A coalition of Canadian gaming agencies is hoping an application to stop an offshore betting site from operating in Manitoba sets a precedent in the fight against illegal online gambling.

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries is seeking an injunction to bar the offshore gambling site Bodog from operating or advertising in the province.

The Crown corporation alleges in an application filed with the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench last week that the website bodog.eu and its sister “free play” site, bodog.net, are breaking the law by offering their services in Manitoba, where Liquor & Lotteries has sole authority over gambling.

“Bodog’s illegal activities are diverting customers in Manitoba away from MBLL’s legitimate operations,” it said, referencing PlayNow.com, its online gaming platform. “Significant revenue that would otherwise be generated by MBLL has been diverted to Bodog.”

The Crown corporation said in an email it filed the injunction on behalf of the Canadian Lottery Coalition, an advocacy group whose membership is made up of provincial gaming corporations in B.C., Saskatchewan, Quebec, Atlantic Canada and Manitoba.

Will Hill, executive director of the coalition, said the application for the injunction is a first for the coalition, which was formed in 2022 to fight the spread of illegal gambling sites.

“There’s really two particular goals here,” Hill said. “One, securing an injunction against an illegal operator within Manitoba, but two, validating the coalition’s general position on illegal gambling more broadly.”

Hill said he hopes the case will provide the coalition with a court interpretation it can use to reinforce similar efforts to crack down on illegal gambling across its members’ jurisdictions.

“They’re forced to deal with hundreds of illegal operators,” he said, complicating “what is a really noble pursuit, quite frankly. The provincial lottery corporations are set up to return 100 per cent of their proceeds to their provinces to benefit provincial priorities.”

William Hill, executive director of the Canadian Lottery Coalition, said the application for the injunction is a first for the inter-provincial coalition, which was formed in 2022 to fight the spread of illegal gambling sites. (Submitted by William Hill)

Bodog.eu allows players to bet money on sporting events and casino games like blackjack and poker. The website says it accepts players from all across Canada, except for those in the provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia.

An affidavit by a digital forensic analyst, submitted with the court application, says Bodog advertised its “Canadian presence and frequently posted content featuring Canadian teams and players, including those located in Manitoba,” on social media.

The application alleges Bodog promotes its platform through “materially false and misleading statements,” by representing itself as lawful, safe and trusted, when it’s not.

It said the coalition asked Bodog twice to stop making the sites accessible in the province, but that the company has refused to comply.

CBC News reached out to Bodog, but had not received comment on the court filing prior to publication.

Harm reduction, money laundering concerns

The application names as defendants Bodog operator Il Nido Ltd. and Sanctum IP Holdings Ltd., which is listed as the owner of Bodog’s Canadian trademark. Both companies are based in Antigua and Barbuda.

Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries says offshore gambling sites often operate through “complex corporate structure” and that it can’t ascertain whether other entities are involved in Bodog’s operations.

Bodog is not listed as one of the gaming site operators certified to run in Ontario, the only province with a regulated third-party market.

The Canadian Lottery Coalition says data gathered by the market data firm H2 Gambling Capital shows illegal online Canadian gambling revenues going to offshore sites like Bodog jumped almost 40 per cent from 2020 to 2023, to $1.86 billion.

In a sworn affidavit, Hill also cited a new report by FINTRAC, or the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada — a federal financial intelligence unit — which warned about offshore gambling sites potentially being used by drug traffickers to launder proceeds from the sale of fentanyl and other opioids.

On Monday, the Manitoba government announced Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries casinos will report suspicious transaction records to FINTRAC and Winnipeg police to crack down on money laundering.

Spencer Murch, a researcher with the University of Calgary’s psychology department, says cracking down on illegal gambling sites is only part of the equation. (Submitted by Spencer Murch)

Spencer Murch, a researcher with the University of Calgary’s psychology department who specializes in gambling and addictive behaviours, said offshore sites put people at risk since they’re not required to put safeguards in place like voluntary self-exclusion, which lets people ask to be banned from playing.

“If we are serious about harm reduction in the realm of online gambling, we also need to be serious about enforcing bans on illegal offshore gambling,” Murch said.

But cracking down on offshore sites is only part of tackling the problem — governments looking to expand legal gambling options must prioritize public health over profit generation, he said.

“We do believe that increasing the rate of online gambling in any province is likely to come along with increases in the number of people experiencing gambling-related problems,” said Murch, citing a recent report from a commission of public health experts.

“We should make sure that the revenues generated from online gambling are actually offsetting the increased costs of addressing gambling problems.”