What standards must a casino meet before it is approved to offer games to Ontario players?

When players ask this question, what they're really asking is: can I trust that the casino I'm using has been properly vetted — or could it be a fly-by-night operation that just set up a website? That's the right instinct, and Ontario's answer to it is more rigorous than most people realize.

Two gatekeepers, not one

Internet gaming operators who want to join Ontario's regulated market must take steps with both iGaming Ontario (iGO) and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) before being allowed to provide their products and services to players in Ontario. These two bodies play distinct roles: the AGCO is the independent regulator that grants registration and enforces standards; iGaming Ontario is the provincial entity that conducts and manages the lottery scheme and enters into the commercial operating agreement with each operator. A casino needs to satisfy both before a single player account can be opened.

Fitness and integrity scrutiny

The AGCO will only register those operators who act with honesty, integrity, in accordance with the law, and in the public interest. In assessing eligibility, the AGCO carries out risk assessments and due diligence investigations, including assessments of each operator's character, financial history, and competence. This isn't a checkbox exercise — the regulator is looking hard at who actually owns and controls the business. Entity disclosure must be completed by any corporate shareholder holding 5% or more of any shares of an applicant corporation, so ownership structures can't be obscured behind layers of holding companies.

The Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming

The AGCO established a comprehensive, standards-based regulatory framework for operators and gaming-related suppliers to follow. The objective is to shift the focus from requiring compliance with a specific set of prescriptive rules towards the broader regulatory outcomes they are expected to achieve — outcomes reflected in the Registrar's Standards. This approach offers greater flexibility for regulated entities to make decisions that best suit their business needs while still meeting those regulatory outcomes.

Those outcomes span several critical areas:

• Responsible gambling. Responsible gambling is a key AGCO priority and central to the public interest. The intent is to ensure that gaming is provided in a way that seeks to minimize potential harm and promote a responsible gaming environment. Operators must also obtain accreditation under the Responsible Gambling Council's RG Check program.
• Player protection tools. Players must be provided with an easy and obvious way to set gaming limits — financial or time-based — upon registration and at any time after. Self-exclusion programs are also mandatory; the AGCO has required igaming operators to offer a voluntary self-exclusion program since the launch of Ontario's regulated igaming market in 2022.
• Anti-money laundering. iGaming Ontario only enters into agreements with operators that meet its requirements, including those governing anti-money laundering measures and player risk assessment. Compliance with federal AML legislation and FINTRAC oversight is part of the package.
• Technology and security. Operators and gaming-related suppliers who run a gaming system must provide the AGCO with confirmation that their technology is compliant with all applicable AGCO standards and requirements. Some suppliers must also have their technology certified by a registered independent testing laboratory (ITL).
• Anti-cheating measures. AGCO standards governing anti-cheating measures apply to all iGO sites and the games accessible therein. These standards include the presence of measures to deter, prevent, and detect cheating, to investigate complaints made by players, and to notify the AGCO's OPP detachment of incidents for possible criminal investigation.
• Advertising conduct. Operators cannot market irresponsibly. Advertising, marketing materials, and communications shall not target high-risk players, underage individuals, or self-excluded persons to participate in lottery schemes.

Audited proof, not just promises

Perhaps the most telling requirement is what happens after registration is granted. All operators are required to submit an independently audited document setting out the processes and controls they have in place to meet all of the outcomes and requirements in the Registrar's Standards — commonly referred to as a Control Activity Matrix (CAM). Operators assessed during the AGCO's eligibility review as potentially posing elevated risk may be required to submit this independently audited CAM before they launch. In other words, higher-risk applicants have to prove their controls are in place before they go live, not after.

iGaming Ontario retains the right to audit and inspect operators' books of accounts and other records as they relate to the operation of the site during the term of the agreements and for a period of seven years thereafter. Compliance is an ongoing obligation, not a one-time entry ticket.

The full, current text of the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming is published on the AGCO's website (agco.ca) and is worth bookmarking if you want to verify any specific requirement. If gambling is causing you concern, free confidential support is available through ConnexOntario at 1-866-531-2600.