iGaming operators and suppliers that are interested in participating in Ontario’s upcoming regulated, open, and competitive iGaming market can now register under the Gaming Control Act, 1992 (GCA) with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

All applications for registration must be made through the iAGCO web-based portal. Prospective operators and gaming-related suppliers can now create their iAGCO account and begin preparing their applications for registration.

Applying for registration is one of the key steps to participation in Ontario’s open and competitive iGaming market, as set out in the roadmap published by the AGCO.

Who needs to apply?

Operators:

• Registration is required for operators of a gaming site: i.e. those who have continual responsibility for the gaming site as a whole, including key decision-making activities, responsibility for compliance matters for the gaming site, and the authority to retain suppliers in relation to the gaming site.
• Registration is required for each distinct gaming site. Whether a prospective operator with multiple proposed offerings/websites is operating a single gaming site or multiple gaming sites will depend on factors such as whether there are uniform account credentials, a common e-wallet, common branding, and a common operator across various websites and products.

Suppliers:

• The requirements for gaming-related suppliers similar to those of the existing land-based regime in Ontario and focus on whether a prospective supplier’s goods or services are connected to, or directly relate to, the playing of a lottery scheme or the operation of a gaming site.
• General examples of suppliers that may be required to hold a registration as a gaming-related supplier include platform providers; suppliers who manufacture, develop, provide, and/or run games and game systems; customer electronic wallet providers; odds makers; and sports integrity monitoring organizations.
• The AGCO has stated that suppliers that would fall into the existing registration category of non-gaming-related suppliers will not need to register to be part of the iGaming market.

Applicants are encouraged to provide as complete an application as possible to ensure timely processing.

Registering over a one- or two-year term, operators will pay an annual regulatory fee of $100,000 per gaming site, and may also be required to pay investigatory and/or regulatory costs. Manufacturers of gaming equipment must pay $15,000 annually and suppliers of gaming-related equipment and services will pay $3,000 annually.

Application guides

On August 18, the AGCO published its iGaming operator application guide and on September 2, its iGaming supplier application guide. These guides have been provided to assist prospective applicants. They include a detailed list of the information and supporting documentation applicants must submit for the AGCO to process their applications.

Operators will also be required to enter into a commercial contract with iGaming Ontario, details of which can be found on the iGaming Ontario engagement portal.

iGaming Ontario anticipates providing the final commercial contract to interested operators (upon signing a non-disclosure agreement) in the very near future.

Final Registrar’s Standards

The AGCO also recently released its final Registrar’s Standards on iGaming in the province, incorporating the feedback it received on sport and event wagering standards.

The sport and event betting standards were developed to address the expanded menu of sport and event betting options and to minimize the potential compromising of betting markets through activities such as insider betting or game manipulation including:

• Requiring operators to actively monitor the betting markets for suspicious betting activity
• Prohibiting insiders, including coaches, athletes and referees, from betting on certain events
• Ensuring that sport and event offerings meet acceptable betting criteria and are not objectionable

The Canadian Gaming Association invites anyone with questions to contact [email protected].