Quebec Election Opens the Door to Ending Loto-Québec’s Online Monopoly

Following the October 5, 2026, general election, the Parti Québécois (PQ) secured 59 seats in Quebec’s newly expanded 127-seat National Assembly, forming a minority government under Premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.

While falling short of the 64 seats required for a absolute majority, the PQ’s platform alignment with the second-place Quebec Liberal Party establishes a combined 99-seat supermajority where both parties campaigned on licensing private gambling sites, which puts Loto-Québec’s legal monopoly on online casinos in Quebec on the table.

Radio-Canada’s count gives the Quebec Liberal Party 40 seats and the Official Opposition, the Conservatives 19 and Québec solidaire 9. The Coalition Avenir Québec, which had governed for eight years, won none.

A Liberal Idea the PQ Borrowed

Liberal leader Charles Milliard made the promise on September 9. He said he would table a bill giving the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux, the province’s alcohol and gaming regulator, the job of accrediting and monitoring online gambling sites. Operators would have to verify players’ identities, impose deposit limits and report risky behavior.

The Liberals put the take at about C$300 million a year, with an independent prevention body paid for by the industry. Le Devoir reported that Milliard would bring the bill within the first year of a mandate. He also wants Ottawa to ban online gambling advertising.

That same evening, on Radio-Canada’s “Cinq chefs, une élection”, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was asked whether a rival’s idea had inspired him. The Canadian Press reported that he named this one, called it “géniale” and said he would take it over. He described online sports betting in Quebec as a “Far West” where American companies advertise without being regulated.

The Revenue Math Gets a Second Look

Milliard’s financial framework counts on C$320 million from online gambling as early as 2027-2028. Radio-Canada’s fact-checkers said the figure needed qualifying. iGaming Ontario made a C$574 million profit last year, they noted, but the dividend that reached the Ontario government was C$253 million, and Ontario has nearly twice Quebec’s population.

Loto-Québec Says the Players Are Already Its Own

The Crown corporation doesn’t accept that it has lost the market. Its annual results release on June 3 said 81% of Québec online players choose lotoquebec.com. Online play made up a record 19.2% of its revenue in a year when total revenue reached C$3.089 billion and net income C$1.526 billion.

President and CEO Jean-François Bergeron set out the monopoly’s case in that release: “It is essential that Loto-Québec strengthen its position in online gaming, including sports betting, to ensure greater oversight and that the profits generated benefit the people of Québec.”

The Industry Counts Differently

The Quebec Online Gaming Coalition speaks for Apricot, Bet99, Betway, DraftKings, Entain, Flutter and Rush Street, companies that already run licensed online casinos in Canada through Ontario. It says 73% of Quebecers who play online use private platforms, and it cites a 2025 report from the firm Blask that puts Loto-Québec’s share of the activity at 17%. Its own estimate of what licensing would bring the province is at least C$300 million a year, the same number both party leaders used.

Public health experts caution that transitioning from a Crown monopoly to a 20% tax model could reduce net public revenue unless total market volume expands dramatically.

Not everyone the Liberals cited is on board. Louise Nadeau, the Université de Montréal psychologist who chaired the working group whose report the party relied on, told Le Devoir on September 16 that she has changed her mind. Once a license is granted, she said, it is a “free for all”.

To address these concerns, proposed legislation drafted by the opposition Liberals and accepted by the PQ includes mandatory operator-funded contributions toward an independent prevention secretariat. The framework requires private platforms to enforce centralized identity verification, mandatory deposit limits, automated loss-chasing detection, and strict restrictions on broadcast and digital advertising, aligning with requests for federal bans on sports betting commercials.

Two Provinces Have Already Done It

Ontario ended its lottery corporation’s online monopoly when its open market launched on April 4, 2022. iGaming Ontario says Ontario’s regulated sites generated more than C$4.2 billion in gaming revenue from over C$103 billion in wagers in the market’s fourth year.

Alberta followed this summer. Its regulated market opened on July 13, with 22 platforms signed up to operate at launch, The Canadian Press reported. The Alberta iGaming Corporation oversees that market and Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis regulates it.

Nothing Changes for Players Yet

No law has changed. A minority government needs opposition votes to pass a bill, and the new National Assembly hasn’t sat yet. With the Liberals backing the initiative, a joint bill easily commands the required votes, although it’s not the immediate priority of the new Parliament. The premier-designate told reporters on October 6 St-Pierre Plamondon confirmed that initial legislative priorities focus on municipal infrastructure, government efficiency, and cost-of-living measures.

The calendar is slow too. Radio-Canada reports that judicial recounts come first, then the swearing-in of members and the naming of a cabinet. The 44th legislature opens on November 17. As a result, formal drafting and committee review of the RACJ regulatory framework is expected to begin in early 2027, placing any commercial market launch within the 2027–2028 fiscal window.

Until a bill passes, the position Loto-Québec set out on August 27 stands. In Quebec, it said, “the only 100% legal casino and sports betting website is lotoquebec.com.”