Ontario’s first ninety days
Ontario’s regulated market poses dilemma for operators Marius Adomnica finds entering the Ontario regulated market puts operators who wish to continue to access the rest of the Canadian market between a rock and a hard place. C anada’s first regulated iGaming market, covering the
to date continues to loom over their decision making – the effect registering in Ontario will have on their ability to operate in the rest of Canada. Ontario’s legalization did not change federal prohibition By way of background, Canada’s federal Criminal Code prohibits the offering of gaming services in Canada 1 , unless this occurs through a regulated market operated by a Canadian provincial government. Nonetheless, the Canadian market has long been served by numerous offshore ‘grey market’ operators. These operators access the Canadian market on the basis that Canadian law has limited extra-territorial application and, as long as their activities do not have a ‘real and substantial connection’ to Canada (in that they have no
province of Ontario, opened for business on April 4, 2022. Reviews so far have generally been positive, with a substantial number of operators entering the market. Ahead of the market opening, iGaming Ontario handed out a series of licences, with a host of major brands approved to operate in the province. PointsBet, theScore, Rivalry, Rush Street Interactive, Bet365, FanDuel and 888 all secured licences to offer online gambling in Ontario, while suppliers such as Inspired Entertainment, Play’n Go and High 5 Games have also been approved to work with licenced operators. The Ontario government has actively talked up its success touting the increased safeguards and player protections the market provides. However, as more and more operators begin accessing the market, one issue that has received little public attention
1 www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/pl/sb-ps/index.html
34 • IMGL Magazine • July 2022
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