How does Ontario's iGaming licensing framework differ from how other provinces regulate online gambling in Canada?

To understand what Ontario actually built, it helps to start with the legal foundation that every province shares — and then see where Ontario diverged sharply from the path every other province took.

The shared starting point: the Criminal Code

The Criminal Code of Canada defines what types of gaming activities are illegal in Canada, and the provinces are assigned responsibility to operate, license, and regulate legal forms of gaming. The key phrase in the Code is "conducted and managed" — it permits lottery schemes "conducted and managed" by the province in accordance with any law enacted by that province. Every province, Ontario included, relies on this same federal carve-out to offer legal online gambling. The difference is entirely in how each province has chosen to exercise that authority.

The rest of Canada: the Crown monopoly model

In every other province that offers regulated online gambling, the answer has been a single government-owned platform. British Columbia runs PlayNow.com through the British Columbia Lottery Corporation; BCLC oversees all legal gambling products in the province, including lottery tickets, casinos, and online gambling. Québec channels online play through Loto-Québec's own platform. The Atlantic provinces operate through the Atlantic Lottery Corporation. In each case, the provincial Crown corporation is simultaneously the operator, the product developer, and the entity responsible to the public — a vertically integrated monopoly. If you want to play legally in those provinces online, there is one door.

This model is simple to understand and easy to enforce, but it means the game library, the user experience, and the competitive pressure on things like payout rates are all controlled by a single entity with no commercial rival in its own jurisdiction.

What Ontario did differently: an open, regulated market

Ontario broke from that template entirely when it launched its regulated market in April 2022. Rather than channelling all play through OLG.ca, the province created a framework where private commercial operators — global brands and domestic companies alike — could enter the market legally, provided they cleared a rigorous registration process. This framework was built to bring internet gaming operators into Ontario's market while enhancing consumer protections.

The architecture rests on two distinct bodies with deliberately separated roles. The AGCO registers and regulates online gambling sites and sets standards to protect players while working to ensure game integrity for people across Ontario. Then there is iGaming Ontario (iGO), which sits on the commercial side. Under the Operating Agreement, iGO appoints Gaming Operators as its agents solely to operate websites that offer, on behalf of iGO, online games to players in the Province of Ontario. That legal fiction — operators acting as iGO's agents — is what keeps the arrangement inside the Criminal Code's "conducted and managed by the province" requirement, even though the actual sites are run by private companies.

The AGCO's role as regulator is kept separate from iGO's commercial role. The AGCO continues to be responsible for regulatory oversight of all gaming activities in Ontario, including private igaming operators, suppliers, and iGO. In May 2025, that separation became even cleaner structurally: the iGaming Ontario Act, 2024, proclaimed into force on May 12, 2025, dissolved the parent-subsidiary relationship between AGCO and iGO, and formally constituted iGO as a standalone agency.

To enter this market, a private operator must both obtain AGCO registration and sign an operating agreement with iGO. Being a fully registered and authorized operator in the igaming market means the organization has successfully received registration by the AGCO and, with the exception of OLG.ca, has executed an operating agreement with iGO. To complete these steps, these organizations will have met rigorous standards of game integrity, fairness, player protections, and social responsibility.

What this means in practice for Ontario players

The competitive, multi-operator structure produces a market that looks nothing like what exists elsewhere in Canada. The highly competitive and open nature of the Ontario market, public awareness of the Ontario igaming market, and the availability of dynamic sports betting products and more than 5,000 casino games to Ontario players are direct results of that design. As of mid-2025, dozens of operators held active agreements with iGO, each running their own sites under AGCO standards — a depth of choice unavailable to players in any other province.

For player protection, the AGCO's Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming apply uniformly across all registered operators — covering responsible gambling tools, game integrity, anti-money laundering obligations, and underage access prevention. The Standards provide outcomes that Internet Gaming Operators and Gaming-Related Suppliers must meet to address key areas of regulatory risk. Areas addressed include the prevention of underage access, game integrity, privacy and information security, anti-money laundering, and responsible gambling. One practical signal of legitimacy: every fully approved Ontario igaming site displays both the iGaming Ontario logo and the BetGuard logo, confirming it operates within the regulated market.

Alberta has been watching Ontario's model closely. Outside Ontario, iGaming Ontario continued to build its relationship with the Government of Alberta's Ministry of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction as Alberta moves toward developing a safe and regulated igaming market — suggesting Ontario's open-market approach may eventually spread westward.

If you have concerns about your gambling or want support, ConnexOntario's problem gambling helpline is available around the clock at 1-866-531-2600. You must be 19 or older to participate in Ontario's regulated igaming market.