for the province and a 1% increase above the October peak. At CAD $406.2 million, a significant 10% increase from the prior month, total non-adjusted gross gaming revenue (NAGGR) also hit a record.

3. The Niagara Falls Casino Gambit by Dougie

How would you have wanted to be seated in their offices when Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced his ambitious intentions to drastically transform Niagara Falls into a casino hub during a news conference earlier this month? We'll try to get a Mohegan statement in the New Year. Fallsview Casino and Casino Niagara are the two casinos in Niagara Falls at the moment. Through 2040, Mohegan will run them under a revenue-share arrangement with Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.

Ford wants to alter the environment. In February, his Progressive Conservative Party was voted to yet another majority government. In light of the harm that U.S. tariffs have caused to the province, Ford has been very vocal about improving Ontario's economic standing and making Niagara Falls more of an international Las Vegas-style casino hub, complete with all the other entertainment venues, hotels, restaurants, and potential tax revenue that would go along with it.

Building expanding Niagara Falls carries a risk since it could have a domino effect (litigation?) on businesses like Caesars with its Windsor casino and Great Canadian Entertainment with its Woodbine Toronto site. Not to mention Mohegan, of course.

Mohegan: Pick It Up

“All the big casinos in Las Vegas, we’re serious,” said Ford during a news conference earlier this month. “It’s happening. Get on board, come and put in a proposal, and tell us how you’re going to build a billion dollar casino, hotel with attractions, with cinemas inside, with live theater. That’s what we’re looking for. Casino itself is good, but it’s everything else that comes along with the casinos.

"Mohegan is ragging the puck (hockey parlance, meaning pass the puck more). They got to make a decision. You’re either on board or you’re out. Simple. I’m tired of screwing around. We have to build Niagara. We have to invite other casinos in, and (Mohegan) better come to the table. We’re working with them. We’re doing everything we can, but we’ve been working with them for about two years. Now, enough is enough, and we’re moving with you or without you. I prefer to move with you, but if you don’t move, we’re going ahead.”

Mohegan, it's your turn.

4. Several Properties Are Unloaded by Great Canadian Entertainment

In terms of Canadian casino news, it felt like we were reporting on the sale of another Great Canadian Entertainment B.C. casino to a First Nation every month for a while. Petroglyph Development Group (PDG), a fully owned corporation of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, has purchased just five properties.

This month's deal with Casino Vancouver was the Snuneymuxw's fifth significant casino acquisition in British Columbia involving Great Canadian. PDG has also purchased Chances Maple Ridge, River Rock Casino Resort, Elements Casino Victoria, and Casino Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Additionally, Great Canadian Entertainment announced the 2025 sales of Hastings Casino in Vancouver to Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Elements Casino Chilliwack to Ts'elxwéyeqw Tribe Management Ltd.

Once more, it's difficult to acquire a statement on genuine intentions, but we'll keep trying. It raises questions about Ford's remarks on the development of the Niagara Falls casino and Great Canadian Entertainment's future plans for it.

5. The Liquidity Issue and the Canadian Lottery Coalition

Three lottery corporations (BCLC, ALC, and Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries) filed an appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada over an Ontario Court of Appeal ruling in November that allowed Ontario-based online poker and daily fantasy sports (DFS) players to compete against individuals outside of Canada, as reported in Canadian Gaming Business on December 23. Casino.org previously discussed the possibility of a Supreme Court appeal here.

“I think this thing has zero chance in Supreme Court,” said an industry source.

The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled 4-1 that Ontario can lawfully provide foreign liquidity in that historic judgment, which will have a significant impact on the province's gaming sector. In our conversation with Joseph Hillier, President of iGaming Ontario, the week before Christmas, he mentioned that enormous potential impact. Ontario will see a significant increase in revenue, and when Alberta opens up, it will allow for interprovincial collaboration through liquidity.

Canadian Gaming Bonus: Upcoming National Advertising Law

Currently holding a minority government, the federal Liberal Party is only one seat away from a majority. According to an intrepid source within the Liberal Party, we should anticipate another Conservative MP joining the Liberals in 2026, giving them the majority government they desire.

Why do we bring this up? Since the Montreal Canadiens last won an NHL playoff series, it appears that the National Advertising Standards Bill, proposed by Senator Marty Deacon (now Bill S-211), has been discussed in Canada's Parliament. Deacon undoubtedly wants the Bill to pass since there is always a chance that a non-confidence vote may overthrow a minority administration.

According to the bill's text, the enactment calls for the creation of a national framework to control sports betting advertising in Canada and establish national standards to reduce the risks and negative effects brought on by the spread of sports betting advertising.

After passing the Senate, Bill S-211 is currently undergoing a second reading in the House of Commons. On January 26, Parliament is scheduled to reconvene.