Ontario Poker News
Regulation updates, operator launches, and market developments for Ontario's legal poker rooms.
Latest Ontario Poker News
Calvin Anderson Wins Seventh WSOP Bracelet in $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship; Canada's Gianluca Cedolia Cashes Fifth in Inaugural Five Card PLO
Anderson takes Event #54 H.O.R.S.E. Championship for US$413,580, his 2nd bracelet of 2026 just 9 days after his Razz Championship win, ties him with Sexton/Cunningham/Forrest at 10th on all-time list. Zachary Gruneberg wins inaugural Five Card PLO (Event #53, 1,319 entries) for US$271,552; Canada's Cedolia 5th for US$66,610. Kristen Foxen still alive in Millionaire Maker Day 3 at 104,500 chips.
WSOP Millionaire Maker Draws 11,769 Entries for US$15.6M Prize Pool as 1,489 Advance to Day 3; Anton Wins Mystery Bounty
Event #50 $1,500 Millionaire Maker draws 11,769 entries across four flights (Day 1A 1,752 / 1B 2,370 / 1C 3,121 / 1D 4,526). US$15,623,347 prize pool, projected US$1.23M top prize. Argentina's Hugo Jimenez leads Day 3 at 2,220,000 (111 BB); Trishelle Cannatella tied 3rd at 1,780,000. Event #51 Mystery Bounty closed for American Alex Anton at US$678,300; no Canadian on the final table.
Joey Couden Denies Shaun Deeb a Ninth Bracelet in WSOP $3,000 Nine Game Mix; Canada's Thomas Taylor Cashes Fourth
Record 472 entries, US$1,260,240 prize pool. Couden overturns Deeb's almost 5:1 heads-up lead across four hours for his third WSOP bracelet (US$254,470). Deeb's 17th heads-up battle, 3rd heads-up loss of the 2026 series. Medicine Hat, Alberta's Thomas Taylor cashes 4th for US$76,510, his second consecutive top-four finish in a WSOP Nine-Game Mix bracelet event.
Eelis Pärssinen Wins WSOP $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller for US$2,161,056 and Second Career Bracelet
Final hand: both players had aces. Pärssinen's A♥A♣ 6♢2♣ made aces full of tens on a 10♥-5♥-2♥-J♠-10♠ board. Levon Khachatryan (US) banked US$1,440,680 for second. 451 entries, US$10,598,500 prize pool. Pärssinen's second WSOP bracelet (first was 2021 $5K NLH/PLO Mix); fifth lifetime WSOP appearance. Closes the week-long Negreanu (26th) and Foxen (7th) coverage arc.
Marco Johnson Wins WSOP $2,500 NLH Freezeout for Third Bracelet over Chino Rheem; Canadian Elliot Smith Cashes Seventh
Event #49, 1,561 entries, US$3,473,225 prize pool. Johnson beats Rheem heads-up A-5 vs A-4, flopping a straight on 4-2-5, for US$513,885 and his first NLH bracelet. Rheem's 9th WSOP final without a victory. Canada's Elliot Smith (45th-ranked Canadian by live earnings) finishes 7th for US$75,390, his largest WSOP cash in two years. Faraz Jaka 4th, Kenzo Ishida 3rd.
Eelis Pärssinen Storms to WSOP $25K PLO Final Five Chip Lead; Foxen Out 7th, Negreanu Settles for 26th
Finland's Pärssinen bags 35,225,000 chips (88 BB), more than the next four stacks combined, after rivering a set-and-flush double against Foxen's aces. Foxen's back-to-back bracelet bid ends in 7th for US$267,993; Negreanu's deepest live PLO run closes at 26th for US$69,531 min cash. Day 4 plays Friday 2pm Vegas / 5pm ET on PokerGO. First place US$2,161,056. 451 entries, US$10.6M prize pool.
Foxen Eliminates Negreanu from WSOP $25K PLO as Anderson Wins Sixth Bracelet in Razz Championship
Toronto's Negreanu busts on Day 3 of Event #47 at the hands of Alex Foxen, locking US$69,531 min cash. Foxen, already chip leader from Day 2 with 6,820,000, looks for a second 2026 bracelet at Friday's final five. One room over, Calvin Anderson wins Event #48 Razz Championship for US$357,026 and his sixth bracelet, the most-decorated Razz player in WSOP history.
Negreanu Survives WSOP $25K PLO Day 2 with 995,000 Chips, Locks US$69,531 as Foxen Leads Day 3
31 of 329 remain in Event #47. Toronto's Negreanu bags 16th of 31 at 20 big blinds, his first WSOP cash of 2026 and deepest PLO run of his career. Alex Foxen leads with 6,820,000 (136 BB) just three days after winning Event #44, in pursuit of a second 2026 bracelet. Day 3 plays down to 5 starting noon Las Vegas time; final-day broadcast Friday June 19.
Daniel Negreanu Bags Top 10 in WSOP $25,000 PLO High Roller, Targets First Omaha Bracelet
Event #47, 329 entries, US$7.7 million prize pool. Toronto's Negreanu bags 789,000 chips and 197 big blinds in 7th place overall heading into Day 2 at noon Las Vegas time, behind leader Youness Barakat at 1,675,000. An eighth bracelet would draw him level with Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel and Men Nguyen, and would be his first WSOP bracelet in a pure Pot-Limit Omaha event.
Alex Foxen Wins WSOP $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty for US$594,246, Lifting Foxen Household Tally to Ten
Event #44, 466 entries, fourth career bracelet. Heads-up over Yixi Tang ($396,145) with king-high paired on the turn. Combined with St. Catharines, Ontario-born Kristen's June 7 win in Event #19, the Foxens become the most-decorated couple in WSOP history at ten bracelets. Bolton's Orlando Moretti banks career-best $64,992 in Event #43.
Spain's Adrian Mateos Wins the WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller for US$4,334,411 and a Sixth Career Bracelet, Cracking Bryn Kenney's Top Pair With Doyle Brunson's T-2 in the Heads-Up Cap
Mateos 31, sixth bracelet, largest single first-place cash of 2026 schedule. Final hand: T-2 vs T-9 top pair on K-x-x board, river paired the deuce. Kenney $2.78M, Einhorn 3rd $1.86M, Ivey 8th $553K. Daniel Negreanu (Canada) busted Day 2 in 35th outside the money after Day 1 fourth in chips.
Bryn Kenney Leads the WSOP $250,000 Super High Roller Final Nine With a US$4.3-Million First Prize on the Line, Phil Ivey Carries the Short Stack Into Monday Bracelet Day
Kenney bags 19,350,000 chips chasing his third bracelet at the marquee event of the 2026 series. Ivey at 2.75M / 22BB on the short stack. US$13.72M prize pool, US$4,334,411 first prize is the largest single cash of the schedule. No Canadian in the field, structural Ontario pipeline gap framed.
GGPoker Ontario's 2026 microFestival Opens Sunday With a 15-Day, 153-Event Slate at C$2.50 to C$25 Buy-Ins, the First Major Provincial Series Since the FanDuel and Playtech Launches
15 days, 51 event blocks, 153 tournaments. micro Ontario MILLION$ at C$5 today (C$15K guarantee). C$100K Mystery Bounty MILLION$ Main Event Final closes June 28. Ring-fenced from the parallel global microFestival (June 21-Jul 5, US$10M).
Hall-of-Famer Nick Schulman's Eighth Bracelet Denies Calgary's Clayton Mozdzen the First Canadian H.O.R.S.E. Gold; Mixed-Game Regular Banks a Career-Best US$122,206 Runner-Up Cash
Mozdzen carried the chip lead into bracelet day and went into heads-up with a roughly 2-to-1 lead. A seventh-street Stud cooler reeled the chips back to Schulman, whose eighth career bracelet is his first since 2025 Poker Hall of Fame induction. Canadian bracelet tally holds at 3, Canadian cash count lifts to US$2,517,776.
Calgary's Clayton Mozdzen Carries a 26-Big-Bet Chip Lead Into the WSOP $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Bracelet Day, Setting Up a Fourth Canadian Gold Bid as Negreanu Busts the $100,000 High Roller
Mozdzen bags 3,105,000 chips and a 750,000-chip cushion over Ryan Caskey. Nick Schulman, seven-time bracelet winner, sits fifth in chasing pack. US$183,366 first prize. First Canadian H.O.R.S.E. bracelet on the published archive on the line. Negreanu busts the $100K.
Playtech Confirms Its iPoker Platform Powers Ontario's New PokerStars on FanDuel Product, Marking the British Supplier's First North American Foothold and Redrawing the Provincial Tech-Stack Map
London-listed supplier confirms iPoker powers FanDuel across MI/NJ/PA/ON. FanDuel is Playtech's first North American poker licensee. Ontario becomes a four-platform regulated market, with the Stars brand running on a competitor's engine.
Daniel Negreanu Doubles in WSOP $100,000 High Roller as Clayton Mozdzen Sits Second in $1,500 H.O.R.S.E., Setting Up Two Canadian Day 17 Bracelet Bids
Negreanu bagged 1,190,000 chips on a Ren Lin-led Day 1. Mozdzen sits 383,000 behind Switzerland's Daniel Makowsky. Two Canadian Day 17 bids in two structurally different events, three days after the Normand-Foxen-Alcindor cluster.
WSOP Activates Solana Crypto Buy-Ins in Las Vegas Today, Throwing Ontario's Registrar Standard 5.69 and Its Crypto-Free Path Into Sharper Relief
First-of-its-kind WSOP-Solana-MoonPay partnership opens a Las Vegas-only crypto rail. AGCO Standard 5.69 keeps the regulated Ontario operator base CAD-only. The Ontario qualifier path to the August Super Circuit Canada remains untouched.
Montreal's Christopher Alcindor Wins WSOP $1,500 Big O for US$387,110 and the Third Canadian Bracelet in Three Days
Cash-game grinder closes Normand-Foxen-Alcindor three-in-three streak, the fastest 72-hour Canadian bracelet pace in modern WSOP history. Combined Canadian payout US$2,395,570 across the cluster. First Big O bracelet for a Canadian player on record.
GGPoker Opens Ontario-Only Path to August's WSOP Super Circuit Canada and Its Record C$10-Million Main Event Guarantee
Three-stage qualifier system exclusive to Ontario players (C$5 / C$50 / C$500) feeds the C$5,000 Main Event at Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake, August 24 to September 9. Largest tournament guarantee in Canadian poker history; first WSOP Super Circuit ever in North America.
Kristen Foxen Wins WSOP $25,000 High Roller for Sixth Bracelet and US$1,773,083, Completing Fastest Canadian Back-to-Back Bracelet Conversion in Modern Series History
Foxen defeated Galen Hall heads-up on a final hand of A♦A♥ vs A♣4♦ for the largest live cash of her career, presented by husband Alex Foxen. First woman to win an open-field WSOP bracelet since 2021. Combined Canadian bracelet-day payout: US$2,008,460 within 24 hours.
Kristen Foxen Seated for WSOP $25,000 High Roller Final 6 Tonight, Chasing Sixth Bracelet Hours After Normand's Canadian-First
Foxen returns to Horseshoe and Paris at 3:30 p.m. Vegas in seat 3 with 9,325,000 chips, third of 6. Galen Hall leads at 16,050,000. Top prize US$1,773,083. A bracelet would mark fastest back-to-back Canadian bracelet conversion of the modern WSOP era.
Frederic Normand Wins WSOP $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo for First Canadian Bracelet of 2026 Series in a Game He Had Never Played Competitively
Normand went wire-to-wire on Day 3 to take US$235,377 from a 1,093-entry field, denying Josh Arieh his 8th bracelet and beating Michael Rodrigues heads-up on a single hand with a completed straight. First Canadian bracelet of the 2026 WSOP.
Frederic Normand Leads WSOP $1,500 PLO Hi-Lo Final 13 in Bid for First Canadian Bracelet of 2026; Two More Canadians Cash Dealers Choice
Normand bagged the Day 2 chip lead of Event #21 with the $235,377 top prize still to play for. Luteng Li third for $72,042 and Clayton Mozdzen fifth for $34,588 in Event #20 Dealers Choice as Jeff Madsen claimed his fifth bracelet.
Turning Stone Confirms October WSOP Circuit Stop, the Closest Live World Series Event to Ontario Players
Verona, NY casino confirms second 2026 WSOP-C for October 15 to 26 with US$1.3M in guarantees, 18 gold rings, US$1M Main Event across three Day 1 flights. March 2026 event drew 15,276 entries, US$5.8M and players from three Canadian provinces. Roughly four hours from Toronto.
Hellmuth Among Final 13 for 18th WSOP Bracelet as Negreanu Busts $10K 2-7 Lowball; Cole Gauthier Cashes Sixth in PLO Deepstack
Hellmuth bagged 620,000 chips eleventh of the final 13 in Event #17, five eliminations from his record-extending 18th bracelet. Toronto's Daniel Negreanu busted Day 2 on a Per Hildebrand snowdraw. Quebec's Cole Gauthier finished sixth in Event #15 $600 PLO Deepstack for US$33,771.
Negreanu Joint Second at WSOP $10K 2-7 Lowball, Tara Dunn Leads PLO Deepstack as Canadians Surge to Day 8 Chip Leads
Toronto's Daniel Negreanu bagged 311,000 chips for joint-second at the $10K No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship and Canada's Tara Dunn leads the 117-player Day 2 field of the $600 Deepstack PLO event with 1,995,000, producing two simultaneous Canadian chip leader positions at the WSOP.
Ontario Poker Market Resets Today as FanDuel Launches and GGPoker Counters With $14-Million June Campaign
FanDuel Poker Ontario goes live today on Playtech's iPoker software, ending the 27-day outage that began with the PokerStars Ontario closure on May 7. GGPoker counters with a $14-million June promotional package and a province-only microFestival running June 14 to 29.
Bulgaria's Danchev Wins WSOP $25K Heads-Up Championship for US$800,000
Dimitar Danchev defeated Russia's Nikita Kuznetsov in the Monday-night final at Horseshoe Las Vegas for his second WSOP bracelet, closing out a 128-entry bracket in which Toronto's Daniel Negreanu had been the Day 2 chip leader.
Ontario Online Poker Revenue Falls 24 Per Cent in April as iGaming Market Hits Record $405-Million
iGaming Ontario's April 2026 monthly report records record total revenue of $405.4-million across the regulated market while peer-to-peer poker contracts to $5.3-million NAGGR on $128-million in cash wagers, down 24 and 30 per cent month-over-month respectively.
Negreanu Out of WSOP $25K Heads-Up After Surrendering 10-to-1 Chip Lead to Biao Ding
Toronto's Daniel Negreanu was eliminated from the WSOP Heads-Up Championship Round of 16 on Sunday night, blew a 10-to-1 chip lead, cashed for US$60,000, and immediately re-entered the $10K GGMillion$ High Roller.
Behind FanDuel's Ontario Push: Toronto Tempo, the June 3 Poker Launch, and the No-Bonus Brand Bet
Flutter's April 28 WNBA Toronto Tempo deal and its June 3 Ontario poker relaunch read together as a single brand-led acquisition strategy in a province that bans bonus advertising. Synthesis analysis.
Negreanu Sweeps Day 1a of WSOP $25,000 Heads-Up Championship; Eight Advance to Sunday
Toronto's Daniel Negreanu won all three matches on Day 1a of Event #7 on Friday, beating former champion Darius Samual in his opener. He is one of eight through to Sunday's 16-player Day 2 and is playing for an eighth career WSOP bracelet.
Mississauga's Daniel Dvoress Makes Triton Poker History With Three Titles in Montenegro
The Toronto-area pro won the Golden Decade opener, the C$100K PLO Main Event, and the closing PLO Turbo Bounty Quattro for US$3.234 million, becoming the first player in Triton's ten-year history to take three titles at a single festival.
FanDuel Poker Ontario Launches June 3, Ending 27-Day Outage and Replacing PokerStars Software
Tuesday's launch reopens the regulated Ontario poker market under the FanDuel brand on Playtech's iPoker software. Sunday Million is not part of the launch; Sunday Dynasty and Sunday Shield carry C$100,000 GTD launch weekend.
British Columbia Stands Up Independent Gambling Regulator on Ontario-Style Model
The Independent Gambling Control Office took effect on April 13. Fees are modelled on Ontario's framework. BC has not yet opened to private online operators, but the structural pieces are now in place.
Cho Considers New iGaming Ad Rules as 2022 Auditor General Recommendations Return to Queen's Park
Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming Stan Cho says he is 'very seriously' weighing additional iGaming ad measures. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts' adoption-of-recommendations motion returned to the House Thursday.
Daniel Ghionoiu Wins WSOP Circuit Playground May 2026 Main Event for C$370,001
Local player defeats a 1,022-entry field at Kahnawake to take his first WSOPC ring. Eight of the nine final-table seats were Canadian. Franco Tucci collects his second WSOPC ring of 2026 in the Colossus.
Lottery Coalition Chief Says Canadians Confused on Legal iGaming as Ontario's Ad-Ban Bill Falls
Molly Cormier, new executive director of the Canadian Lottery Coalition, says regulated-market advertising has left Canadians confused. Bill 107, the Ontario Liberal ad-ban bill, fell at second reading on May 13.
Ontario's iGaming Channelization Rate Climbs to 91 Per Cent; the Poker Caveat
A new Ipsos study commissioned by AGCO and iGaming Ontario puts the regulated-market share at 91.1 per cent, up 7.4 points in a year. Why poker remains the outlier inside that headline figure.
Alberta's New iGaming Chief Says Liquidity Pact With Ontario Is in the Works
At SBC Summit Canada, AiGC CEO Dan Keene confirmed a memorandum of understanding with Ontario on shared player pools is being actively negotiated. Poker, he said, is especially dependent on liquidity.
WSOP 2026 Opens in Las Vegas; Ontario Funnelled Through a Single Online Door
The 57th World Series of Poker begins Tuesday with 100 bracelet events across 51 days. For players physically located in Ontario, the regulated online road to the Strip starts and ends at GGPoker.
How GGPoker Became the Default Ontario Poker Brand of 2026
Five forces tipped the Ontario poker market: the PokerStars shutdown, the immediate beneficiary effect, BetGuard's structural moat, the Alberta absence, and the WSOP Circuit Playground qualifier route.
Casino Niagara Spring Main Event Opens Tuesday at C$1,000
May 19-21 in Niagara Falls. C$1,000 No Limit Hold'em with a 30,000 starting stack and 30-minute levels. The first major live Ontario tournament since BetGuard launched.
BetGuard Goes Live: Ontario Players Get One-Click Self-Exclusion Across All Regulated Sites
iGaming Ontario's centralised self-exclusion programme launched May 14, covering all 44 iGO operators, 76 regulated sites and OLG's PROLINE. Terms of six months, one year, five years or custom.
Alberta Applicant List Reveals Who Plans to Cross the Liquidity Bridge
Alberta's first published iGaming applicant list confirms BetMGM, Entain and Flutter Entertainment are in. GGPoker, the Ontario online poker market leader, is the most notable absentee.
GGPoker Ontario Hits Two-Year High as PokerStars Stays Offline
With the PokerStars Ontario platform dark since May 7, GGPoker Ontario set its highest Sunday tournament entry count in two years on May 10. 888poker Ontario also reported a smaller bump.
AGCO Fines Two Suppliers C$80,000 in First Major Supply-Chain Crackdown of 2026
Relax Gaming and Arrise Solutions each fined C$40,000 for letting their slot games appear on unregulated websites accessible to Ontario players. The action signals a sharper supply-chain phase of regulator enforcement.
WSOP Circuit Returns to Playground Saturday with C$2.2M Main Event
Eighteen gold-ring events run May 10 to 25 at Playground Kahnawake; GGPoker Ontario is the only online qualifier route for players physically located in the province.
PokerStars Ontario Goes Dark on May 7, New Accounts Required for FanDuel Launch
Legacy platform shuts down Thursday; existing accounts will not migrate; cashouts required by June 4.
PokerStars Ontario Retires Jackpots Today, but FanDuel Client Stays Behind the Wall
The PokerStars on FanDuel platform went live across three US states on April 1. Five weeks on, Ontario has no launch date.
Alberta Confirms July 13 iGaming Launch, 20 Operators Paid to Enter
Canada's second regulated online gaming market opens in ten weeks, with 32 providers registered and shared liquidity with Ontario within reach.
Ontario Online Poker Posts Record C$6.9M Month as Wagers Hit New High
March 2026 set fresh all-time highs for revenue and wagers, ending a near two-year plateau for the peer-to-peer poker line.
GG Ontario Festival to Guarantee Record C$8 Million as Global Series Opens Saturday
Three buy-in tiers, C$100,000 in leaderboard money, and the largest spring online series ever staged in regulated Ontario.
PokerStars Ontario's Migration to FanDuel Begins May 5, but the Player Pool Will Not Move
Ontario's first hard date in the Flutter consolidation is six days away. Ring-fencing keeps the province out of the new tri-state liquidity pool.
Three Ontario iGaming Exits in Three Months, but Poker Operators Hold Their Ground
Casumo's withdrawal closes April 30. The casino vertical is consolidating; every Ontario poker brand has stayed put.
Three Spring Online Series Open This Weekend, None Reach Ontario
PokerStars, GGPoker and 888poker open festivals worth more than US$304 million combined. Ring-fencing keeps Ontario players outside the global pool.
Ontario's BetGuard System Will Centralize iGaming Self-Exclusion Across the Province
Single registry replaces site-by-site lists, enforced across all 50-plus licensed operators with on-ramps to OLG and brick-and-mortar venues.
Alberta Wins Right to Intervene as Supreme Court Prepares to Hear Ontario Poker Liquidity Case
Quebec joined the appellants on April 2. Ruling will determine if Ontario can pool poker liquidity internationally.
Ontario Bill 107 Would Ban All iGaming Advertising, Target 50 Licensed Operators
C$1M fines, licence revocation for repeat offenders. Debate set for mid-May.
GGPoker Announces $1.25M GG Cash Game Festival to Run Alongside $300M World Festival
May 4 to June 7: $250K in weekly leaderboard prizes across three stake tiers.
Kristen Foxen Falls in USPO $25K Finale as Coleman Delivers Bad Beat for $420K
Canadian star banks $264K for 2nd. Wilson captures Golden Eagle.
The Foxen Family Sweeps the U.S. Poker Open: Alex Wins Event #7 After Kristen's Victory
Combined $408K for poker's premier couple. 18 PGT titles between them.
GGPoker Announces Record $300M World Festival, Largest Online Poker Series Ever
375 events, May 3 to June 9, buy-ins from $3 to $10K. Ontario schedule expected.
iGaming Ontario Unveils BetGuard, Province-Wide Self-Exclusion Platform Launching in May
Players will be able to opt out of all 48 licensed operators through a single centralized process.
Kristen Foxen Defeats Ausmus to Win U.S. Poker Open Event #4 for $198,000
Canadian claims fifth PGT title, flopping set of sixes in the final hand.
Kristen Foxen Reaches U.S. Poker Open Final Table After Career-Best Triton Run
Canada's all-time female earner sits third in chips in the $10K NLH, chasing $198K.
Ontario Tightens iGaming Standards as Centralized Self-Exclusion Program Nears Launch
AGCO revises standards ahead of province-wide self-exclusion system. February wagers hit C$8.73B.
