A recent statement from the Canadian Gaming Summit from Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Gaming has revealed a major audit to come on iGaming in Ontario.
According to Minister Stan Cho, Canadian online casinos and sportsbooks in Ontario are expected to undergo a full review in an effort to improve efficiency and reduce regulatory burdens sector-wide.
“That Ontario’s gaming sector is booming would be a massive understatement,” Minister Cho said. “These historic figures, they represent a lot more than just the bottom line. They represent thousands of businesses, tens of thousands of jobs, millions paid forward to charity and billions back to the taxpayer.”
Notably, the review is set to be headed by experts in the field as well, with Cho noting that the review, as well as any change,s will not be made by “politicians sitting in a room thinking what's best for the industry.”
“We are going to listen to the experts,” he noted. “We are going to listen to what affects you as the operators. We're going to listen to the pros, and I want to make that very clear from the beginning.”
Behind the Decision
The effort to ultimately do away with some of the red tape associated with one of North America's fastest-growing iGaming markets – including Canadian sportsbooks – now boasting 50 licensed operators in the online gaming sector, appears much needed, with talk of “duplication” and inefficiency in a market that is still working out the kinks since legalization back in 2022.
“The ultimate goal is to ensure the whole gaming sector delivers strong economic outputs for Ontarians,” Cho added.
Canadian Gaming Association President and CEO Paul Burns added his approval for the review and what was to come, noting that the timeline was right for the exercise in determining the best path forward for the industry.
“If you can make it easier for companies to come and do business and to offer more products, more choice, more variety, and create better outcomes, let’s do that,” Burns said. “It’s some of the things that we’re already as an industry talking about. Between both land-based and online operators in Ontario, there’s a unique feature to the Canadian marketplace, and that is, there’s conduct and management, and there’s a regulator, and there’s two entities, and both require reporting.”
Interestingly, the move comes in the wake of a recent decision by the province to separate iGaming Ontario from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which is the province’s gambling regulator. It’s unclear at this time, however, whether the two decisions are intertwined, or whether the decision is related in any way.
“I think the market is just starting to sort of get comfortable with iGaming and understanding how that balances with land-based gaming,” Cho said. “So I think we have to monitor that carefully. That's why those two agencies need to be close to each other, but also need to be separate and autonomous to make sure that they adapt and mold to those changes together but are also close enough that we have the ability to move quickly and be adaptable.”
