The Distillery Historic District has filed a report with Toronto police after discovering a fraudulent website posing as the Toronto Christmas Market — a scam that continues to outrank the official event page in Google search results.
The website (tochristmasmarket.com) initially appears to promote Toronto’s popular holiday festivities, featuring a map of the Distillery District, a stage schedule, and even a list of sponsors. But closer inspection reveals gambling advertisements and a ticket-purchasing option that is currently not functioning and has no connection to the legitimate event.
The real festival, known as the Distillery Winter Village, is held annually in Toronto’s historic Distillery District. Its official website is thedistillerywintervillage.com. It was renamed Distillery Winter Village in November 2021.
The fraudulent site is identical to the site of the Distillery event in 2019, before the event was renamed in 2021, but now includes links to gambling sites.
In a statement shared with CityNews, Distillery Historic District management confirmed they have reported the site to its domain registrar and filed a report with the Toronto Police Service.
“The Distillery Historic District is aware of an unaffiliated website that has been using our imagery and event information without authorization,” the statement reads. “We continue to direct all visitors to the only official website… and strongly encourage guests to rely solely on this website for accurate event details and ticket purchases.”
Management added that the domain is registered to an independent third party outside of Canada, making acquisition difficult.
Organizers are reinforcing their messaging across social media, newsletters, advertisements, and on-site signage to ensure guests land on the correct page.
Crowds of people in the Distillery District of Toronto in December 2017. Photo: Getty Images.
Online backlash and search confusion
The issue has sparked debate on Reddit, where some Toronto users expressed frustration that the fraudulent site outranks the legitimate one.
“Eeeeek. Seems this was the legit site back in the day. Solid backlinks from many Toronto sites (hotels, etc.). These guys likely jumped on the domain when it expired and rebuilt the site based on the archive — and added their gambling banner,” wrote one Redditor.
“The fake site with gambling ads outranks the real site. Not good, Google,” wrote another Reddit user.
Organizers have previously emphasized that the event’s official branding is “Winter Village,” not “Toronto Christmas Market,” due to trademark restrictions.
“The Distillery Winter Village is Toronto’s original and world-famous Christmas market, still often called the Toronto Christmas Market,” the Winter Village’s website reads in its FAQ section.
The Distillery Winter Village is one of Toronto’s most popular holiday attractions, drawing thousands of visitors each year.
The tree lighting event is scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m., with the village open through Jan. 4, 2026. It is closed on Christmas.
