Parti Québécois won 59 seats in Quebec's parliament on October 5, five short of a majority. The Liberals took 40. The result puts online gambling reform on the table: both parties back a shift from Loto-Québec's monopoly to a competitive licensing model similar to Ontario's.
PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said on October 6 the party would follow a regulatory scheme close to the Liberal plan. That plan would hand oversight to regulator RACJ — platform licensing, player protection, responsible gambling and advertising. Details remain open. The province still has to settle the supervisory structure and what role Loto-Québec plays under the new system.
Quebec Online Gaming Coalition (Apricot, Bet99, Betway, DraftKings, Entain, Flutter, Rush Street) sees political will behind reform. A private study put Quebec's addressable iGaming market at 3.09 billion CAD in 2026. The regulated segment accounts for 27%, illegal operators for 73%. Lost GGR sits around 2.3 billion dollars. Loto-Québec claims 81% of online players use its Espacejeux platform; QOGC polling found 73% of Quebecers play on private sites.
Ontario opened its private market on April 4, 2022: 49 operators, 84 sites, 4.04 billion CAD GGR by 2025. Alberta is preparing a similar model with 36 active sites. Quebec has to decide who issues licences, how to fit Loto-Québec into the framework and which standards apply. PQ and Liberal votes are enough to pass a bill, but no draft has been tabled yet.
