Offshore Sportsbook Bodog Hit With Manitoba Court Injunction

An offshore sportsbook has actually officially been told to knock it off by the Canadian legal system.


A judge for the Court of King's Bench of Manitoba granted an injunction on Monday against Bodog, an online gambling operator based in Antigua and Barbuda.


The pc registry states the injunction was approved and checked in court. Reasons are to follow at a later date.


Monday's injunction was successfully sought by the government-owned Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corp. (MBLL), which alleged Bodog was operating illegally in the province. MBLL likewise claimed that Bodog was diverting organization away from its online gaming platform, PlayNow.


PlayNow is the only authorized iGaming website in Manitoba, and its proprietor, MBLL, wants Bodog to stop advertising and operating within the province. On Monday, that is what the court informed Bodog to do.


"This court orders and declares that the Respondents have no lawful authority to use online betting product or services, whether through bodog.eu, bodog.net or any other associated successor or replacement sites, or to market such online products and services to persons located in Manitoba, as such activities contrast sections 201, 202, and 206 of the Criminal Code," Monday's order said.


- Government-owned Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corp. has obtained a court injunction versus Antigua and Barbuda-based Bodog.
- The Crown corporation is attempting to stop Bodog from advertising and operating in the Canadian province, declaring the offshore sportsbook and gambling establishment betting site is breaking the law and diverting business away from MBLL's PlayNow platform.
- The injunction is a potentially precedent-setting advancement for Canada, which has a big "grey market" for online betting.


The injunction acquired on Monday was submitted on behalf of the Canadian Lottery Coalition, an advocacy group that consists of a number of government-owned gaming corporations, including MBLL.


Those lotteries have actually been pressing back against offshore iGaming operators in Canada. A court injunction versus Bodog could now set an important precedent.


That is because, with the exception of Ontario, the bulk of online gaming in Canada takes place in the so-called "grey market."


The term shows online gambling taking place on websites that may be managed abroad or outside a particular province, however not by the province where the bets are really being placed. Those "grey" websites contend for service with provincially managed sites like PlayNow.


Truly false


Offshore operators have actually been allowed to take bets from Canadians for many years without much turmoil being made. That has started to alter, however, especially given that the decriminalization of single-game sports betting in Canada in 2021, and the launch of a competitive iGaming market in Ontario in 2022.


Monday's order says that Bodog promoting its websites to anyone in Manitoba as "legitimate, lawful, 'safe', or 'trusted'" makes up a "incorrect and deceptive representation," contrary to Canadian law. Moreover, it states the Bodog-related entities, "as operators of unapproved and illegal gambling sites" in Manitoba, have actually "taken part in tortious conduct by dedicating the unlawful ways tort."


Bodog did not react to an ask for remark before this story was released.


The order provided Monday likewise noted that nobody appeared in court on behalf of the Bodog-related respondents, Il Nido Ltd. and Sanctum IP Holdings Ltd. This was despite those business being "duly served," the order says.


Offshore sportsbook Bodog is telling clients that it is leaving the Canadian province of Nova Scotia in early October. Adds "we'll be monitoring your province for regulatory modifications."


The only operator that is in your area in NS is Atlantic Lottery Corp.'s PRO • LINE. pic.twitter.com/FE8fni0s53


The long-term injunction given by the Manitoba court requires all Bodog-related entities to stop running in a method that is available to Manitobans and to cease advertising to individuals in the province. The court is also telling Bodog to put "geo-blocking innovation" in place to avoid anyone in Manitoba from accessing the operator's websites.


Whether Bodog adhere to the injunction stays to be seen. However, the business has taken out of other provinces in the past.


Most significantly, the offshore sportsbook says it no longer accepts players from Nova Scotia and Quebec. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario likewise just recently contacted media outlets and asked them "to stop promoting uncontrolled online betting and sports betting sites" like Bodog.