NB considers legislation to halt decline in gambling revenue

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New Brunswick’s gambling revenue is declining, and provincial Finance Minister Rene Legacy said the Holt government is considering legislation for online gaming to stop the bleeding.

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The New Brunswick Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s revenue last year was $5.7 million less than expected.

It was also $8 million lower than it was two years ago.

That was the question raised by Progressive Conservative finance critic Don Monaghan as MLAs worked through the Holt government’s new budget department by department and line by line over the coming days.

“Why is it declining? And why are gaming revenues declining? And are we seeing fewer participants or more competition in this space?” Monaghan asked.

Mr. Legacy responded, “You hit the nail on the head.”

“The competition is actually increasing,” he continued.

“You don’t have to wait a long time for a sports game to see all the betting programs (advertisements), sports bets, or invitations to different types of games.”

Legend also followed that several other states began regulating in their respective jurisdictions.

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“We’re looking into that as well,” he said.

The minister pointed out how it had been included in the Holt government’s pre-budget “difficult decisions” document.

A section titled “Optimizing existing financial resources” states that “tax revenues could be increased by regulating online gaming companies that currently operate without regulation, with the aim of monitoring and protecting existing activities rather than promoting increased gambling.”

“Some states are starting to regulate competition,” Legacy added.

When single-event sports betting was legalized in 2021, the federal government handed over control of online gambling and lotteries in each jurisdiction to each state.

In New Brunswick, ALC.ca is the only legal and regulated online gambling platform.

Still, offshore sportsbooks like Bet365, BetMGM, and FanDuel are available in New Brunswick and operate in a gray area rather than a highly regulated local market.

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Meanwhile, in 2022, Ontario became the first province in Canada to regulate online gambling.

The move allows private operators to offer legal casino games, poker, and single-event sports betting.

That brings the operator’s total revenue to more than $10 billion since its launch, according to new data released earlier this month by iGaming Ontario, the agency created to manage online gambling in Ontario.

In calendar year 2025 alone, licensed operators processed approximately $98.3 billion in total wagers and generated $4 billion in gross gaming revenue.

That’s because Alberta is set to launch online regulated gambling in July.

Supporters of Ontario’s online gambling market praise consumer protections such as a ban on gambling ads featuring current or retired athletes, although they are still allowed to appear in spots promoting social responsibility.

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But experts warn that making new forms of online sports betting easily accessible on the phone risks creating a generation of problem gamblers.

The minister also said the Atlantic Lottery Corporation is working to offer live sports betting options similar to its competitors.

“The ALC is also ramping up its efforts. They’re looking at new programs, essentially different ways to deliver that service to the public,” he said.

“Of course, we are big fans of ALC because it is a regulated environment and we also care about social responsibility.

“So we’ve been looking forward to looking at some of those programs, but we’re also looking at the possibility of looking at other sites that are active in our market, because they’re all online. At least in New Brunswick, we’re looking at whether we can regulate those sites or some of them.”

An important source of income is at stake.

The Holt government estimated the New Brunswick Lottery and Gaming Corporation would bring in $185.3 million in total revenue last year.

The final result was $179.6 million, down $5.7 million.

For this fiscal year, which just started, the state is projecting $183.7 million.

It’s a trend moving in the wrong direction.

From 2024 to 2025, the lottery and gaming company’s revenue was $187.6 million.

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