CIRO bans sports and entertainment event contracts in Canada

Regulator updates terms and conditions

The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) updated its terms and conditions on Oct. 16 to explicitly prohibit event contracts tied to sports or entertainment outcomes.

CIRO stated it does not consider it appropriate to facilitate or approve applications by its Investment Dealer Members to trade event contracts based on sports and entertainment events or outcomes.

The regulator is also banning investment dealer members from presenting or promoting non-permitted contracts to clients, such as political betting.

Permitted contract types

Under existing CIRO rules, authorized investment dealers can offer event contracts tied only to economic forecasts, environmental indicators, and financial markets, with a minimum 30-day maturity period.

Contracts involving elections and other political outcomes remain strictly prohibited under CIRO rules.

Interactive Brokers Canada Inc. and Wealthsimple are the only CIRO investment dealer members authorized to offer regulated event contracts. Wealthsimple Predict officially launched in July following initial regulatory approval.

Market activity and new applications

Polymarket has attracted more than $500,000 in trading volume on Toronto’s Oct. 26 mayoral election. Trading on the Toronto mayoral race shows challenger Brad Bradford holds 50% odds with $201,762 volume, while incumbent Mayor Olivia Chow sits at 49% odds with $258,735 volume.

An executive team led by former Vanguard Canada CEO Atul Tiwari has filed an application with CIRO seeking registration as an investment dealer to launch VerdX, a regulated Canadian platform dedicated to event contracts.