Over two million people play fantasy sports in Ontario alone and free casino apps are heading for a $14.42 billion market, yet most of it sits outside the laws written for casinos and sportsbooks
TORONTO, Sept. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The online formats pulling in Canada’s youngest players are growing fastest where the country’s gambling laws don’t reach, according to new research from CasinoCanada.com.
Whether something legally counts as gambling in Canada depends on three ingredients set out in the Criminal Code – a prize, an element of chance and paying to take part. Canadian courts set a low bar on chance, so any amount of it is enough. But a game with no chance in it, or no money going in, isn’t gambling as far as the law is concerned.
How fantasy sports are treated depends on where you live. Ontario’s regulator counts them as sports betting, so sites taking Ontario players need a licence. Everywhere else the position still rests on a 2015 legal opinion for the Canadian Gaming Association, which concluded fantasy contests weren’t purely a game of skill, and no court has tested it since.
Social casino apps, the free slots and table games played with virtual coins, are legal and unregulated nationwide because nothing of real value changes hands. Research And Markets values the sector at $10.08 billion in 2026. Prediction markets, where people trade on the outcome of real-world events, are classed as financial products and handled under securities law instead.
That puts all three in front of the same young audience licensed operators are trying to reach. A November 2025 report by Greo Evidence Insights, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction and Mental Health Research Canada found around one in three Canadians aged 18 to 29 had gambled online in the past year, and earlier research (Kim et al., 2017) found 62% of online gamblers started out on social casino games. There’s little public appetite for opening the door to prediction markets, with a July 2026 survey by The Logic finding almost 58% of respondents oppose legalising them.
Eugene Ravdin, Head of PR at CasinoCanada, said: “Ontario and Alberta answer the question they were built to answer – how you license and tax a casino-style operator safely. That part works.
“The harder question is a fantasy contest, a free slots app or a bet on a real-world event. None of it triggers provincial oversight, and all of it reaches the same young audience that licensed operators can only reach through far tighter channels. The UK treats tradeable in-game items as a currency, and Australia sets age limits through its classification system. Canada has one lever – license it, or leave it alone.”
The full research article can be read here: https://casinocanada.com/blog/when-is-gambling-not-gambling-canadas-stance-on-fantasy-sports-and-prediction-markets/
If gambling is affecting you or someone you know, free and confidential support is available 24/7 in Ontario from ConnexOntario on 1-866-531-2600, by text on 247247 or at connexontario.ca.
ENDS
Editor’s Notes
About CasinoCanada
CasinoCanada.com publishes news, interviews and data-led analysis on Canada’s iGaming market, with a focus on regulation, safer gambling, player behaviour, operator activity and market performance. The site tracks developments across Canada’s provincial gambling frameworks, including Ontario’s regulated market, Alberta’s market transition and the continued role of offshore operators, while featuring commentary from industry participants on how online gambling is changing across Canada.
https://casinocanada.com/
For Media Enquiries:
Sarah Mortimer
GameOn
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