Considering the news last week that the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario was slapping a CA$150,000 penalty on PointsBet Canada for failing to meet Ontario’s responsible-gambling requirements, the Canadian Gaming Association’s (CGA) announcement could be considered “interesting timing” by observers.
The PointsBet penalty relates to several alleged violations, including failing to “appropriately intervene and provide assistance to a player who was potentially experiencing gambling harms.” In this case, the player lost over $500,000 in under three months.
On the same day, the CGA announced they’ve launched a Commitment and Strategy to Promote Player Health and Wellbeing, with the objective of facilitating optimal player and community health and wellbeing with igaming.
CGA is holding an industry event at Dynamic Funds Towers in Toronto on Dec. 5 to launch the program.
As well as CGA members, attendees will include representatives from professional sports leagues, broadcasters, regulators, and people from the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC).
More specifically, session details for the Dec. 5 event include the RGC leading a workshop on the development of guiding principles for responsible gaming for the CGA. New IPSOS research will be presented and Ad Standards Canada will outline the process for developing a national advertising code for gaming at the request of the CGA.
“In Ontario, igaming operators have an obligation to proactively monitor their patrons’ play for signs of high-risk gambling and to take appropriate actions to intervene and reduce the potential for gambling related harms. The AGCO will continue to focus on player protection by holding all registered operators to these high standards,” said Dr. Karin Schnarr, chief executive officer and registrar, AGCO, in a statement yesterday about the PointsBet Canada situation.
A registered operator served a penalty by the AGCO has the right to appeal it to the Licence Appeal Tribunal, independent of the AGCO.
