Quebec election result opens path to private online gambling market
Quebec voters elected a Parti Québécois minority government on Oct. 5, a result that puts the province on a path toward an Ontario-style private online gambling market. The PQ won 59 of the National Assembly’s 127 seats, five short of a majority, while the Quebec Liberal Party took 40 and will form the Official Opposition.
Both parties campaigned on licensing private operators and ending Loto-Québec’s exclusive right to offer online gambling in the province. No bill has been tabled yet, and industry groups say Quebec must first build an independent regulator before any private operator can legally launch there.
Two parties back licensing private operators
During the campaign, Liberal leader Charles Milliard released a government modernization plan that would expand the mandate of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux (RACJ). Under that plan, the regulator would license and oversee every online gambling platform in Quebec and enforce strict rules on advertising and addiction prevention.
The Liberals also pledged an independent prevention and support organization for people struggling with gambling addiction, funded by the industry rather than by taxpayers.
PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said during the campaign that he would adopt Milliard’s proposal. In an interview reported by Covers, he described online sports betting in Quebec as a Wild West and noted that neighbouring Ontario had decided to clean up the sector. At an Oct. 6 news conference, he confirmed that he was already pushing ahead with several key initiatives announced during the campaign, according to Casino.org.
The seat count behind the reform
The PQ needs 64 seats for a majority, so it will rely on other parties to pass major legislation. Troy Ross, president of TRM Public Affairs, which represents private-sector operators, said the PQ and the Liberals together hold more than enough seats to pass a bill and launch a model.
The Conservative Party of Quebec won 19 seats. It has not gone on record in support of iGaming reform. Ariane Gauthier of the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition told Covers that the party answered a campaign questionnaire by saying it generally does not believe in monopolies for provincially owned companies. The outgoing Coalition Avenir Québec, which defended Loto-Québec’s monopoly, was leading in no ridings on the morning after the vote, Covers reported.
A new regulator comes before any launch
The election result does not create a market on its own. Amanda Brewer, senior vice-president of policy and communications at the Canadian Gaming Association, pointed out that Loto-Québec is not regulated by the RACJ. In her view, the province would need to establish a regulator and likely a conduct-and-manage entity similar to iGaming Ontario or the Alberta iGaming Corporation.
“I wouldn’t use ‘fast’ to describe anything that happens next in Quebec,” Brewer told Casino.org.
Gauthier, whose coalition lobbies on behalf of commercial operators, said Quebec has to decide which specific rules to adopt and which independent body will oversee all operators, Loto-Québec included. “These are not small changes,” she said, adding that the work must be done with stakeholders and will take time.
Disputed market figures
Estimates of the unregulated market differ sharply. A private-sector study released in summer 2026 put Quebec’s total addressable iGaming market for 2026 at CA$3.09 billion, with only 27% of play taking place in regulated channels. Loto-Québec has claimed that 81% of Quebec online players use its platform, while the coalition says the single-operator model costs the province more than $300 million in tax revenue each year.
Public-health voices opposed the change during the campaign. In opinion pieces published by La Presse in late September, researchers urged Quebec not to follow Ontario, citing rising gambling harm in that province.
For players in Quebec, nothing changes until legislation passes and a licensing regime is in place.
