On April 2, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) jointly issued a public notice reminding industry participants and investors of the existing regulatory requirements that govern prediction markets and event contracts in Canada. The notice is at the final, published stage and carries immediate compliance effect across all CSA jurisdictions.
The controlling authority is the securities and derivatives legislation applicable in each CSA jurisdiction. For event contracts that qualify as binary options with a term to maturity of less than 30 days, Multilateral Instrument 91-102, Prohibition of Binary Options, prohibits any person from advertising, offering, selling, or otherwise trading such instruments with or to an individual. The CSA notice also references a CIRO bulletin published on March 26, 2026, titled "Application of CIRO Requirements to Event Contracts," which sets out the terms and conditions under which CIRO dealer members may facilitate Canadian client access to event contracts, including contracts executed on foreign regulated prediction markets. At present, two CIRO members have received authorization on these terms.
Operators of prediction market platforms directing activity toward Canadian users must be registered or recognized under the securities or derivatives laws of the applicable CSA jurisdiction, or hold an applicable exemption. Failure to comply may result in enforcement action by CSA members. CIRO dealer members authorized to facilitate access to event contracts remain subject to CIRO's product eligibility criteria and trading conditions, which may be revised at any time. No prediction market platform has yet received recognition as an exchange or registration as a dealer, or an exemption from those requirements, by any CSA member.
The CSA and CIRO stated that they continue to monitor developments in this area and may issue further guidance on how securities or derivatives legislation applies to prediction markets and event contracts. They also reserved the right to impose additional regulatory action, including changes to the terms and conditions contained in the CIRO bulletin. Any industry participant seeking to trade, or to facilitate trading in, event contracts with Canadian investors must contact their local CSA member and CIRO before commencing activity.
Our firm advises prediction market operators, event contract platforms, and registered dealers on compliance with Canadian securities and derivatives requirements, and maintains a dedicated partnership network to assist clients with the applicable multi-jurisdictional requirements. We welcome inquiries on matters relating to event contract regulation, prediction market licensing, CIRO dealer member conditions, binary option prohibitions, exchange recognition, and CSA registration exemptions.
Source: Canadian Securities Administrators, "Prediction markets: CSA and CIRO remind industry and investors of the current rules," April 2, 2026, https://www.securities-administrators.ca/news/prediction-markets-csa-and-ciro-remind-industry-and-investors-of-the-current-rules/; CIRO, Application of CIRO Requirements to Event Contracts, March 26, 2026, https://www.ciro.ca.
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