Ontario iGaming registration (AGCO / iGaming Ontario): what it covers and what it means for players

For players in Great BritainRegistration in Ontario does not allow an operator to offer gambling to people in Great Britain. Under the Gambling Act 2005 (s.33, read with s.36(3) and (3A) as amended by the Gambling (Licensing and Advertising) Act 2014), providing remote gambling facilities used in Great Britain without a Gambling Commission operating licence is an offence, and s.330 makes advertising unlicensed gambling an offence. The Ontario registration itself only covers play by people physically located in Ontario. How to check a site.

Licence types

AGCO registration as an internet gaming operator, plus an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario (both needed to offer games in the regulated market)
AGCO registration for gaming-related suppliers
Product categories listed in iGO's directory: casino, poker, sports betting, bingo, betting exchange

What players get

Players must be 19 or over and physically located in Ontario to play
Operators must let players set deposit and loss limits (and other financial or time limits) at registration and at any time after, with 24-hour, 7-day and one-month periods available (Registrar's Standards 2.23)
BetGuard, a province-wide self-exclusion programme run by iGO since 14 May 2026, blocks access to existing accounts, new sign-ups and marketing across all regulated sites including OLG's, for 6 months, 1 year, 5 years or a custom term
Operators must also run their own self-exclusion programmes and return unused funds to self-excluded players (Standard 2.14)
Complaints go to the operator first; unresolved disputes can be escalated to iGO, and complaints about responsible gambling, suspected illegal activity or advertising can go to the AGCO through iAGCO. iGO does not settle bets or award compensation
Games and gaming systems must be approved by the Registrar or certified by an independent testing laboratory registered with the AGCO
Player funds deposited for iGO-managed games must be subject to iGO oversight and available to players (Standard 5.73); operators may not extend credit to players (5.74)
Advertising of bonuses and inducements is banned except on the operator's own site or by direct marketing with the player's opt-in consent (Standards 2.05-2.07)
Use of athletes (active or retired) in igaming advertising is banned except for responsible-gambling messages, since 28 February 2024

How to check a licence

Check iGaming Ontario's directory of regulated igaming sites (https://igamingontario.ca/en/player/regulated-igaming-market), which lists every operator and website contracted by iGO; the AGCO's own operator-list page points to that directory (https://www.agco.ca/list-registered-internet-gaming-operators). As of 1 September 2026 it listed 49 operators and 84 gaming websites. OLG.ca is separate: it is run by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.

Recent changes

2024-02-28: AGCO standards banning the use of athletes, and restricting celebrities and others likely to appeal to minors, in igaming advertising came into effect.
2025-01-22: iGaming Ontario began publishing its market performance report monthly instead of quarterly.
2026-05-14: BetGuard centralised self-exclusion launched; the AGCO amended its Registrar's Standards (new Standard 2.14.1 and changes to 2.03, 2.14 and 3.01) to require operators to support it.
2026-05-21: iGO and the AGCO published an Ipsos channelisation study for the market's fourth year (see reputation notes).

Context

An Ipsos study commissioned by iGO and the AGCO (published 21 May 2026) found 91.1% of Ontario respondents who gambled online did so on regulated sites, up from 83.7% the previous year; 8.9% reported playing only on unregulated sites.

iGO reported more than C$4.2 billion in gaming revenue from over C$103 billion in wagers in the market's fourth year (April 2025 to March 2026); the figures are unaudited.

iGO says it cannot help with disputes involving unregulated sites and has no legal relationship with unregulated operators.

Not yet verified

Year iGaming Ontario was created as an agency (2021 is commonly cited) and whether it has since been separated from the AGCO by statute; 'established' is given as the 2022 market launch
Whether a site seal or badge is required for Ontario operators
Full text of the amended Standard 2.03 on athletes/celebrities was not re-read (the AGCO news release of 29 August 2023 confirms the ban and its 28 February 2024 start)

We could not confirm these from a primary source, so we have not stated them as fact.