“It is a significant change because Canada has had a significant grey market in the online space forever,” said Paul Burns, CEO and president of the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA), which represents private companies active in Canada’s gambling industry. However, the lottery corporations have long faced fierce competition from a thriving offshore market amid uncertainty about whether prohibitions under federal law can be applied to operators outside the country and limited desire to test that through enforcement actions. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) this month adopted final standards for online casino gaming and sports betting, while a new AGCO subsidiary has released a draft version of the commercial contract that approved operators will have to sign to be able to operate fully lawfully in a Canadian province for the first time, potentially as soon as December.Ĭanada’s regulated online gambling market is currently limited to state-owned lottery agencies, including the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, that offer casino, lottery games and now sports betting online in almost every province. Ontario is weeks away from establishing Canada’s first online gambling licensing regime, although key policy questions still remain for a market that will be unique in North America.
