A judge in Manitoba, Canada has banned offshore gambling site Bodog from operating in the province in a landmark court case ruling.
On May 26, a court order ruling stipulated that the companies running Bodog.eu and Bodog.net must stop operating gambling products and services that are accessible to people in Manitoba.
Judge Jeffrey Harris singled out the issue of how Bodog “advertises itself as a ‘legal online casino in Canada’ and says that ‘it is one of the safest places to gamble online’” in Canada.
Following the ruling, the court concluded that: “The respondents’ advertising as a legitimate, lawful, ‘safe,’ or ‘trusted’ online gambling site constitutes a false description… likely to mislead the public.”
As a result, a permanent injunction has been put in place and The Antigua and Barbuda-based company Il Nido Ltd. and Sanctum IP Holdings Ltd. must implement geo-blocking technology to prevent Manitobans from accessing the websites’ gambling products.
Plus, the company has been prohibited from any advertisements that is targeting or accessible to people in the area. In terms of the laws surrounding gambling in the region: the Criminal Code of Canada prohibits all betting, gaming and lottery activities in the country, with an exception for provinces conducting gaming operations or licenced organisations.
“We could not be more pleased with this ruling,” said Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation (MBLL) CEO Gerry Sul in a Canadian Lottery Coalition news release. “Bodog’s conduct has not only been unlawful, the harm their illegal operations have caused to MBLL—and Manitobans—is incalculable,” he said.
What is interesting to note from the region is that, according to MBLL’s website, every dollar earned in profit is reinvested into the province to fund government programs, such as health care, education, social services and housing.
For the fiscal year ending in 2024, MBLL returned nearly $380m from its casino, lottery, online gambling and video lottery offerings. The previous year’s return is reported at over $390m.
The ruling said because Bodog’s operations are located offshore and outside the reach of Canadian authorities, it is “highly unlikely that MBLL would be successful in any effort to enforce the significant monetary judgment against them.”
Regardless, the removal of Bodog from the province further illustrates how gambling operators look to bend the rules and how regulation and laws in place can bring down those skirting around strict rules that do vary from country to country, state to state and, in this case, province to province.
