For residents of Quebec - Loto-Quebec/Espacejeux

[hhhelllo]

I just listened to the "porte-parole" of loto-quebec Patrice Lavoie who is speaking about the new law project #74 that wants to ban online access to "illegal" gambling site for all residents of quebec. It's only in french unfortunately. As usual, ignorant, sad and retarded.

Old / Expired Link

Hey! We are the governement! Our casino and poker room are the worst, let's make every other casinos illegal! Geniuses!

FU .... Sincerely...

See Related Threads:

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• Quebec Anti Online Gambling Law
• NetEnt in Canada Question

 

[Steviedoo]

I just listened to the "porte-parole" of loto-quebec Patrice Lavoie who is speaking about the new law project #74 that wants to ban online access to "illegal" gambling site for all residents of quebec. It's only in french unfortunately. As usual, ignorant, sad and retarded.

Old / Expired Link

Hey! We are the governement! Our casino and poker room are the worst, let's make every other casinos illegal! Geniuses!

FU .... Sincerely...

Yup. Pretty much.

Illegal sites. So laughable. They are protecting the public from 2200 sites. And want to make sure that citizens know that they cannot get their money back when they gamble. How laughable is this. They call every on line casino illegal misleading the public.

If they want to protect the people and how very noble of them then they should outlaw all gambling.

I stopped listening after this.

Just wondering if they will allow the sites if they pay the government a fee.

And my gambling days are numbered. I'm not gonna play on their site. It's worse than their land casino.

 

[hhhelllo]

They will "allow" other sites as long as they have access to all their numbers and a ridiculous fee that would make any company run away.

 

[shaltar]

The thing is they will only try to block site that ending by .com or .ca Any other "illegal" casino that their website end by other than those will still be accessible ... And not to mention that Filtering web site is Illegal in the federal Law so i guess we won't see that happen soon.

 

[hhhelllo]

Kanhawake will have a word to say about this.... It's an important jurisdiction and it's located in Quebec.

 

[Steviedoo]

The thing is they will only try to block site that ending by .com or .ca Any other "illegal" casino that their website end by other than those will still be accessible ... And not to mention that Filtering web site is Illegal in the federal Law so i guess we won't see that happen soon.

Telecommunications Act, which prohibits carriers from controlling “the content or influence the meaning or purpose of telecommunications carried by it for the public.” That rule means that Internet providers are effectively prohibited from unilaterally blocking content.

This only applies to Internet service providers not our own government.

 

[Steviedoo]

These were the recommendations that were made to the government of Quebec:


the Working Group believes that in order to control the online gambling market, protect consumers and generate revenues for the government, the best solution for the government is to establish clear rules and open up the online gambling market to private operators. In fact, the best solution is to establish an online gambling licensing system.

Rather than opening the market though, Quebec is instead seeking to censor the Internet for its own commercial gain by ordering Internet providers to block access to any unregulated sites. The plan is likely face a legal challenge, both on free speech and jurisdictional grounds, since the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over telecommunications regulation.

Since the announcement in April, there has been surprisingly little public commentary about the Quebec plan. Quebec-based Internet providers may have privately raised concerns, but consumer groups have remained largely silent. That needs to change, since Quebec’s plan to block access to gambling sites could easily expand to other areas.

Once blocking Internet content is established, it is easy to envision governments moving down a slippery slope, requiring the blocking of sites that are alleged to infringe copyright or blocking e-commerce sites that are not bilingual or do not pay provincial taxes. If that happened, the open Internet in Canada would be placed at risk of unprecedented government intervention into how Internet providers manage their networks and what sites Canadians are able to access.

 

[hhhelllo]

I have so much hate against these cowards.

Thanks for the info Steviedoo.

 

[bebo67]

I just listened to the "porte-parole" of loto-quebec Patrice Lavoie who is speaking about the new law project #74 that wants to ban online access to "illegal" gambling site for all residents of quebec. It's only in french unfortunately. As usual, ignorant, sad and retarded.

Old / Expired Link

Hey! We are the governement! Our casino and poker room are the worst, let's make every other casinos illegal! Geniuses!

FU .... Sincerely...

This has been going on for a while, they feel that it's taking revenue away from the land base Casino in Montreal. I havent step foot in there for 4 years last December. Why would i. But if you give the Quebecois a cut, then all is good. no? Im thinking yes.

 

[jetset]

According to recent statements by the finance minister the Quebec government may use public health legislation to push this shamelessly anti-competitive measure through, although I doubt that will enable them to find a way around the national Telecommunications Act.

I get the impression that the provincial government is moving cautiously on this, but it seems determined to push ahead despite the recommendations of the working group and warnings from various legal experts.

The ISPs have been kicking up dust, but I think we are yet to see the serious opposition emerge.

 

[hhhelllo]

I think 99% of residents of Quebec don't even know you can play slots online... The knowledge of the online gaming industry is very poor. Espacejeux claims to have 16k users and think they will have a million in a couple of years if this shitty law goes through.

When poker "happened" in Quebec... It became popular very fast... Espacejeux "happened" a year later with the cheapest piece of crap software available on the market... And still exactly the same bs to this day.

The government is incompetent in many aspects... But gambling is even worse... They have nothing to offer to be a fair competition against the big players.

Compare espajeux sports betting with bet365 and you will laugh... The odds are always at least 10% worst just to make sure you don't give loto quebec action.

Compare the live poker room in Casino de Montreal with the playground poker room in Khanawakhe. The difference is completely amazing. The playground is 10 years ahead and crushes the dark and boring loto quebec poker room by a land slide.

Online casinos vs Espacejeux? LOL

Deposit methods... Games available... Customer service... Not even close....

They have the money to be so much better... They wont ever be... They prefer to bet on making every other place illegal.

I would like to protest and inform people... Where do I start???

 

[shaltar]

I think 99% of residents of Quebec don't even know you can play slots online... The knowledge of the online gaming industry is very poor. Espacejeux claims to have 16k users and think they will have a million in a couple of years if this shitty law goes through.

When poker "happened" in Quebec... It became popular very fast... Espacejeux "happened" a year later with the cheapest piece of crap software available on the market... And still exactly the same bs to this day.

The government is incompetent in many aspects... But gambling is even worse... They have nothing to offer to be a fair competition against the big players.

Compare espajeux sports betting with bet365 and you will laugh... The odds are always at least 10% worst just to make sure you don't give loto quebec action.

Compare the live poker room in Casino de Montreal with the playground poker room in Khanawakhe. The difference is completely amazing. The playground is 10 years ahead and crushes the dark and boring loto quebec poker room by a land slide.

Online casinos vs Espacejeux? LOL

Deposit methods... Games available... Customer service... Not even close....

They have the money to be so much better... They wont ever be... They prefer to bet on making every other place illegal.

I would like to protest and inform people... Where do I start???

I completly agree with you. Maybe Writing an open letter in the Newsletter can help i know they put people reflexion in a section in Journal du Quebec Newspaper.

 

[hhhelllo]

I'll read more on the subject first. I wish I could spend the day on this... Maybe I should make my job and my 3 kids illegal so I don't have any occupation no more...

 

[vinylweatherman]

The UK already has internet censorship. The ISPs flatly refused to cooperate, but it is being done by the obtaining of court orders requiring the blocking of certain sites by ISPs, leaving them no choice but to comply. There is now a streamlined system whereby further sites can be added to the block list without the need for a separate hearing and order. CURRENTLY, this is being applied to sites believed to be assisting copyright infringement, but the same system could, in theory, be used to block other types of site.

Does it work? NO

It's an exercise in being seen to do something, but sites like Pirate Bay can still be reached from the UK, although it's no longer as easy as clicking a link to the from Google, which is effectively blocked. There is a separate system that blocks a secret list of sites that offer extreme pornography among other things.

It's likely that the system in Quebec, if implemented, isn't going to stop residents playing offshore any more than the US safe ports act has stopped US players. What will stop such players playing is the casinos themselves deciding to pull out of that market, which is why US residents have been without providers like Microgaming for a few years, but can still play RTG and much of the "dross" that the rogues offer from places like Costa Rica.

Far from protecting US players, the rules have driven them into the arms of the rogue operators as almost all of the decent operators have pulled out of the US.

 

[BrianGhattas]

If Ontario tried to pull that crap and force me to play on PlayOLG.ca (which is much worse than EspaceJeux) then I'd go crazy. I've been playing mostly on European casinos and while I haven't won every time, I've won pretty good amounts of money...unlike PlayOLG.ca.

I frequent Casino Lac Leamy and haven't won more than $100 in over two years. Machines, especially their WMS slots, are tight as a drum and too many of their slots are old. Sadly, the people who go there know nothing about the slot machine industry, YouTube or these message boards. They blindly hog the "new" machines like Larry's Lobstermania 2. I'm not going to spend a huge bankroll on their tight slots.

To be fair, they are getting some good machines this month including Sons Of Anarchy and Super Wheel Blast so at least they might be listening to their critics.

 

[dionysus]

If Ontario tried to pull that crap and force me to play on PlayOLG.ca (which is much worse than EspaceJeux) then I'd go crazy.

I honestly won't be surprised if they do. As is we can't play WMS, IGT, Barcrest, Balley's (EXCEPT for on playolg), Rival, and some NetEnt/Microgaming online.
Not saying that has to do directly with the govt but for the grey reion and where we exist legally as it relates to online gambling.

 

[BrianGhattas]

I honestly won't be surprised if they do. As is we can't play WMS, IGT, Barcrest, Balley's (EXCEPT for on playolg), Rival, and some NetEnt/Microgaming online.
Not saying that has to do directly with the govt but for the grey reion and where we exist legally as it relates to online gambling.

They could but I think the current Ontario government has enough issues already. They have let it go for as long as online gaming existed but if I'm forced to only play on their crap PlayOLG.ca... Those slots pay nowhere what they're listed at and most of them are blah. Talk to their chat support and you'll get fed BS.

 

[Steviedoo]

The UK already has internet censorship. The ISPs flatly refused to cooperate, but it is being done by the obtaining of court orders requiring the blocking of certain sites by ISPs, leaving them no choice but to comply. There is now a streamlined system whereby further sites can be added to the block list without the need for a separate hearing and order. CURRENTLY, this is being applied to sites believed to be assisting copyright infringement, but the same system could, in theory, be used to block other types of site.

Does it work? NO

It's an exercise in being seen to do something, but sites like Pirate Bay can still be reached from the UK, although it's no longer as easy as clicking a link to the from Google, which is effectively blocked. There is a separate system that blocks a secret list of sites that offer extreme pornography among other things.

It's likely that the system in Quebec, if implemented, isn't going to stop residents playing offshore any more than the US safe ports act has stopped US players. What will stop such players playing is the casinos themselves deciding to pull out of that market, which is why US residents have been without providers like Microgaming for a few years, but can still play RTG and much of the "dross" that the rogues offer from places like Costa Rica.

Far from protecting US players, the rules have driven them into the arms of the rogue operators as almost all of the decent operators have pulled out of the US.

So basically once the online casinos we play at now find out it's illegal to be in Quebec they will block us no matter if we use VPN or change our proxy. I think this is what will happen. But won' t it be a hassle for online casinos to try and isolate one province. A country might be easier....wtvr.

Feels like we live in Cuba or China or Russia or anywhere where censorship happens.

 

[hhhelllo]

So basically once the online casinos we play at now find out it's illegal to be in Quebec they will block us no matter if we use VPN or change our proxy. I think this is what will happen. But won' t it be a hassle for online casinos to try and isolate one province. A country might be easier....wtvr.

Feels like we live in Cuba or China or Russia or anywhere where censorship happens.

Internet + censorship = nope

Whats next? Censored quebec porn?

God....

 

[bebo67]

Couldn't the new Bill C-51 be applied under the guise that off shore casinos provide funding for terrorist arms? If they wanted to push it they could and then internet providers would have to comply.

 

[vinylweatherman]

So basically once the online casinos we play at now find out it's illegal to be in Quebec they will block us no matter if we use VPN or change our proxy. I think this is what will happen. But won' t it be a hassle for online casinos to try and isolate one province. A country might be easier....wtvr.

Feels like we live in Cuba or China or Russia or anywhere where censorship happens.

You will probably lose providers like Microgaming and Playtech. Whilst they might find it hard to block all players, they will have to do KYC and will find out then whether a player from Quebec has lied during registration in order to play. When Kentucky threatened to seize webdomains, including Microgaming, the geo blocking was set up to block Kentucky specifically, rather than the US as a whole, in order to comply with the requirements and avoid seizure of the Microgaming domains. It wasn't perfect, and some Kentucky players were still able to play, whereas some players from outside the state found themselves blocked.

The US states that have legalised online casinos don't allow geoblocking via IP address as it's too imperfect. They require the use of a more robust method using scanning software to be run on the players' PC which detects the surrounding wireless connections and uses them to determine the location of the player's PC within a few metres. The regular online casinos don't use such exacting methods because to them it's not deemed necessary, and it's also more expensive. On top of this, their customers might not be too happy with the forced installation of such "snooping software" simply so that they can play slots.

Players from Quebec will probably still be able to play casinos using RTG operating from places like Curacao and Costa Rica, the same ones that still flout the US rules.

If casinos find it too hard to isolate Quebec to the satisfaction of the Quebec authorities, it's likely they will block Canada as a whole if they have decided it's in their best interests to obey this new law.

With the US, many big providers decided to obey the law because of the lure of being able to get a licence should the US implement regulation at a later date. Those that flouted the law were given the very strong impression that they would be punished by being frozen out of any future licencing regime. If Quebec issues a similar veiled threat and carrot for the future, it would probably mean a rush for the exit by any casino or software provider keen to benefit from a future regulated Canadian market.