Most recently the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has released a guide of requirements and recommendations for operators that want in on the province’s rapidly growing gaming industry. The commission will now offer licenses to gaming brands that have previously operated in the grey unregulated market. However, applicants must meet certain criteria first.
Many gaming operators and brands are already preparing to enter the province’s high-potential iGaming industry. The commission unveiled that the application will be accepted via its online portal iAGCO. But in order for the entity to cooperate with the operators, they must end their associations with any company that continues to operate in the grey market.
Further Details
According to the guide, released from the AGCO this week, the awarding of licenses task will be handed to its subsidiary entity iGaming Ontario. The recently launched online gaming regulator will begin issuing licenses later in 2021. Also, operators will be required to pay a fee of CA$100,000 annually for all of their gaming sites. Applicants can only select one- or two-year option terms.
Another standard that registrants must meet while applying for a license is in relation to their ties with grey market operations. According to the commission, all applicants who apply to join the launch of Ontario’s iGaming scheme must cut all of their ties to companies in the grey market area, once they have submitted their proposal to the AGCO.
The commission also stated that the application process will be made through its online platform iAGCO. In order to apply candidates must first register for an account, and then they will be able to apply for either AGCO-issued licenses, permits, authorizations, and registrations. However, the entity reminds that the application process is not yet started and will commence in the following weeks.
In their applications, candidates must include several supporting documents on the basis of which they will be assessed. This includes business name, constituting documents, certificate or articles of incorporation, details of shares, financial statements, government-issued identification. For limited partnerships, applicants must also present extra-provincial power of attorney. The full list can be found on AGCO.com.
Reviewed by iGaming Ontario
As already mentioned, submissions will be then reviewed by the recently introduced subsidiary online gaming entity of AGCO – iGaming Ontario. Despite being a subsidiary of the commission, the new entity functions separately and it has its own staff and board of directors. The provision is now tasked with conducting and regulating the online gaming space of Ontario.
New Online Rules
iGaming Ontario has already made some changes to the online gaming industry of the province. Previously, the entity revealed that the Auto-Play feature on digital slot games will be now banned, as players should commit to each spin individually. The spin speed of wheels has also been amended to a minimum of 2.5 seconds. Split-screen playing is also a thing of the past now.
Source: “Internet Gaming Operator Application Guide”, AGCO, August 25, 2021
