US Food Law Outlet Eyes Casino Sector as Canada’s Online Gambling Market Expands
19 October 2026
Foodservice is the unsung hero of casino revenue.
As the Canadian online gambling market expands, foodservice suppliers and compliance managers are keeping a watchful eye on U.S. casinos. The reason: a regulatory structure that can provide a roadmap as iGaming opportunities and competition grow north of the border.
The story begins with the food itself. In the U.S., a food establishment includes any operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, or sells food directly to consumers. That includes casino restaurants, bars, buffets, and quick-service outlets. More than 3,000 state, local, and tribal agencies bear primary responsibility for regulating this foodservice infrastructure, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines. Federal, state, and local gaming licenses layer on top, making for a complex legal patchwork.
But the need for compliance does not stop at the doors of the casino kitchens. As casino operations expand to feed a growing nationwide online market, the intricacies of regulatory compliance, operational delivery, and profitability are worth watching.
Casinos use their dining offerings to attract and retain customers, prolong visit lengths, and compel comps. Take the Resorts World Casino in New York City, for example. At its opening in 2011, the venue touted membership in a demanding dining club that rivaled any nearby Manhattan set: “over 30 food and beverage options, including fine foods, premium bars, a 24/7 café, steakhouse, sushi bar, family-style, and convenience,” the company’s external counsel noted in a 2023 court record.
The strategy supports food-service growth across the U.S. According to Us Foods, a top casino and gaming supplier, “casino and gaming food operations provide diverse food and beverage solutions to serve big groups, families, and single high-rollers—keeping them in the casino longer and fueling their excitement to increase gaming revenue.”
This husband-and-wife dynamic of food and gaming is part of a story that Canadian observers are watching with interest as iGaming opens new commercial opportunities in both land-based and online gambling.
Ontario has established itself as a top benchmark.
Ottawa launched its regulated market in April 2022, and by fiscal Q3 2024-2025, iGaming Ontario reported $22.7 billion in wagers and $825.8 million in gaming revenue, with 50 operators and 83 websites registered in the province.
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Now, Alberta is poised to become the next market to watch. The province passed the iGaming Alberta Act in March 2025, creating the Alberta iGaming Corporation and a competitive iGaming market expected to open in early 2026.
Elsewhere in Canada, as Alberta warrants, the rest of the country largely operates under government monopolies in land-based and online gaming.
The critical question: what does any of this mean for the food service sector?
Compliance managers in the casino food sector have their eye on the broader trend. As the Canadian online gambling market opens and Canadian regulators seek to emulate successful regulatory models, U.S. iGaming operators may have an edge.
“Regulatory compliance is an intensive process for an enterprise of any size, and a growing market will have specific requirements that foreign operators will need to understand,” Howard Chesky, a commercial hospitality attorney with Bernstein Shur, said in an interview. “Having a sophisticated operator negotiate those waters effectively can be a competitive advantage in a land-grab scenario.”
For casino foodservice players, this half-trend, half-advice sends a clear message: eye the North American online market closely. If regulators look to rely on regulatory models from their neighbors to the south, foodservice suppliers, operators, and compliance teams could see new growth opportunities across the border.