Canadian securities regulators have ruled that sports and entertainment prediction contracts should not be regulated under securities or derivatives legislation. The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, known as CIRO, also said its dealer members should not facilitate or seek approval to trade them.

The guidance was issued on August 27, 2026. It removes a potential financial-market route for prediction-market platforms seeking access to Canada.

The notice does not authorize sports betting or prediction markets in Canada. Provincial and territorial gaming laws still apply, and no national licence or operating framework has been created.

The guidance is available from the Canadian Securities Administrators.

What the regulators decided

The Canadian Securities Administrators said event contracts tied to sports or entertainment activities and outcomes should fall outside securities and derivatives legislation.

These products are often called prediction contracts or prediction-market contracts because their payouts depend on the result of a future event.

CIRO, which oversees Canadian investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces, said it does not consider it appropriate for dealer members to facilitate or seek approval to trade these contracts.

The notice covers sports and entertainment contracts. It does not settle the regulatory status of every other type of event contract. The Canadian Securities Administrators and CIRO said their assessment of other categories remains ongoing.

A change from the March framework

CIRO’s March 26, 2026 bulletin outlined limited conditions under which two investment dealer members could facilitate certain event contracts for Canadian clients.

The permitted products included economic forecasts, environmental indicators and selected financial contracts. The framework required:

  • Trading and clearing through specified United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulated exchanges and clearing houses.
  • Contract terms generally lasting at least 30 days.
  • No leverage or margin trading.
  • No political event contracts, including election and referendum contracts.

That framework did not create general approval for sports contracts. The August 27 notice makes clear that sports and entertainment products should not enter the securities system through dealer participation.

CIRO’s earlier bulletin is available on its website.

Why the decision matters

The decision narrows the options for platforms that hoped to present sports prediction products as financial contracts rather than gambling products.

A securities-law route would have relied on registered dealers and financial-market supervision. CIRO’s position removes that channel for sports and entertainment contracts.

The practical result is regulatory uncertainty, not a market opening. Operators must determine whether their products can be offered under the gaming rules of the specific province or territory involved.

Those rules are administered through different public bodies. They do not amount to one national licensing system.

The distinction also matters for consumers. A product excluded from securities legislation is not automatically licensed, approved or protected under a provincial gaming framework.

Users should not treat the August 27 notice as proof that a prediction-market platform is authorized to operate in Canada.

What happens next

The Canadian Securities Administrators and CIRO said they will continue monitoring prediction markets. They may impose further restrictions or issue additional guidance.

Anyone trading or facilitating event contracts that qualify as securities or derivatives must comply with applicable securities laws.

For sports-focused platforms, the next dispute is likely to concern jurisdiction. Companies will need to establish which provincial or territorial rules apply and which public body would regulate the activity.

They would also need controls covering:

  • Age checks and identity verification.
  • Geolocation.
  • Payments.
  • Advertising.
  • Fraud prevention.
  • Player protection.

For now, Canada’s securities regulators have drawn a clear boundary. Sports and entertainment prediction contracts cannot use the securities system as their entry point, and the notice provides no alternative permission to operate.