Just three months into the job and with a 20-year record іn communications behind her, Ariane Gauthier understands that her role as the spokesperson for the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition (QOGC) іs tо help shape the debate іn the province about the pros and cons оf implementing an Ontario-style online betting and gaming model.
Financial Performance and Declining Market Share
Gauthier’s column in the French-language Montreal Journal last week laid out the QOGC’s perspective: Loto-Québec, the only platform where Quebeckers can legally gamble online, has been seeing a decline in terms of its financial performance since 2006.
In a financial statement issued in early December, for the first six months of the 2024-2025 fiscal year (the period from April 1 to Sept. 30), Loto-Québec reported a net income of CA$771 million (US$537 million), a 4.7% year-over-year increase. For the full 2023-2024 fiscal year, the crown corporation reported just over CA$1.5 billion (US$1.0 billion) in net income.
However, Gauthier said the CA$1.6 billion paid to the government in 2006 is the equivalent of around CA$2.4 billion today, when adjusted for inflation, representing a decline.
“They cannot perform in the igaming market with a monopoly,” she said. “Once we realize their numbers are in decline, I hope it will raise a flag and people will start asking why that is. The growth in igaming is strong and Loto-Québec doesn’t have the tools to grasp this market and put in a regulatory framework that will protect the players.”
Gauthier also cited survey results from Mainstreet Research in 2023, finding that 73% of players in Quebec choose private platforms over Loto-Québec and that over two-thirds of Quebec players (67 percent) are in favor of regulated private online-gaming operators with a licensing and tax regime like the one in Ontario.
Gauthier told CDC Gaming that the QOGC will be releasing another study next month that updates those Mainstreet numbers.
The QOGC’s Proposal for a New System
The QOGC, composed of Betway, Bet99, DraftKings, Entain, Flutter, Games Global, and Rush Street Interactive, partnering with Apricot Investments, is committed to working with the Quebec government and local stakeholders to develop a new regulatory framework for the province.
In a speech at the Canadian Gaming Summit in June, Jean-Francois Bergeron, President & CEO, Loto-Québec, told an audience that his job wasn’t to get into the hypotheticals of an Ontario-style, regulated, open, igaming market for Quebec. His job was to run Loto-Québec in the most efficient way possible.
“As crown corporation operators, we have a clearly defined mandate,” he said then. “It’s certainly not up to us to defend that model, but to operate it successfully within the current law and legislation. The Criminal Code is clear. It’s up to the provincial governments to conduct and manage gaming in Canada. There is no gray zone and the government of Quebec has decided to entrust Loto-Québec with that mandate. In Quebec, if it’s not Loto-Québec, it’s not legal.”
The Path Forward for Quebec’s Online Gaming Market
The next provincial election is October 2026. The current Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) party under Premier Francois Legault has a majority there.
Gauthier spent a lot of time in political communications and was a public policy advisor to the Premier Legault government through 2022, so she brings a unique perspective to government priorities and how it operates. She has also been a director of communications in the private sector.
According to 338Canada stats, a model of electoral projections, the Parti Quebecois party is currently polling at 33%, with the CAQ at 22%.
The PQ hasn’t been vocal about the issue of igaming yet. While there haven’t been talks specifically with any of the political parties, Gauthier said the QOGC remains in touch with all the political parties, sending them facts and numbers.
“Premier Legault wants to boost Quebec’s financial numbers,” she said. “We’re not working against the government. We want to work with the government. A major change like this is always difficult to make. The debate should be how we make changes to create a new system. It’s obvious that online gaming isn’t going away. Trying to enforce a monopoly … is doomed to fail. Responsible-gaming experts are asking for an independent regulator to better protect players.
“And in a nutshell, the Quebec government is losing $200 million to $300 million in revenue each year. It’s clear we need to move on to another system that reflects the momentum for igaming. The question we want to address with elected officials and Quebec public-health experts is how to do it.”
