Posted on: April 7, 2026, 10:10h.
Last updated on: April 7, 2026, 10:11h.
- CSA and CIRO in Canada issue statement reminding investors and the industry about restrictions around prediction markets
- Wealthsimple was given regulatory approval to offer event contracts in late March
- Polymarket ban in Ontario in effect until 2027
With the U.S. market currently engaged in a multi-state legal battle involving prediction market operators Kalshi and Polymarket and various state regulators, financial regulators in Canada have issued a stern reminder of Canada’s own tight restrictions on prediction market trading.
Banned in Ontario
Prediction markets are platforms that facilitate trading of event contracts, which pay out based on the outcomes of future events.
The statement was issued by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO).
“Anyone trading, or facilitating trading, in event contracts which are securities or derivatives, must follow applicable requirements under securities or derivatives legislation, such as registration or recognition requirements, ” the statement read.
“For instance, in some CSA jurisdictions, Multilateral Instrument 91-102 Prohibition of Binary Options prohibits any person from advertising, offering, selling or otherwise trading a binary option having a term to maturity of less than 30 days, with or to an individual.
Wealthsimple Gets Approval
“Failure to comply with applicable requirements under Canadian securities and derivatives laws may lead to enforcement action,” the joint statement concluded.
CSA is an umbrella organization that coordinates Canada’s provincial and territorial securities regulators to harmonize rules across the country’s capital markets. CIRO is the national self-regulatory organization that governs investment dealers, mutual fund dealers and trading activity on Canadian debt and equity marketplaces.
Earlier last week, CIRO announced it would allow investment management service Wealthsimple to set up prediction market trading for events.
No Sports Event Contracts
That was a significant piece of news, since the dominating headline before this was in April 2025, when the Ontario Securities Commission settled with Polymarket, banning the prediction market from the province for two years, through 2027. Polymarket had operated in Ontario from June 2020 to May 2023, before the OSC cracked down. As part of their settlement Polymarket paid a $200,000 fine.
However, 2027 is coming fast. CIRO’s announcement last week came with a lot of restrictions – Wealthsimple, an Investment Dealer Member of CIRO, will now be able to offer event contracts around economic forecasts, like economic statistics around topics like labour markets, housing and central bank reserve rates, environmental forecasts and financial indicators.
There will be no “Yes” or “No” contracts around political or sporting events, like whether the Toronto Maple Leaf fire their head coach at season’s end. Kalshi and Polymarket growth in the U.S. has in part been driven by the popularity of betting “yes” or “no” on sports events, skirting state licensing and regulations around sports betting. That’s at the core of the many legal disputes currently playing out.
Polymarket Flyers
As a spokesperson from Wealthsimple told us that the company as yet hasn’t announced any product plans. The CIRO announcement only confirmed their regulatory approval.
Interactive Brokers Canada Inc. is the only other CIRO Investment Dealer Member to have been authorized to allow trading in event contracts.
As part of their deal with OSC, Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market, is not allowed to advertise in the province. The other day, though, flyers for Polymarket popped up outside a Toronto Blue Jays game outside of Toronto’s Rogers Centre. According to a report in the Globe and Mail, a spokesperson for the Jays said the organization was unaware of the flyer giveaway. The reporting said the flyers advertised Polymarket as an official partner of Major League Baseball and offered people $20 to gamble if they entered a Blue Jays promotional code.
$200,000 Fine
Outside of Ontario, the situation gets a little greyer – people can access the U.S. predictions using VPNs. But people inside the province cannot wager on Polymarket, although they can log on to see event contracts.
“Facilitating trading of event contracts by CIRO dealer members is subject to certain terms and conditions imposed by CIRO, in consultation with CSA members, which relate to what types of products may be offered to Canadian clients and how these products may be traded. The CSA and CIRO continue to review these terms and conditions, which may be subject to change for these dealer members and/or any others in the future,” the CSA and CIRO statement went on to say.
