An overseas sportsbook has actually formally 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 gaming operator based in Antigua and Barbuda.

The computer registry says the injunction was given and checked in court. Reasons are to follow at a later date.

Monday's injunction was effectively sought by the government-owned Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corp. (MBLL), which declared Bodog was running unlawfully in the province. MBLL likewise declared that Bodog was diverting organization away from its online gambling 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 states that the Respondents have no legal authority to provide online betting product or services, whether through bodog.eu, bodog.net or any other associated follower or replacement websites, or to advertise such online products and services to individuals found in Manitoba, as such activities contrast sections 201, 202, and 206 of the Criminal Code," Monday's order stated.

- Government-owned Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corp. has gotten a court injunction against Antigua and Barbuda-based Bodog.
- The Crown corporation is attempting to stop Bodog from advertising and operating in the Canadian province, alleging the offshore sportsbook and gambling establishment gaming website is breaking the law and diverting service away from MBLL's PlayNow platform.
- The injunction is a potentially precedent-setting development for Canada, which has a huge "grey market" for online betting.

The injunction obtained on Monday was filed on behalf of the Canadian Lottery Coalition, an advocacy group that consists of several government-owned gaming corporations, including MBLL.

Those lotteries have been pushing back versus offshore iGaming operators in Canada. A court injunction against Bodog could now set an essential 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 occurring on sites that might be managed abroad or outside a specific province, but not by the province where the bets are in fact being placed. Those "grey" sites contend for organization with provincially controlled sites like PlayNow.

Truly false

Offshore operators have been enabled to take bets from Canadians for several years without much commotion being made. That has begun to alter, however, especially considering that the decriminalization of single-game sports wagering in Canada in 2021, and the launch of a competitive iGaming market in Ontario in 2022.

Monday's order says that Bodog promoting its sites to anybody in Manitoba as "legitimate, legal, 'safe', or 'trusted'" makes up a "false and misleading representation," contrary to Canadian law. Moreover, it says the Bodog-related entities, "as operators of unauthorized and unlawful gaming websites" in Manitoba, have actually "engaged in tortious conduct by committing the unlawful ways tort."

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

The order provided Monday also kept in mind that no one appeared in court on behalf of the Bodog-related participants, Il Nido Ltd. and Sanctum IP Holdings Ltd. This was despite those business being "appropriately served," the order says.

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

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

The irreversible injunction given by the Manitoba court needs all Bodog-related entities to stop operating in such a way that is available to Manitobans and to stop advertising to people in the province. The court is likewise telling Bodog to put "geo-blocking innovation" in location to avoid anyone in Manitoba from accessing the operator's websites.

Whether Bodog adhere to the injunction remains to be seen. However, the company has pulled out of other provinces in the past.

Most significantly, the overseas sportsbook states it no longer accepts players from Nova Scotia and Quebec. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario likewise just recently contacted media outlets and inquired "to stop promoting uncontrolled online gambling and sports betting websites" like Bodog.