Ontario's bullish on future of iGaming

It’s not uncommon for Gina Singh (a fictitious name) to include in her weekly life a trip to the convenience store each week to make her Pro Line picks, and then spend some time in the evenings playing online poker or another casino game. To paraphrase that well-known philosopher Forrest Gump, internet gaming and sports betting go together like peas and carrots.

Which explains why the panelists on a Borden Ladner Gervais-hosted discussion on The Future of iGaming in Ontario early Tuesday afternoon were  “crossing fingers and toes” and “knocking on wood” in reference to the scheduled third reading of Bill C-218 by the Senate later in the day. As you know by now, that didn’t happen (we should have taken the over on how many sittings it would take for the bill to get the go-ahead from our senators not named Matthew Tkachuk and Thomas Chabot). 

While everyone else throws salt over their shoulder, rubs their lucky rabbit’s foot, orders coffee from the same barista every morning (you get the picture) in anticipation of single-event sports wagering getting the green light, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission is moving full steam ahead on a competitive and regulated internet gaming market. Shortly after the BLG panel discussion, the AGCO announced the third stage of its engagement with iGaming stakeholders. The latest phase, in the words of the commission, is “outlines the AGCO’s approach to regulatory compliance for iGaming that is both risk-based and outcomes-focused”. 

To refresh folks’ memories, the Ontario government, as part of its budget last November, requested the AGCO to create a subsidiary that, in the words of BLG’s John Murphy “would establish a new market for online internet gaming that’s competitive and protects consumers”. It’s quite simple why there’s an appetite to do so. As Front Office Sports reported earlier this week, $1.7 billion (U.S.) was spent globally in the first quarter of this year on mobile gaming - a 40 per cent boost year over year.

As is the plan for a legal sports betting industry, Ontario will open its doors to iGaming companies willing to operate under a regulated, revenue-sharing agreement. 

“We are looking at things that support job creation and growth (post-pandemic),” said Stan Cho, parliamentary assistant to the Ministry of Finance. “We want operators to create jobs in Ontario.”

For more on the AGCO’s iGaming process, we suggest you click here. 

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