Minister Announces Review of Ontario Gaming Industry
Posted on: June 19, 2025, 09:19h.
Last updated on: June 20, 2025, 06:55h.
- Strategic review of online and land-based gaming industry
- iGaming Ontario Act turned iGaming Ontario into standalone agency
- Minister for Tourism, Culture and Gaming Ontario makes comments at Canadian Gaming Summit
There was a little buzz going into Minister for Tourism, Culture and Gaming Ontario Stan Cho’s opening remarks for today’s Canadian Gaming Summit.
Strategic Review of Industry
Word around the room was that the minister had some news he was going to announcement. And news it was.
“That Ontario’s gaming sector is booming would be a massive understatement,” Cho told a packed room at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. “This year, for the very first time, we expect that the industry will exceed $10 billion in gaming revenue.
OLG is expected to register at $6.82 billion in revenue, and iGO [iGaming Ontario] is poised to bring in an estimated $3.7 billion. These historic figures, they represent a lot more than just the bottom line. They represent thousands of businesses, tens of thousands of jobs, millions paid forward to charity and billions back to the taxpayer.
Eliminating Red Tape
Ontario has evolved into an intensely competitive digital market that now has 50 licensed operators in the online gaming sector, with land-based now competing with a deeper level of market saturation.
“And from public infrastructure to community programs to good paychecks for frontline staff and reliable revenue streams for small businesses, the growth and success of the gaming industry continues to translate into the growth and success of Ontario’s economy writ large,” said Cho.
With that, Cho announced the government will be launching a review of the gaming sector.
“The review will assess opportunities to enhance efficiency and reduce red tape across both online and land-based markets,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to ensure the whole gaming sector delivers strong economic outputs for Ontarians.
“And I want to be clear, this review and the changes made are not going to be a bunch of politicians sitting in a room thinking, what’s best for the industry. We are going to listen to the experts. We are going to listen what affects you as the operators. We’re going to listen to the pros.”
Separation of Powers
The government passed the iGaming Ontario Act in May, which made iGaming Ontario a standalone agency, under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming.
iGaming Ontario had been a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). Gaming companies successfully registered by the AGCO would then execute an operating agreement with iGO before going live.
The separation was enacted to strengthen iGO’s governance and accountability structure. AGCO continues to regulate the entire gambling sector. In theory, the separation allows iGO to be more agile in responding to a rapidly evolving igaming market.
What’s the Objective of the Review?
“It’s an important time to do this, because if you can make it easier for companies to come and do business and to offer more products, more choice, more variety, and create better outcomes, let’s do that,” said Canadian Gaming Association President & CEO Paul Burns.
It’s some of the things that we’re already as an industry talking about. Between both land-based and online operators in Ontario, there’s a unique feature to the Canadian marketplace, and that is, there’s conduct and management, and there’s a regulator, and there’s two entities, and both require reporting.
“So what happens is, sometimes they ask for the same information, sometimes they don’t ask for it at the same time or in the same format, or maybe there are minor details. The minister talked about duplication, more efficiency. That’s exactly what we want. These are the quick wins that we think we can see in the next year with the minister.
Cost of Compliance
In the end, it’s all about greater synergies between the land-based and online casino sectors, more effective and efficient regulation, delivering stronger outcomes, said Burns.
We don’t know the details of his review, but I’m saying we’ve already started and have had those conversations amongst our members and industry to say we’ve seen the growing cost of compliance.
“It’s troublesome in competitive markets. It’s a concern because those are dollars that could be allocated better. They’re taking away from profits. They’re taking away from government revenue share, because there’s the burden of reporting. It has to be watched.”
A more efficient relationship and more cooperation between conduct and management and regulator will lift all boats, making the industry work better for operators and players, keeping pace with technology and innovation, because in the end igaming is just another product in a competitive entertainment environment, he added.
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