Don't gamble on compliance! iGaming Ontario celebrates one year anniversary with ‎numbers, reminders and updates

On its first anniversary of launching the public regulated gaming market, iGaming Ontario (iGO) has released a set of milestones, celebrations and updates of reminders for current and potential participants in Ontario, likely indicating areas of their regulatory focus. And while the financial information shows how big of a splash Canada’s largest province has made in the iGaming market, it is important to review the reminders aimed at providing clarity and guidance to those who wish to enter the regulated gaming market in Ontario,which hint at iGO’s regulatory priorities.

A successful first year

Turning to the numbers: according to iGO, in just one year the market has generated approximately $1.4 billion in total gaming revenue and $35.6 billion in total wagers, attracting over 1.6 million active player accounts with over 40 operators. This would make Ontario's regulated iGaming market one of the largest in North America, ranking it amongst the top five. The most popular sport to bet on was basketball, followed by soccer, football, hockey, and baseball. Almost half of all casino wagers were on slots, followed by table games with a live dealer and computer-based table games.

Ontario's Attorney General Doug Downey suggested that the regulated iGaming market has displaced the pre-existing unregulated market, though numbers about the grey market in Canada are hard to come across. According to Statista, the market size was $USD12.54 billion for all of Canada in 2021 excluding the grey market, with CDN$35.6 billion a very respectable result.  iGO also commissioned an Ipsos survey conducted in March 2023, which suggests that a strong majority of iGaming consumers in Ontario, at least the ones willing to respond to a government-sponsored study, chose to gamble or bet on regulated vs grey market sites. While 85.3 percent of respondents indicated they wagered on regulated websites, 14.7 percent did not and a further 19.5 percent wagered on a combination of regulated and unregulated sites.

While Ontario faces some tough legal battles as a result of their, shall we say, creative approach to its regulated iGaming market (one that, so far, no province has attempted to replicate), there nonetheless is a very strong appetite in Ontario for gaming and a much more safe, regulated, and protected environment provided by iGO is certainly a good thing.

Important reminders—and a reminder about iGO Confidentiality

We would be remiss if we did not point out the oddity of iGO’s regulatory approach when it comes to the dissemination of important regulatory information to potential and actual participants, as well as the general public. iGO considers all of their communications to be confidential, which places important regulatory matters and information behind a confidentiality agreement and “gated” website that must be agreed to before even accessing it. In other words, market participants need to agree to confidentiality terms before even being able to consider how a regulated gaming market might affect them in Ontario—it is not as simple as just looking up the laws or regulations.

This approach is likely taken to “bring out of the dark” unregulated operators, but it results in a very unique situation where important regulations are not publicly available.  iGO even requires, ahem, law firms that represent iGaming companies to submit their own iGOConnect registration and agree to their clients’ NDA’s, when using any of the information posted on iGOConnect or sent by email, in what hopefully will not give any potential operators pause in seeking legal advice before signing an important agreement.

Once a potential or actual operator has appropriate credentials, they are encouraged to regularly check iGOConnect.ca to make sure they have the latest information about the regulated environment.

Recent updates and reminders include:

• iGO has made updates to its Anti-Money Laundering/Anti-Terrorist Financing (AML/ATF) program, as the ever-evolving world of sanctions continues to affect all markets. This continues to represent one of the highest areas of risk for iGaming operators and they are encouraged to keep their compliance programs up-to-date.
• iGO takes careful steps to remind operators that they are prohibited from using the iGO logo in any marketing and communications until they have an executed Operating Agreement (OA) to prevent player confusion. It is important not to insinuate that you are a legal participant in the regulated market until you actually are, and so disclaimers should be carefully drafted.
• iGO requires significant gross gaming revenue reporting, to ensure they are meeting the necessary regulatory requirements and maintain compliance. Gaming revenue technically must flow and be managed through iGO in order to ensure they “conduct and manage” the gaming operations as required by Canada’s Criminal Code.
• iGO encourages potential Operators to initiate their application for registration with the AGCO as an Internet Gaming Operator in parallel with their preparations for seeking to enter into an Operating Agreement with iGO, given both are required before going live. The AGCO maintains a blog to keep folks up to date… thankfully not behind a gated site/confidentiality agreement.

These reminders are aimed at providing clarity and guidance to potential and actual participants in the regulated gaming market in Ontario. It is essential to follow the requirements set out by iGO and AGCO to ensure compliance and maintain a smooth and successful entry into the regulated iGaming market in Ontario—one that, so far, has generated significant financial success.