The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has welcomed back Liane Fong as its new Chief of Staff to the CEO.

Fong previously held a number of roles at the AGCO between 2015 and 2021, including as Senior Manager of Corporate Affairs.

According to the regulator, Fong “developed broad knowledge of AGCO regulated industries” and effectively implemented “several policy and regulatory reforms” during her first stint with AGCO.

Most recently she worked at Tribunals Ontario as an Acting Senior Manager, and was also a member of the Executive Office.

Ontario iGaming market celebrates second birthday

April 4 marked the second anniversary of the regulated iGaming market in Ontario following the passing of Bill C-218 in summer 2021. Since then the market has grown from 12 private online gaming and betting sites on day one to 47 registered operators offering 77 regulated sites today.

Looking at the state of play two years on, Ontario bettors wagered $17.2 billion up until the end of 2023 and the government projects that iGaming will generate $423 million in net revenue through the first three years of the market, far exceeding the predicted three-year revenue total of around $75 million.

The proliferation of the legal market has also changed the betting habits of players. Prior to 2022 70% of online players in the province used unregulated sites while a recent study by Ipsos has found that 86.4% of Ontario players who gambled online over a three-month period used regulated sites.