The Quebec government’s plan to block unlicensed gambling sites from operating in the province is being challenged in court.
The Canadian Wireless Telecoms Association has challenged the province’s plan to block the ISP’s of the sites. The association has filed a motion in Quebec Superior Court asking for the province’s controversial online gambling legislation passed in May to be declared unconstitutional.
The bill’s provision to allow the ISP blocking has drawn sharp criticism form advocates of net neutrality as well as from consumer rights groups. ISP providers have also opposed the measure and questioned whether the province can really block itself off from the internet.
The association’s filing says the bill contradicts the Canadian Wireless Communications Act, which states: “a Canadian carrier shall not control the content or influence the meaning or purpose of telecommunications carried by it for the public.”
“As we had previously expressed to the Quebec government, the provisions in the Act would put ISPs and wireless service providers in conflict with Section 36 of the federal Telecommunications Act which governs all telecommunications in Canada,” said association Vice-President Marc Choma, in an official statement. “As well, we have always maintained, and as has been confirmed by the courts in previous instances, telecommunications is the sole jurisdiction of the federal government and must remain so.”
The province says the plan is a consumer protection to ensure residents play on the provincially licensed online gambling operation, Espace-jeux, which is run by the province’s gaming regulator Lotto-Quebec. The bill states that illegal websites do not promote responsible gambling rules and “They thus pose a risk to the population, especially young people.”
Lotto-Quebec has been charged with drawing up a backlist of some 2,200 gaming sites, which will be delivered in due course to ISP companies serving the province. Failure to comply carries a risk of $100,000 fine per infringement, according to Casino.org News.
