Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries has resorted to legal action when trying to block an offshore gambling site. This move comes after the Crown Corporation was asked by a coalition of Canadian gaming agencies to interfere with the illegal operations of Bodog.
Currently, British Columbia Lottery Corporation’s PlayNow.com is the only legal online gambling platform. It’s overseen by the MBLL and provides casino games, lottery products, and, of course, sports betting. After the legalisation of single-event betting in the country in 2021, PlayNow expanded its product to offer the new vertical.
MBLL Submits Application to Court
It was recently confirmed that MLL has already filed an application to block Bodog with the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench. The application reads that the website Bodog.eu and its free-to-play, Bodog.net, are violating provincial regulations by running online gambling activities in Manitoba. Currently, only MLL has the authority to offer such products.
The official statement from the Crown Corporation notes the following:
“Bodog's illegal activities are diverting customers in Manitoba away from MBLL's legitimate operations. Significant revenue that would otherwise be generated by MBLL has been diverted to Bodog.”
MBLL explained that it had submitted the demand in court on behalf of the Canadian Lottery Coalition. This is an advocacy group that is formed by provincial gaming corporations, including those of B.C., Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Atlantic Canada.
Tackling Illegal iGaming Sites
Executive Director of the Canadian Lottery Coalition, Will Hill, shared that the request was a first for the coalition in its effort to stop illegal gambling activities across the country. He clarified that there are two goals:
“One, securing an injunction against an illegal operator within Manitoba, but two, validating the coalition's general position on illegal gambling more broadly.”
Hill believes that the legal action will give the group of lotteries a court interpretation it can use to back similar initiatives to battle illegal gambling in different territories. In his words, provinces are forced to deal with numerous offshore gaming operators, while these lotteries function to invest 100% of the revenue in their respective economies.
Currently, Bodog.eu operates illegally and offers real-money betting on sports and casino games. The site is up and running across most parts of Canada, with the exception of Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Advertising Relies on Local Teams, Players
An affidavit submitted with the court application states that the website has advertised its operations across Canada. Its activities are promoted on social media with content featuring Canadian teams and players, even those based in Manitoba.
The court application claims that Bodog advertises its brand by making “materially false and misleading statements” and presenting itself as regulated, safe, and trusted. In reality, the website is not licensed to operate in the province. It also read that the coalition asked the sites to cease operations in the province but to no avail.
As of the writing of this article, the website has not provided comments on the situation.
Preventing Money Laundering and More
Bodog operator Il Nido Ltd. and Sanctum IP Holdings Ltd. are listed as defendants in the court document. The two are also documented as the owners of the website’s Canadian brand, and both of them are headquartered in Antigua and Barbuda.
MBLL explained that offshore betting platforms typically operate via a complex corporate model, making it difficult for the Crown corporation to determine whether other parties are in the mix. Meanwhile, Bodog is also not licensed to operate in Ontario, which is the only Canadian province allowing private operators to offer online gambling.
Findings from market data firm H2 Gambling Capital suggest that offshore gambling sites had a surge in betting revenue between 2020 and 2023. The positive increase was around 40%, leading to numbers like CA$1.86 billion in proceeds. Usually, these types of websites don’t put player’s health or protection on top of the agendas.
In the affidavit, Hill also referred to a recent report from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). In the said report, the federal unit cautioned about criminals like drug traffickers exploiting gambling sites to launder their crime-originated money.
Offshore Gambling Can be Harmful, Warns Expert
Spencer Murch, a researcher with the University of Calgary's psychology department who is an expert on gambling and addictive behaviours, warned about the use of such offshore websites. In his words, these platforms put individuals at risk, as they do not operate with protections like self-exclusion, which allows punters to take a break from gambling.
Here’s the full quote from the specialist:
“If we are serious about harm reduction in the realm of online gambling, we also need to be serious about enforcing bans on illegal offshore gambling. But cracking down on offshore sites is only part of tackling the problem—governments looking to expand legal gambling options must prioritise public health over profit generation.”
His idea is to have revenue from regulated gambling channelled into addressing problem gambling.
Manitoba Enforces Tighter Anti-Money Laundering Policies
Just last week, Manitoba announced its direction to tighten anti-money laundering protocols at provincial casinos. Under the new provision, MBLL is now mandated to report suspicious cash transactions to FINTRAC and the police. Before that, the Crown corporation had to communicate the shady transactions only to FINTRAC.
With this change, the provincial government believes that the police force will have a better chance to crack down on illegal drug trafficking by targeting their money. It remains to be seen how effective the new measure will be.
