Ontario (Canada): gambling regulation and licensing

Ontario built the first genuinely competitive regulated online gambling market in Canada, and it had to invent a legal structure to do it. The market opened on 4 April 2022 using a conduct-and-manage model that exists to satisfy a Criminal Code requirement that gaming be conducted and managed by the province. iGaming Ontario stands as the entity conducting the gaming; private companies register with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, sign operating agreements with iGaming Ontario, and share gross gaming revenue with it. That split is the point. The AGCO is the regulator and registers operators, while iGaming Ontario is the counterparty, so an operator is simultaneously a registrant of one body and a commercial partner of another. Online casino, sports betting and poker are all permitted, to players aged 19 and over. The model has become the reference case for the rest of Canada, and other provinces have weighed whether to copy it rather than continue with a lottery-corporation monopoly. It has also been tested in court over whether Ontario players may share liquidity with players in other countries, a question that matters most for poker. What to watch is channelisation from the substantial grey market that preceded regulation, whether the revenue share holds as the market matures, and how firmly the AGCO enforces against registrants, since a conduct-and-manage model depends on the regulator being willing to discipline its own province's commercial partners. One caution when reading the market figures: iGaming Ontario reports exclude OLG’s own igaming offering and pari-mutuel horseracing, so they understate total Ontario online gambling and are not directly comparable with another jurisdiction’s headline number.

Regulator

Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)

Regulator type

Sub-national body

Headline tax

Not yet verified

Licence required

Yes

Minimum age

19+

Tax base

Rather than a headline gambling tax, operators pay a share of gross gaming revenue to iGaming Ontario under their operating agreement. The exact share is set by that agreement; confirm the current terms with iGaming Ontario.

Capital

Toronto

Currency

CAD

Official languages

English, French

Licence required

Yes

Application window

Not yet verified

Local establishment required

Not yet verified

Local server required

Not yet verified

Barriers to entry

Operators register with the AGCO and sign an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario; there is no traditional licence fee model, but a share of gross gaming revenue is paid to iGaming Ontario under the agreement.

Headline GGR tax

Not yet verified

Effective date

Not yet verified

Tax base

Rather than a headline gambling tax, operators pay a share of gross gaming revenue to iGaming Ontario under their operating agreement. The exact share is set by that agreement; confirm the current terms with iGaming Ontario.

Minimum age

19+

National self-exclusion

Not yet verified

KYC requirements

Not yet verified

Stake limits

Not yet verified

Advertising permitted

Yes

Affiliate rules

Affiliates promoting registered operators are within the standards, and the operator is accountable for material published on its behalf. Ontario requires that only registered operators be promoted to Ontario players.

Sponsorship rules

Sponsorship is permitted but the content restrictions follow the advertising standards, so sponsorship activations may not use athletes outside responsible-gambling messaging, nor figures likely to appeal to minors.

Celebrity and influencer rules

Athletes are prohibited outright unless the content advocates responsible gambling exclusively. Celebrities, role models, influencers, entertainers, cartoon figures and symbols are prohibited where they would likely be expected to appeal to minors. This is the strictest celebrity regime in North America and was the first of its kind in a regulated North American igaming market.

Social media rules

Social media promotion is within the standards, including the prohibition on inducement advertising in public channels and the restrictions on influencers who would likely appeal to minors.

Bonus advertising rules

Bonuses, credits and other inducements may not be advertised publicly. They may appear only on the operator own platform or in direct marketing to a player who has given consent, a rule the AGCO has enforced with monetary penalties.

Mandatory warnings

Advertising must include responsible-gambling messaging and must not misrepresent the likelihood of winning.

Penalties for breach

The AGCO can issue orders of monetary penalty, and has done so repeatedly for advertising and inducement breaches since the market opened in April 2022, alongside conditions on or revocation of registration.

Figures on this record are drawn from official regulator data.

Online GGR

C$4,038,800,000 as of 31 Dec 2025

Reporting year

2025

Year-on-year growth

34.3%

Active player accounts

1,123,000

Ontario is the reference model for regulated online gambling in Canada, and other provinces weigh whether to follow its conduct-and-manage approach. Watch channelisation from the previous grey market, the revenue-share economics, and any move by further provinces to open competitive markets.

Who regulates online gambling in Ontario?

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), with iGaming Ontario conducting and managing the market that launched on 4 April 2022.

1. Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)

   Government of Ontario

   Tier 1Accessed 4 Aug 2026
2. Gambling Laws and Regulations 2026 - Canada (Ontario)

   ICLG (International Comparative Legal Guides)

   Tier 3Accessed 4 Aug 2026
3. AGCO to ban athletes in Ontario igaming advertising to protect minors

   Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario

   Tier 1Accessed 30 Aug 2026Published 29 Aug 2023
4. Monthly Market Performance Report

   iGaming Ontario

   Tier 1Accessed 30 Aug 2026