Legal iGaming was launched on Monday in Ontario, Canada. Yesterday, April 4, 2022, Canada’s largest province opened its regulated gambling market.
In this way, Ontario residents can legally play both online casino games and sports betting online, via their mobile device or computer.
What is iGaming Ontario?
iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the Ontario Alcohol and Gaming Commission (AGCO), is responsible for regulating the new online gambling market, will promote responsible gaming in Ontario, Canada, and issue licenses to operators and suppliers. PlayCanada estimates that almost 1,300 jobs will be created in Ontario due to the launch.
Driven by four main objectives; Consumer choice, consumer protection, legal market growth, provincial returns, and reduced bureaucracy, iGaming Ontario aims to provide the best online experience in the safest environment for Ontario players.
In April 2019, the Ontario government unveiled plans to end the lottery’s online gambling monopoly, and in 2020, the government introduced licensing legislation. In September 2021, Ontario published its final standards for online betting and gaming.
AGCO has approved a number of igaming operators and vendors in recent weeks, including 888 Holdings, LeoVegas Group, Rush Street Interactive, Gaming Realms, Bragg Gaming Group, Inspired Entertainment, Kambi, Kindred, Pariplay, FanDuel, and BetMGM.
More operators are expected to enter the market in the coming months. At least 30 applied for registration.
Contact Us to Start Your Ontario Gaming Company Today
Szilaghi Consulting has worked in the gaming business for over 18 years. Contact us today to find out how we can assist you with the incorporation of your gaming company, right through the business, fiscal, and licensing matters.
What does this mean for Operators?
Operators will be required to verify your customer’s identity (KYC) and adhere to the anti-money laundering (AML) requirements at the time of registration, ie a player creating a new account.
Know the customer
As part of an Ontario license, operators may implement the following methods of identity verification:
Credit file – This player verification must be from a Canadian credit bureau that has been in existence for at least three years and the information is from multiple sources. Name, address, and date of birth must match to pass. The name of the person, the number of the credit file, the name of the office or third-party provider, and the date of the search for the credit file must be recorded and kept.
Double source – All information collected as part of the operator’s KYC checks must come from two different sources. A combination of name and address, name and date of birth, or name and confirmation of a financial account must be matched.
Document verification – This must be a current, authentic document issued by the government. The name and photograph must correspond to what was submitted for registration, and the following information must be recorded and kept: name, document type, document number, province/state and country of issue, expiry date, and verification date.
Anti-money laundering
To support AML compliance, operators will be required to perform traditional PEP checks, sanctions, and media adverse checks while performing continuous monthly monitoring for any changes in the player’s circumstances.
All player information must be kept up to date and an annual reminder must be sent to the player to review and update their information.
Google advertising policy
In an update announced last week, Google has changed its advertising policy to include ads from regulated sports betting operators in Ontario. The policy change will allow operators to run ads for online sports betting, online casinos, and daily fantasy sports.
To qualify for Google ads, sports betting operators in Ontario must first be certified by the internet company in a process that will require them to submit their gambling licenses. iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), manages the licenses and internet games provided by private gambling companies.
Regulated operators will be required to comply with AGCO’s advertising rules, which prohibit them from promoting incentives, bonuses, or credits to players. Operators must also provide players with self-exclusion tools accessible through their websites.
On its Advertising Policy page, Google states: “We support responsible gambling advertising and abide by local gambling laws and industry standards, so we don’t allow certain kinds of gambling-related advertising. Gambling-related ads are allowed if they comply with the policies below and the advertiser has received the proper Google Ads certification.”
Contact Us to Start Your Gaming Company Today
Szilaghi Consulting has worked in the gambling business since 2004. We can assist new clients with the incorporation of gaming companies, fiscal registration, and licensing matters. To draw on our experience and to benefit from our advice, contact us today to find out more.
How can Szilaghi Consulting help you start your online gambling business?
Choosing a gambling licensing jurisdiction is quite difficult, to begin with. Given the sheer number of factors that need to be considered by gambling operators, the choice can be overwhelming.
Szilaghi Consulting has been providing services to the online and offline gambling industry since 2004. We have helped our clients to make the right choices, realize their visions, overcome obstacles, and, above all, succeed. We offer transparency and efficiency and we are committed to always acting only in your interest.
Our experience in obtaining online and offline gambling licenses differentiates us from the competition. We cover all your needs, from the incorporation of the gambling company to the creation of fiscal and compliance structures, to obtaining the gambling license.
We invite you to schedule a consultation with us. We like to communicate with our customers, troubleshoot their problems, and offer solutions. We invite you to contact us today to discuss this with one of our agents. Let us help you take your business to the next level.
