With just five weeks until Canada co-hosts the FIFA World Cup, crypto-native operators Stake and Roobet are leading the country's offshore online gambling market. According to the 2025 USA and Canada iGaming Landscape Report from market analytics firm Blask, the top five Canadian operators capture more than 60% of the country's competitive earning baseline (CEB).
Provincial Fragmentation Leaves Offshore Operators Dominant Outside Ontario
The primary operators are unlicensed offshore brands led by Stake and Roobet. This pattern persists despite Canada having reached an estimated CAD 9.5 billion in online gambling activity in 2025. Provincial breakdown shows sharp variation: Saskatchewan leads with 93% offshore market share, while Alberta and Manitoba both sit at 88%. These provinces operate under monopoly models where government-run platforms compete against unlicensed international brands, lacking the product depth and interface flexibility of competitive markets.
David Henwood, Director at H2 Gambling Capital, described the structural mechanism in a 2024 study: "There is much conjecture that one of the main reasons customers use offshore betting sites is because they offer a broader range of product than available onshore. The study findings reinforce that point of view. Limiting the choice of onshore bet types — including live in-play — is basically counter-productive."
Ontario stands as the counter-example. Since launching its open competitive market in April 2022, the province has reached 85% regulated channelization, though advertising rule controversies remain. Alberta's transition to an Ontario-style competitive market begins July 13, five weeks after the FIFA World Cup kicks off on June 11 in Mexico City. Canada's first match is June 12 against Bosnia and Herzegovina at BMO Field in Toronto. This means Alberta will maintain its 88% offshore leakage through the group stage and into the quarter-finals.
Outside Ontario and the eventual Alberta launch, every other Canadian province operates under a lottery-corporation monopoly model with no near-term path to competitive licensing. PlayNow handles British Columbia and Manitoba, Mise-o-jeu operates in Quebec, and PlayNow Saskatchewan operates under SIGA authority. None of these monopoly platforms has signaled imminent transition, leaving offshore operators positioned as the dominant access channel through the World Cup window.
At the federal level, Canada has no national gambling regulator or licensing framework. Bill S-211, the National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Act, has passed the Senate but not the House of Commons, with no overarching solution expected before the World Cup begins.