Ontario iGaming: AGCO registration plus an iGO operating agreement

Why Ontario uses registration, not a licence

Canada's Criminal Code only allows gaming that is "conducted and managed" by a province. Ontario squares that with a private market by making iGO the legal conductor of every game, while private operators run the sites under contract. The AGCO registers and supervises those operators under the Gaming Control Act, 1992.

The market opened on 4 April 2022. On 12 May 2025, under the iGaming Ontario Act, iGO stopped being a subsidiary of the AGCO and became a standalone provincial agency, a change designed to separate the commercial role (iGO) from the regulatory one (AGCO).

The two relationships every operator needs

Ontario's dual structure (AGCO and iGO public information, checked September 2026)

Each distinct site needs its own AGCO registration and fee. The AGCO treats platforms with separate player credentials, e-wallets or branding as separate sites, so a multi-brand group pays per brand.

Operator registration with the AGCO, step by step

1. File the operator application with a gap analysis against the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming.
2. Submit personal disclosure forms for every key individual and entity disclosures for the corporate chain, with financial statements, corporate records and, where relevant, criminal record checks.
3. Obtain technology certification showing the platform and games meet the standards.
4. Complete notification-matrix training and set up regulatory reporting in the AGCO's iAGCO portal.
5. Sign the operating agreement with iGO and pass its go-live readiness checks.

Timelines depend heavily on the completeness of the file and the complexity of the ownership chain. Consultants quote anything from several months to more than a year from application to launch; neither the AGCO nor iGO publishes a fixed figure.

The revenue share: what "20%" means

Under the operating agreement, operators remit a share of their gaming revenue to iGO and keep the rest. The figure is widely reported as 20% of net gaming revenue, but the full agreement is not public, so the exact definition of the base (for example the treatment of bonuses) is set in the contract rather than in any published regulation.

The scale of the market explains why operators accept it. In its 2024-25 annual report, covering the market's third year (April 2024 to March 2025), iGO reported more than C$82.7 billion wagered and C$2.9 billion in total gaming revenue, increases of 32% and 31% on the year before.

Suppliers: the registration many teams forget

Anyone who makes, supplies or tests games and gaming systems for Ontario, including content studios and platform providers, must register with the AGCO as a gaming-related supplier. The AGCO's regulatory fee for these suppliers ranges from C$2,000 to C$15,000 depending on the classification it assigns.

For an operator this becomes a due-diligence item: every company in your content chain that touches games for Ontario players must be registered. Ask each supplier directly for its AGCO status and the Ontario certification of each title. Studios such as Evolution, Pragmatic Play, Play'n GO and Endorphina have publicised their Ontario supplier registrations.

Game testing under the Registrar's Standards

Key components of an Ontario platform, including every game and random number generator, must be certified against the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming by an independent testing laboratory registered with the AGCO before they are deployed. Labs cannot issue Ontario certificates until they have registered as gaming-related suppliers and configured their methodology to the standards.

Well-known labs such as GLI, BMM, iTech Labs and eCOGRA test for Ontario. The standards are outcome-based: rather than a fixed minimum RTP, they require games to be fair, to behave as described to players and to have their return verified.

Running an Ontario lobby through one integration

Ontario rewards operators who can prove at any moment which games are live and why. With a casino game aggregator API, each title carries metadata (category, studio, currencies, market), which lets you publish an Ontario-only lobby limited to certified games from registered suppliers, and a country parameter at launch applies studio-level restrictions automatically. Demo play uses a separate call, getGameDemo, so free-play sessions never enter real-money reporting.

CAD is supported natively, and an Ontario site can be locked to CAD only. The same seamless wallet serves the live casino API and a sportsbook API, so an operator offering casino, live dealer and betting reports from one balance. Catalogue and currencies change continuously; the live list is in the API.

Rules that shape Ontario marketing and play

• No advertising of bonuses or inducements outside the operator's own site or to players who have not consented.
• Since 28 February 2024, a ban on using active or retired athletes in iGaming advertising, with narrow exceptions for responsible gambling messages.
• Players must be 19 or older and located in Ontario, confirmed by geolocation.
• Self-exclusion, limit-setting tools and responsible gambling requirements set out in the Registrar's Standards.
• Anti-money-laundering obligations under Canada's federal regime, alongside the AGCO's standards.

Where Ontario fits in a growth plan

Ontario is one of North America's largest iGaming markets, with rolling applications and no cap on the number of operators. It suits groups with regulated-market experience, a CAD proposition and the budget for C$100,000 per site per year. For European alternatives, browse our licence guides.

This guide is general information, not legal advice; engage Ontario counsel before filing.

Ontario iGaming: questions operators ask

Sources and last update

Registration steps and fees are taken from the AGCO's published pages; the market figures come from iGaming Ontario's own annual report.

• Gaming Control Act, 1992 (Ontario) and the iGaming Ontario Act (in force 12 May 2025)
• AGCO, "Apply for an igaming operator registration" and "Gaming-related suppliers" pages, checked September 2026
• AGCO, Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming and notice on independent testing labs registered for igaming
• iGaming Ontario, Annual Report 2024-2025
• AGCO announcement on athletes in iGaming advertising, effective 28 February 2024

Last reviewed: 24 September 2026.