Canada keeps sports prediction markets off limits

Canadian regulators have reaffirmed that sports and entertainment event contracts cannot be offered through the country’s securities and derivatives markets, keeping a growing US prediction-market product out of reach.

The Canadian Securities Administrators and Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization issued joint guidance on Thursday, saying contracts based on sports and entertainment outcomes should not be regulated under existing securities and derivatives legislation.

The regulators said other event contract categories remained under review, with economic, environmental and financial indicators currently the only categories considered permissible for trading.

The latest guidance follows a CIRO bulletin issued in March which reminded market participants that Canadian law also prohibits contracts based on elections and political events, while short-term binary options with maturities of less than 30 days cannot be issued to individual investors.

The restrictions contrast with the US, where prediction markets have expanded rapidly through contracts on sporting and other real-world events, although their regulatory status remains disputed between gambling and financial authorities.

Canadians can currently trade real-world event contracts through Interactive Brokers’ IBKR Forecast Trader and Wealthsimple’s Predict, while Questrade has indicated plans to enter the market but has not secured regulatory approval.