The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced that its powers exceed provincial Quebec law and that Quebec may not block websites without its express permission. Quebec was attempting to pass Bill 74 which had a mandate to force internet service providers to block access to all online gambling websites. This internet censoring program is considered draconian in nature and would have set a censorship precedent in Canada.
Even if Bill 74 was passed the CRTC informed the provincial government that its authority supersedes the authority of the bill.
Bill 74 includes provisions to block access to any gambling website that is not authorized by the province of Quebec. This would include all forms of gambling such as bingo, poker, casinos, sports betting, lotteries, and esports, as they are not authorized by Loto-Quebec. This would make popular sites like Online Casino Canada.com difficult to access.
ISPs in Canada have met Bill 74 with fierce and unilateral opposition and consider it a violation of consumer rights. They also claim it would be impossible to enforce and cite the problems that China has with its internet censoring program.
Many users in Canada would attempt to use VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to bypass this censorship. This is the same solution Canadians are currently using to access American Netflix and Amazon Prime video content.
Canadians are also unhappy with the idea as it begs the question when does censorship end, and how much of their internet usage is being monitored.
In the meantime, The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), has taken the provincial government to court and has requested that the Superior Court immediately strike down the law.
Unfortunately, Quebec is still attempting to move ahead with this policy. Loto-Quebec has drafted a list of 2200 gaming sites, which will be given to ISPS that serve the province. The ISPs are expected to block access to these websites even after this new ruling.
