Ontario Shared Liquidity Impact Estimator

What Is Shared Liquidity in Online Poker?

Shared liquidity refers to the practice of combining player pools from different regulated jurisdictions into a single network. When poker rooms operate under shared liquidity, a player in Ontario could sit at the same cash game table or enter the same tournament as a player in Michigan, New Jersey, or even France.

Without shared liquidity, each regulated market is "ring-fenced." Ontario players can only play against other Ontario players. This limits field sizes, restricts the variety of available games, and reduces the overall prize money on offer.

Why Is Ontario Currently Ring-Fenced?

Ontario launched its regulated iGaming market in April 2022 under the oversight of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario. The regulatory framework was designed as a standalone provincial market. Each operator licensed in Ontario runs a player pool exclusively for Ontario-based players.

This approach prioritizes consumer protection and regulatory control, but it comes at a cost: smaller player pools than what these same operators offer in their global or multi-state networks elsewhere.

The European Precedent: France, Spain, and Portugal

Europe provides the strongest real-world example of shared liquidity in action. In 2018, France, Spain, and Portugal signed an agreement allowing regulated poker operators in all three countries to merge their player pools.

The results were significant. PokerStars, which operates in all three markets under the .FR, .ES, and .PT domains, saw tournament field sizes grow substantially. Sunday majors that previously attracted a few hundred players regularly broke 1,000+ entries. Cash game traffic increased across all stake levels, and high-stakes tables that had been nearly empty became active again.

This European model demonstrates that shared liquidity can coexist with strong regulatory oversight while delivering better outcomes for players.

What Would Need to Change for Ontario?

Bringing shared liquidity to Ontario would require several steps:

• Interprovincial agreements between Ontario and other Canadian provinces that choose to regulate online poker
• International regulatory treaties between Canadian and foreign gambling regulators (similar to the EU model)
• Technical standards for cross-jurisdiction player verification, geolocation, and responsible gambling enforcement
• Operator readiness to merge separate player databases while maintaining compliance in each jurisdiction

No formal agreements are in place as of March 2026. However, the topic has been discussed at industry conferences and in regulatory consultations.

How to Use This Estimator

This tool lets you model different shared liquidity scenarios and see how they would affect Ontario's poker ecosystem:

1. Choose a scenario from the four options: Ontario Only (current baseline), Ontario + Canadian provinces, Ontario + US states, or Full International Pool
2. Fine-tune the multiplier using the slider to adjust the player pool size within any range
3. Review projected metrics including weekly active players, peak concurrent players, cash table counts, tournament field sizes, Sunday guarantees, and Sit & Go wait times
4. Compare visually using the bar chart that shows current vs. projected values side by side
5. Check room readiness to see which Ontario operators are best positioned for shared liquidity based on their existing network experience

For a deeper look at shared liquidity and what it means for Ontario's poker future, read our complete shared liquidity guide.