Bodog’s bet on province a losing one: court

A judge has barred Bodog, an offshore online casino, from operating in Manitoba, after the Crown corporation responsible for gambling argued the illicit site had siphoned off a significant amount of its revenue.

Bodog and its operators, which are registered in Antigua and Barbuda, break the law by offering unauthorized online gambling in the province, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries argued in a notice of application filed in the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench earlier this year.

Justice Jeffrey Harris agreed with the Crown corporation in an order issued Monday that prevents Il Nido Ltd. and Sanctum IP Holdings Ltd. from allowing anyone in Manitoba to access their gambling services.

“This court orders and declares that the respondents have no lawful authority to offer online gambling products and services… or to advertise such online products and services to persons located in Manitoba,” said Harris.

He said the operator’s activities constitute criminal offences related to gambling.

The permanent injunction orders the companies and any affiliates or successors to cease operations in Manitoba and to implement geo-blocking technology on their website to prevent users from accessing it in Manitoba.

The Crown corporation said advertising by the companies — which claimed websites bodog.eu and bodog.net were lawful, “safe” and “trusted” in Manitoba — was false and misleading.

Harris ordered the companies to cease advertising that is targeted or accessible to Manitobans on any form of physical, digital or online media.

Harris, who is expected to write further reasons for his decision in the coming weeks, awarded court costs to the Crown corporation.

Il Nido Ltd. and Sanctum IP Holdings failed to respond to the application in court, despite being served notice, the judge’s order said.

Earlier this year, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries said it filed the application on behalf of the Canadian Lottery Coalition, which represents Crown gaming authorities in Manitoba, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

The coalition formed in 2022 to combat illegal online gambling in Canada. Federal law allows gambling only when managed and licensed by provincial governments.

Liquor and Lotteries has sole authority over legal gaming in Manitoba, including on its regulated online platform, PlayNow.com.

The Crown corporation has said in court filings it believes “significant revenue” was diverted to Bodog.

Coalition executive director William Hill said earlier this year that research conducted by gaming consultant H2 Gambling Capital estimated illegal online gaming costs Canadian public gaming corporations about $2 billion in revenue annually.

Hill said Tuesday he could not comment further on the court order until the judge’s full reasons for his decision are made public.

Liquor and Lotteries said in its filing that online gambling has grown, in part because amendments to the Criminal Code in 2021 permitted single-event sports betting — gambling on a single game rather than multiple games — and the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the closing of casinos and boosted gambling on the web.

That led the corporation to develop new rules and regulations on online gaming, including measures to prevent money laundering, the filing said.

As a regulated site, PlayNow.com protects gamblers from harms — unlike illicit sites — and puts money toward provincially funded programs such as health and education, MLL argued.

It had sent cease-and-desist letters to Bodog, but the operator would not obey them.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca