Quebec Liberal leader Charles Milliard has proposed licensing and supervising private online gambling platforms, a campaign pledge that would end the province’s exclusive public model for online casino games, poker and sports betting if enacted. The plan would expand the mandate of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux, or RACJ, to license and oversee every online gaming platform operating in Quebec.
The proposal, unveiled Sept. 9, would impose rules on advertising, addiction prevention and the protection of minors. It also envisages an independent prevention and support body financed by the industry rather than taxpayers. The Liberals further proposed a joint mandate for the RACJ and the Autorité des marchés financiers to address prediction markets, which currently lack a formal Quebec framework.
These remain campaign commitments, not legal changes. Segev LLP noted that Quebec has no licensing system for private online gaming operators and that no draft legislation, proposed tax rate, revenue-sharing terms, transition for offshore operators or implementation timetable has been published.
Loto-Québec remains Quebec’s authorized public online operator through Espacejeux and Mise-o-jeu. The Parti Québécois has backed a similar approach and pledged to end Loto-Québec’s exclusive online mandate. Its leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, described online sports betting in the province as “a Wild West.”
The governing Coalition Avenir Québec has not committed to an open-market model and remains opposed to opening the sector to private commercial competition. Loto-Québec and the CAQ have argued that ending the monopoly would benefit foreign companies rather than players; Renaud-Philippe Dugas called the proposal “an insult to Quebecers’ intelligence” and said Loto-Québec’s gaming proceeds stay in the province.
The policy argument centres on how much online play Quebec’s public system captures. A 2025 Blask estimate cited by the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition put Loto-Québec’s share at 17%, while a separate estimate cited by Casino.com placed it at 27%. Casino.org similarly put 27% of play in regulated channels and 73% in the unregulated market, against an estimated Quebec addressable iGaming market of about C$3.1 billion in 2026. It estimated the gap at roughly C$2.3 billion in annual gross gaming revenue.
Casino.com cited an estimated C$563 million in annual forgone tax revenue. The industry-led Quebec Online Gaming Coalition, whose members offer online casino and sports-betting services, has separately said a licensing system could produce at least C$300 million a year for Quebec, based on Ontario’s model. Those are industry-backed estimates, rather than government forecasts.
The coalition welcomed the Liberals’ and PQ’s positions, saying they showed an emerging consensus for rules applying equally to Loto-Québec and private firms. It said its members operate in nearly 100 regulated jurisdictions, including Ontario, where it says an independent regulator oversees public and private online gaming.
A Léger poll published Sept. 14 put the PQ at 29% among decided voters, the Liberals at 23% and the CAQ at 21%. Quebec voters go to the polls on Oct. 5.
