How New US Tariffs Could Impact Canada’s Online Gambling Market in 2025

In the brief time, Donald Trump has been back in the White House for his second term as U.S. President, his willingness to enact immediate change across a number of sectors of society has been making headlines all over the world. One of the more controversial legislations that Trump is looking to push through involves the implementation of tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico that amount to a staggering 25%. Legislation that could have dire consequences for Canada and its economy.

While much of the focus has been on trade elements between the two countries, other industries also find themselves in the firing line, not least the gaming industry and for Canada, this could have a knock-on effect on one of the fastest rising industries within the country: online gambling. Since Ontario took the plunge and legalized online gambling, which includes online casino play and online sports betting, on 4th April 2022, online gambling has been on the rise for people in Ontario to the present day.

 

With the activity producing more significant revenue numbers by the year, reaching $2.4 billion in 2024, there is great interest in protecting and expanding this industry across Canada and potentially across the globe, including the U.S. However, while the 25% tariffs on physical goods such as steel and aluminum have been well documented, the potential impact of tariffs on digital services will make those involved in the online casino industry in Canada slightly nervous.

 

The Invisible Barrier

Trump’s motivation to impose “fair and reciprocal” tariffs on digital services mainly revolves around the attitude of taxation towards big tech companies such as Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta, as shown by other countries, including Canada. Still, there are potentially wider repercussions for any other company that digitally supplies cross-border services. This is where online gambling in Canada could be affected.

 

Any potential tariff that could be introduced on digital services coming out of Canada could significantly reduce the overall revenue produced by Canadian online casinos or sports books. Digital Services Tax (DST) affect digital industries from music streaming to social media, search engines, and online marketplaces, and any retaliation from Donald Trump would force decision-makers to reconsider which markets they target in the future, potentially missing out on the lucrative U.S. market.

 

Creation of a domestic market

With future trade relationships with the U.S. potentially frayed, there could be a silver lining to the current wrangling over tariffs. Should the potential tariffs on digital services such as online casinos prove too much for the Canadian government, they could decide to focus on expanding the online gambling industry within their borders.

 

So far, only Ontario has fully implemented a regulated framework for online gambling and as per the revenue numbers, it is thriving and continuing to grow. With all the talk around tariffs and the debate around cross-border online casino play on games such as poker, more consideration could be given to establishing online gambling frameworks in provinces that do not currently have one and improving the standards on platforms like the online casino Dolfwin to match those set by more affluent and established online gambling markets around the world.

 

Canada is wrestling with the dilemma of potentially promoting more illegal online gambling by opening up the online gambling market across the whole of the country. Due to the potential digital tariffs that Trump is attempting to force through, it might be challenging to ignite any transactional relationship with the U.S. if the higher powers in the provinces in Canada open up the online gambling industry to a broader worldwide audience.

 

However, with a successful grounding in the global online gambling market, thanks to Ontario’s progress since 2022, Canada can potentially extend their influence through some internal decision-making. Trump’s tariffs might make digital trade across the border with another thriving online gambling market difficult. Still, with a strong demand in Europe, Canada has plenty of other trading partners.