After years of talks and plans, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has finally unveiled the legislation that will regulate a very profitable market.
This is great news for Canada since it removes the country from the grey area. It is, of course, a first step towards regulating the whole country, but we have no doubt that more provinces will follow Ontario’s lead in the months and years to come.
The applications are not open yet, however, the AGCO has published a guide to help operators get everything in order before applications start being accepted, presumably sometime in December. But let’s see how this will affect Canuck players!
Finally a Canadian online casino regulator!
At the moment, the only legal online gambling site available in Ontario is PlayOLG, which is owned and managed by the local government.
With the regularisation of the market, at least in Ontario, the monopoly currently held by PlayOLG will end, bringing to the scene more choice for players.
The guide released by the AGCO highlights the obligations of the operators and what the regulator expects each online casino to have in place in terms of security and safety.
The document provides a list of all the legal documentation needed to start the application once this is open in December.
This license will cost operators C$100,000 a year, and although there are no taxes to be paid, the arrangement will include the sharing on profits, something that will negotiated individually.
Who are the likely candidates?
Speculations are abounding about which operators will apply to service Ontario, the most populous state and home to Toronto, one of the largest cities in Canada.
Some operators have already expressed their interest, one none other than Torstar Corporation, owner of the newspaper Toronto Star.
Other interested parties hail from the US and have been leading very successful brands in a number of provinces.
Since the application process is not open yet, it is hard to say which operator will get licensed in Canada, but we believe there might be a few surprises in store!
