Montreal Study Finds 38% of Online Gamblers Use Only Unregulated Sites, Coalition Urges Action

A Montreal public health survey published on 5 November found that 38% of Montreal adults who gamble online (excluding lottery) use only unregulated sites, and the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition called that finding a reason for government action in the coming budget update. The Direction régionale de santé publique de Montréal (DRSP), working with Concordia University, collected the data from a combined sample of 8,502 adults—4,002 by telephone and 4,500 via an online panel—between March and June 2025.

Study findings: participation and risk

The DRSP and the Research Chair on Gambling Studies at Concordia University reported that online gambling participation on the island of Montreal rose from 4.4% of adults in 2018 to 13.3% in 2025. Overall participation in gambling fell to about 39% of adults in 2025, down from 54.5% in 2018 and 74% in 2002.

The share of adults affected by gambling harm declined from 12.1% to 7.7%, but 4.6% of those who gambled were classified at moderate or high risk—an incidence the report says had never before reached 3% in Montreal or Quebec. The authors identify men aged 18 to 34 as the group most affected by gambling harm.

The report's sample design comprises a telephone survey of 4,002 adults on the island of Montreal and an online panel of 4,500 adults; the authors note limits on the panel's representativeness.

Unregulated-market metrics and public opinion

Counting online lottery purchases, the panel found 63% of Montreal adults who gamble online used only Loto-Québec's site and apps, 21% used only unregulated sites, and 16% used both. When online lottery is excluded, the split becomes 46% who used only Loto-Québec, 38% who used only unregulated sites, and 16% who used both.

Public sentiment in the panel was strongly in favour of tighter controls: 73% of respondents said online gambling advertising should be banned and 70% said access to online gambling is too easy.

Coalition response and political pressure

The Quebec Online Gaming Coalition, whose members the release lists as Bet99, Betway, DraftKings, Entain, Flutter and Rush Street, responded on 5 November with a press release headlined "Online gambling escapes the Quebec state" and urged Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau to introduce measures in his imminent budget update. The coalition said the data show a "majority" of players, 54%, turn to private unregulated platforms when a particular presentation of the figures is used.

Ariane Gauthier, a spokesperson for the coalition, said:

"The budget update expected in the coming weeks is a chance for Minister Marceau to announce concrete measures; a framework covering Loto-Québec and private companies alike would give the government a lever over the sector."

The coalition urged the Parti Québécois and the Quebec Liberal Party to reach agreement quickly. The new Parti Québécois government backed licensing private sites during the campaign; Loto-Québec remains Quebec's only legal online operator.

Authors' interpretation and recommended priorities

The study's authors—Jean-François Biron, Michel Fournier and Émilie Duplessis-Brochu of the DRSP, and Concordia professor Sylvia Kairouz—describe the unregulated-site result as "not surprising" but do not propose opening the market as their primary remedy. Their emphasis is on prevention targeted at young men and on prevention measures that do not rest solely on individual responsibility. The report warns against using lower measured harm levels as a pretext to stimulate demand.

The authors also underline methodological caution: the online panel, which yields the unregulated-market percentages, has limits on representativeness and the report explicitly qualifies some findings as being for Montreal rather than the whole province.

Legal and comparative context

Section 207(1)(a) of the Criminal Code permits a provincial government to conduct and manage lottery schemes in its province; in Quebec that statutory role belongs to Loto-Québec, which currently remains the sole legal online operator. Loto-Québec is also one of the lottery corporations challenging Ontario's player-pooling plan before the Supreme Court of Canada.

The coalition and some commentators point to Ontario as a comparator. Ontario's competitive iGaming market opened in April 2022. An Ipsos study published by iGaming Ontario on 21 May 2026 found 91.1% of online gamblers in Ontario use regulated sites (with 8.9% on unregulated-only sites); Ontario's market generated CA$4.2 billion of gaming revenue in its fourth year (approximately $3 billion). The DRSP report cautions that the Ontario figures come from a different survey method and are not directly comparable to the Montreal panel's results.

The coalition's headline figure of 54% is drawn from a particular reading of the Montreal panel once lottery is removed; the report itself uses the qualifier that online gambling escapes Quebec public authorities "en partie" (in part) and notes the finding is for Montreal, not the whole province.

What happens next

The DRSP-Concordia report and the coalition's response give Finance Minister Nicolas Marceau empirical points to cite as he prepares his first budget update. The government will have to state whether it favours expanding licensing beyond Loto-Québec, pursuing prevention and advertising restrictions, or a combination of measures. The coalition has framed the report as justification for a licensing framework that would include private operators.

For the full DRSP report and the coalition's press release, see the primary documents released on 5 November 2026.