Ontario's iGaming Market: New Regulatory Landscape

The Ontario province's legal online gambling business went live on April 4, 2022. The old regime had confined only government sites to offering gambling. The new regime had also carved out space for private operators to offer online poker, casinos, and sports betting, but with strict regulations.

The Regulatory Setup

There were two agencies created to operate the system. The Ontario Alcohol and Gaming Commission, or AGCO, imposes regulation and responsibility on the operators here. iGaming Ontario, or iGO, is partnered with operators and manages the money. Any operator who wants to operate will have to register first with AGCO and then negotiate with iGO. It will be a matter of a few months for the regulators to ensure the company is set up and running, secure, and responsible.

Advertising Regulations

Ontario did not hesitate to pass legislation for North America's most prohibitive gambling ad laws. They cannot advertise free money bets or bonuses to the general public. They are only permitted to display ads on company websites or to invite players privately who specifically request them. Then, in February 2024, the rules were tightened again: young adult popular culture icons like celebrities and sports stars can no longer appear in gambling advertisements. They can now appear only in announcements calling for responsible gambling. They are not there to encourage gambling but to protect children and to avoid problem gambling.

Market Growth

The market has been experiencing phenomenally good performance since its opening. It generated a little over a billion dollars in gaming revenue during its first year. The revenue for 2023–24 was 2.4 billion dollars, a seventy-two percent enhancement over the previous year. It went up again to 3.2 billion dollars in 2024–25, a thirty-two percent enhancement. The gaming revenue is generated from what is left after players are paid. Gaming also generated thousands of jobs and millions of dollars injected into the Ontario economy.

New 2025 Developments

In May 2025, iGaming Ontario was a stand-alone Crown agency. Today, they report to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and no longer to AGCO. That separates the market manager from the regulator and avoids conflict of interest.

Later in the month, AGCO released tighter regulations for operators. Businesses are now going to be under greater pressure to prove that they are open, stable, and financially sound. They will need to prove that they are protected from cyberattacks, and there will be more intense audits from the regulators. Land-based casinos are being relicensed from the ground up. If they do install lottery terminals within. On their casino floors, they themselves now fall into having these serviced by security, cameras, and trained personnel, even though the terminals are owned by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.

In May 2025, AGCO issued a public announcement about media advertising of unlawful offshore gaming sites. The ads have the unintended consequence of leading gamblers to think the sites are legal when they are not. In July 2025, there was an amendment in which AGCO modified its responsible gambling training obligations. Operators are no longer required to have AGCO approval to introduce such programs, and this provides companies with greater flexibility without employee training obligations.

Finally, in mid-2025, the Ontario government introduced a total revamp of the online and offline gambling industry. The idea is to reduce bureaucracy, streamline, and fortify the system going forward.

The Meaning of Change in Ontario iGaming Market

To operators, the market is big and growing, but under strict regulation and increased barriers to entry. To players, the Ontario market has additional legal gaming sites, games shielded from illicit competition, and liberal policies on advertisement and promotion. For the province, the system is stable in revenues and jobs and is now mature enough to serve as a model for other jurisdictions.