CanadianGamingBusiness

A group of Liberal Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) in Ontario have authored legislation that would ban most online gambling advertising in the province.

MPP Lee Fairclough’s Bill 107, titled the “Stop Harmful Gambling Advertising Act,” was officially introduced in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on Monday, April 20. It adds to a federal effort to rein in sports betting-specific advertising, S-211, which has passed the Senate and currently sits in the House of Commons.

MPPs target all online gambling ads, not just sports

Unlike that federal Private Member’s Bill (PMB), which aims to establish some kind of national framework for regulating sports betting ads, Fairclough’s PMB proposes an explicit ban on online gambling advertising at large. It would amend Ontario’s Gaming Control Act of 1992 to prohibit any of Ontario’s almost 50 online sportsbooks or online casinos from advertising or otherwise promoting their sites or products in the province.

Any iGaming company convic..

As Alberta continues to build the foundations for its upcoming regulated iGaming market, the market’s conduct-and-manage agency has followed Ontario’s lead by partnering with the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) on a key requirement for operators.

RGC and the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) announced on Friday that all registered online gambling platforms will be mandated to achieve the council’s RG Check accreditation.

RG Check was orginally developed by RGC in 2010 in consultation with policymakers, operators and people with lived experience of gambling harm. The independent responsible gambling verification program evaluates online casino and sports betting sites against evidence-based benchmarks, assessing their governance, player protection measures and marketing practices.evidence-based

The AiGC and RGC said the requirement will ensure that every licensed operator meets the highest standards for responsible gambling measures and supports.

“Alberta is committed to buildin..

Ontario’s regulated commercial iGaming market has many player supports in place, but one thing it doesn’t have is a simple and effective way for gamblers to cut themselves off from all licensed operators. That will change in 2026, as iGaming Ontario (iGO) will finally launch its long-awaited centralized self-exclusion (CSE) system for players.

As we approach four years since Ontario’s market launched in April 2022, and as it swelled to around 50 operators running more than 80 iGaming sites, iGO President and CEO Joseph Hillier acknowledged that centralized self-exclusion has been a long time coming.

“I think there’s a recognition that we’re overdue for this system,”Hillier told Canadian Gaming Business in an interview.

After a long ramp-up period, it sounds like things are on track for the program to finally go live in 2026.

“I think we’re pretty confident that midway through next year, we’ll be in a position to do our public launch,” said Hillier.

80+ websites, one way to self-..

There is still no firm launch date for Alberta’s regulated online gambling market, but there is progress this week when Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) published its Standards and Requirements for Internet Gaming (SRIG) on Jan. 13.

Alberta’s iGaming will be run like Ontario’s, wherein the AGLC is the market regulator and the Alberta iGaming Corporation (AiGC) is the conduct-and-manage agency that is roughly equivalent to iGaming Ontario (iGO).

Unlike the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), AGLC will be both regulator and operator. It will continue to run Play Alberta, the province’s only regulated iGaming platform, that will soon compete with commercial licensed online sportsbooks and casinos. Per various analyses, Play Alberta currently holds around 25% to 30% of iGaming play in the province.

While AGLC is now accepting applications from operators and suppliers, the commercial online casino and sports betting market launch is still months away. In the meantime, the 85-page draft AGLC standards answer some key questions that were left hanging when the province passed the iGaming Alberta Act in spring 2025.

Tax rate and licensing fees

Applicants to enter Alberta must complete a two-step process where they first register with the AGLC and subsequently sign a commercial agreement with the AiGC.

AGLC confirmed that operators will pay a one-time $50,000 application fee and a $150,000 annual registration fee, and must pay the annual fee for each iGaming site that they run in the province. On the supplier side, platform and gaming system providers will pay a $15,000 annual registration fee while other suppliers, such as payment providers, oddsmakers and Independent Integrity Monitors, will pay $3,000 per year.

Operators, the Canadian Gaming Association and other stakeholders called in the past for Alberta to adopt a similar tax rate to Ontario, which taxes operators at 20% of their non-adjusted gross gaming revenues.

Alberta appears to have heeded that call. While not specified in the standards, Canadian Gaming Business understands that the proposed tax rate is close to the 20% mark. The big difference from Ontario is that Alberta will deduct 3% of GGR before taxing it. A total of 2% will go towards First Nations funding and another 1% will be dedicated to social responsibility initiatives. After those deductions, operators will pay 20% of their remaining GGR to the government.

How can (or can’t) operators advertise?

Once fully registered and paid, operators will be allowed to start advertising and signing up customers immediately in Alberta in the ramp-up to the market actually beginning play.

Like Ontario, Alberta will place some restrictions on how operators can promote themselves. Most notable is a line in the standards that stipulates that “advertising and marketing materials must contain a responsible gambling message.”

While Ontario has certain requirements for operators regarding things such as spending a certain amount on responsible gambling messaging and only using public figures to advertise RG resources, Alberta seems to be proposing that all iGaming advertising must have an RG slant. An Alberta government release issued on Wednesday added that gaming companies will be required to ensure their advertising does not target minors and that pro athletes are not used to promote gambling activities.

Another note dictates that operators must ensure that none of the third parties they use for direct-to-consumer marketing or player referral services also work with unlicensed operators in the province.

AGLC puts player protection top of mind

As promised by Minister Dale Nally during legislative discussion of Bill 48 last year, Alberta’s regulations will place a strong focus on player protection.

Written into the iGaming Alberta Act itself was the use of a centralized self-exclusion system (CSE), a tool similar to the one iGO is aiming to launch for Ontario in mid-2026. AGLC confirmed that all licensed platforms must integrate with the CSE, which will allow every player to opt out of all iGaming sites, all land-based gambling venues or both categories at once. Operators will need to exclude any self-excluded players from all marketing.

The AGLC standards add that operators must also offer players in-app tools such as deposit and wager limits and cool-off periods, and that platforms’ responsible gambling materials must be periodically reviewed and updated to meet requirements and best practices.

Like Ontario does, Alberta will also mandate that operators take steps to prevent betting manipulation. Licensees will also have an obligation to establish controls to identify suspicious betting activity and report it to an Independent Integrity Monitor. AGLC has a detailed list of instructions for what needs to be reported, to whom, and how quickly.

iGaming Corporation recruitment ongoing

Minister Nally’s office told Canadian Gaming Business in November that the intent is to finalize the regulations soon. A spokesperson also added that work was underway to finish building out the AiGC.

AGLC Vice President of Gaming Dan Keene is currently serving as the AiGC’s interim CEO. Consulting firm Odgers Canada is leading recruitment for several other key positions, including chief compliance and operations officer, chief financial officer, chief information officer and general counsel.

FanDuel is being ordered by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) to pay a hefty penalty for the operator’s failure to detect and report suspicious betting activity.

On Thursday, the AGCO ordered FanDuel Canada to pay a $350,000 penalty following a probe that identified wagers placed in Ontario that indicated instances of match-fixing.

The probe centered around 144 wagers placed between October 2024 and November 2024 by three Ontario player accounts on Czech Table Tennis Star Series matches. The AGCO’s investigation found that FanDuel failed to take proper action, allowing the three player accounts to place suspicious wagers for several weeks. According to the AGCO, FanDuel did not meet its obligations to identify unusual and suspicious betting behavior.

“While we are disappointed with the decision made by the AGCO to issue this fine, we are unwavering in our commitment to working with them to identify areas of integrity concerns and protect sports from those who seek to undermine fair competition and the games we love,” said a FanDuel spokesperson in a statement to Canadian Gaming Business.

The AGO’s investigation into the suspicious wagering activity found that FanDuel should have detected and taken action against instances of synchronized wagering across the three player accounts that led to unusual shifts in betting lines on two specific athletes.

The AGCO’s reporting requirements for suspicious activity

The AGCO requires licensed operators to report all suspicious wagering activity to Independent Integrity Monitors that share the unusual behavior with other operators in the province, allowing them to monitor their own services to determine whether illicit wagering is also taking place on their platforms. The Independent Integrity Monitors also share suspicious betting activity reported by operators to leagues and governing bodies.

“In an era of heightened scrutiny on sports integrity, iGaming operators must be vigilant and proactive in detecting suspicious betting activity and taking appropriate steps to protect their patrons,” said AGCO CEO Dr. Karin Schnarr. “We will continue to hold all regulated operators accountable to these standards. Protecting fair play is essential to maintaining public trust.”

FanDuel believes it took the necessary reporting steps

FanDuel is taking a different tone compared to the AGCO by contending that it took the necessary steps in detecting and reporting the unusual betting behavior in Ontario. FanDuel pointed to its integrity monitoring system that it said properly detected the wagers.

“Our integrity monitoring program enabled us to be the only operator to proactively identify, investigate and report this suspicious activity to integrity monitors. FanDuel then proactively reported this activity to the AGCO,” continued the Flutter-owned operator.

The company also voiced its displeasure the AGCO’s decision to levy a monetary penalty.

“As an operator that prides itself on the trust we have built with our stakeholders, we do not feel that this action accurately reflects the commitment and investment we have consistently demonstrated regarding protecting the industry, our customers, and the integrity of sport,” added FanDuel. “We are also concerned it could discourage the industry from engaging in best efforts to identify, investigate, and report on irregular activity.”

FanDuel has the opportunity to appeal the AGCO’s monetary penalty. The operator can submit an appeal within 15 days to the License Appeal Tribunal (LAT), which is independent of the AGCO. Entities that appeal monetary penalties typically receive a decision from the LAT within 40 days of appeal submission, with hearings on the matter also on the table.

FanDuel has not yet made a decision on whether it will appeal the AGCO’s penalty.

AGCO penalizes another licensed sports betting operator

The AGCO also recently levied a monetary penalty against theScore.

The commission imposed a $105,000 penalty for theScore failing to adhere to responsible gaming and player protection standards. An AGCO probe determined that theScore failed to detect potential gambling-related harm when a customer wagered $2.5 million with the operator, resulting in roughly $230,000 in losses over an eight-month period.