Open markets and close relationships with operators were lauded as the way to have a positive igaming framework by panelists at Global Gaming Expo on October 6. The topic of the discussion was “Proven. Practical. Ontario’s Model in Action.”
Chairing the panel was Paul Burns, CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association. His guests included Sarah McCartney, CEO of the Responsible Gambling Council. Also speaking were iGaming Ontario CEO Joseph Hillier and Dr. Karen Schnarr, CEO of the Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario.
Bjurns sketched out an Ontario igaming market of 15.5 million souls, the fifth-largest such audience in North America. They’re served by 29 casinos and 50 gaming companies that license 87 sites.
That made for a $3.2 billion tally in fiscal 2024-22025, 80 percent icasino and 20 percent online sports betting (OSB). According to Burns, this represented two decades of unrestricted igaming access, including a strong offshore market.
“This is one of those few instances where government did get it right,” opined Hillier, saying Ontario understood the market and enabled consumer choice. “The stats kind of speak for themselves.”
Added Schnarr, “It’s a model that works really well, [an] outcome-based model” that dovetailed nicely with regulation. She described the Ontario market as a mix of global giants and small entrepreneurial operators and said the question for regulators was, “How do we give our operators the space to conduct themselves as grownups?”
McCartney added that the commitment to prevention of disordered gambling has been crucial, including education. One of these tools is the Responsible Internet Gambling Fund, which has underwritten player outreach on what McCartney characterized as “the unique risks of online gambling.”
As Hillier put it, “Healthy players means a healthy market.”
All operators are required to have a Responsible Gaming Check Accreditation Program. It allows them to monitor, evaluate, and manage their RG strategies in consultation with the provincial government.
“Our preventive work is human-centric with players,” McCartney resumed. That said, the licensed market provides her with the funding she needs to have. Programs must constantly be updated, as accreditation is evidence-based and research is in constant evolution. Nor can regulatory work with operators be a one-size-fits-all model. “For some operators it’s going to be a small group in London, Ontario.”
Also, mass-mailings and other blasts of promotions or discounts are forbidden in Ontario. Such deals can only be posted on operators’ websites.
Allowed Schnarr, “If these systems were perfect, you’d never hear a peep from us,” but compliance includes a heavy learning curve. “One of the great things about the modern age is there’s more data than you know what to do with on any given day.”
Hillier responded that too much data or unclear information could be unhelpful for operators. “How we engage with the sector can be focused more like a business partnership: How do we help each other succeed? If [operators] succeed, ultimately we will succeed as well.”
Added Burns, “We’ve a full suite of products, which a lot of American jurisdictions don’t.”
Critical to the success of the market, Hillier resumed, was that it had to be private-sector driven and as open as possible. “We’re still seeing the benefits of that,” he said. For instance, Betway was a late entrant to Ontario, but “is just killing it.”
“I love talking about the illegal market,” Scharr added, to audience laughter. “One of the great wins by having an open market is people want market choice. They’ll go to the gray market to find it.” To that end, she outlined ways of addressing the illegal operators. That’s accomplished by putting pressure on payment providers, ISPs, social-media companies. She asks the latter, “How come you’re advertising an illegal product? That’s crazy!”
She takes her efforts all the way down to individual podcasters. Among the internet giants, she says Meta has latterly been cooperative. Still, “There’s a lot of work still to be done with social-media platforms,” Burns said.
“We’re never going to get to 100 percent,” Schnarr continued. “We going to try our damndest.”
She also focused her ire on “skill-based games” or, as she put it, “It looks like and sounds like and feels like a slot machine,” including one brand brazenly called Prime Slot. “They’d be in a convenience store right next to the candy.”
To combat this, Schnarr has used the threat of pulling lottery and liquor licenses, bringing retailers, bars, and restaurants into compliance.”
Of illegal gambling, she said, “It’s not an Ontario problem. It’s not a Canadian problem. It’s a global problem. We can’t bury our heads in the sand. There is no protection for your money if you’re in the gray market. You can take that money and use it for wonderful public uses,” through regulation and taxation. It sounds easy, Schnarr added, but it isn’t.
“Let private-market forces rule the day,” advised Hillier. “The more players are captured in a regulated market, that’s how you have a safe player base.” The United States, Burns added, seems more focused on banning than on regulation.
