TLDR British Columbia’s Independent Gambling Control Office (IGCO) ruled that sports and entertainment prediction markets count as gambling. The decision requires these markets to follow the Criminal Code of Canada and provincial gaming laws. IGCO’s move follows guidance from the Canadian Securities Administrators and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization a day earlier. Only BCLC’s PlayNow.com is authorized to offer regulated online gambling in British Columbia. Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis backed the same stance and is reviewing its own oversight rules.
British Columbia’s gambling regulator has made a decision about prediction markets. The Independent Gambling Control Office announced last Friday that event contracts tied to sports or entertainment outcomes are gambling products.
This means they are not financial products. The IGCO said these contracts must follow the Criminal Code of Canada and provincial gaming laws.
What Led to the Decision
The announcement came one day after the Canadian Securities Administrators and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization released their own guidance. Those two groups said sports and entertainment contracts should not fall under securities or derivatives rules.
The IGCO said it agrees with that view. The regulator wanted to make its own position clear to residents of the province.
British Columbia has one authorized gambling operator. That is the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, known as BCLC.
BCLC runs PlayNow.com. This is the only online gambling site allowed to operate legally in the province.
PlayNow.com meets a set of standards. These include integrity checks, age verification, responsible gambling tools, and advertising rules.
Warning to Residents
The IGCO issued a warning as part of its announcement. It said any other online platform offering sports or entertainment event contracts to British Columbia residents is illegal.
The regulator told people in the province to avoid these platforms. It repeated that only PlayNow.com