Nova Scotia’s finance minister said the province is watching the expansion of regulated online gambling in Ontario and Alberta “very carefully,” as opposition lawmakers voice concerns over potential gambling-related harms, according to a report by Global News.
Province House in Halifax. The provincial government is considering entering a competitive online gambling market, similar to Ontario’s. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
“Obviously, those are conversations that are underway right now,” Nova Scotia Finance Minister John Lohr told reporters.
Harm Concerns vs. Offshore Leakage
The only authorized and regulated online gambling platform in Nova Scotia is operated by the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC), though residents can freely access unlicensed offshore gaming sites.
Lohr acknowledged that the province currently lacks a comprehensive ‘handle’ on the societal impacts of digital wagering. “There are significant harms for people who become addicted to it,” he warned.
However, market research indicates substantial tax leakage under the current monopoly structure.
According to data from TRM Public Affairs, the addressable iGaming market across the Atlantic Canadian provinces is estimated at C$921 million ($660 million), with just 25% captured by regulated channels and 75% flowing to unregulated offshore platforms.
TRM estimates that C$691 million ($495 million) in gross gaming revenue (GGR) is currently lost to the unregulated market each year. At a standard 20% provincial tax rate, that translates to approximately C$168 million ($120 million) in uncollected government revenue across the region.
Cross-Provincial Domino Effect
The ongoing conversations in Nova Scotia reflect a broader regulatory shift gaining momentum across Canada. Neighboring New Brunswick recently introduced legislation (Bill 8) to establish a regulatory framework for live-dealer online casino games, while provincial officials actively weigh the merits of adopting an Ontario-style commercial model.
That model continues to set the benchmark for open-market performance in North America. Since launching its commercial framework in April 2022, Ontario has expanded to feature 49 licensed operators running 84 gaming websites. Commercial operators in the province have generated C$3.6 billion ($2.6 billion) in iGaming revenue to date in 2026, taxed at a 20% effective rate (excluding revenue generated by the state-run Proline platform).
Meanwhile, Western Canada is charting a similar path. Alberta launched its own competitive online gaming market on July 13, with the Alberta iGaming Corporation reporting that commercial platforms generated $122 million ($87 million) in GGR through Sept. 30 across 51 active websites.
The momentum is also building in Eastern Canada. Following provincial elections in early October, Quebec’s minority Parti Québécois government and opposition Liberals both committed to ending Loto-Québec’s long-standing iGaming monopoly in favor of a licensed private operator framework modeled after Ontario and Alberta.
