Ontario Prohibits Promotional Advertising

Mere weeks away from the launch of the Canadian province of Ontario’s legalized iGaming market, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has announced that it will ban mobile betting operators from marketing promotional gambling incentives with the intention of luring in players. Ontario gamblers can still make use of signup deposit matches and risk-free first bets.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has announced that it will ban mobile betting operators from marketing promotional gambling incentives aimed at luring in players.

Advertising Ban Arrives Just Weeks Ahead of iGaming Market Launch

The Canadian province of Ontario is on the cusp of launching its legal commercial iGaming and mobile sports betting market. Yet unlike its neighbor down south, where sportsbook and iGaming operators advertise promotional offerings directed at potential players, the latest slew of regulations in Canada’s largest province will ban similar advertising.

In July 2021, Ontario’s Legislative Assembly passed legislation which authorized internet casino sites featuring interactive slots and table games, as well as online sportsbooks. The move was in response to the Canadian Parliament legalizing single-game sports betting.

With just a few weeks to go until the market’s official launch on April 4th, 2022, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has announced that it will ban mobile betting operators from marketing promotional gambling incentives with the goal of luring in players. Ontario will be the first Canadian province to allow gamblers to legally bet online.

Ontario online gamblers, however, will still be allowed to take advantage of lucrative signup deposit matches and risk-free first bets. AGCO officials specified that iGaming firms such as DraftKings can still offer promos of this nature, though only on their actual websites.

Canada’s Largest Casino Operator Worries Land-Based Gaming Will Suffer

Meanwhile, in advance of the launch of legal iGaming in Ontario, the province’s 28 brick-and-mortar casinos have voiced worries that the legalization of the market will result in a sharp decline in land-based gaming.

Great Canadian Gaming (GCG), which is Canada’s largest casino operator, currently operating 14 casinos in Ontario, believes that the legalization of mobile gaming will result in a mass exodus of players to online platforms and away from land-bases offerings.

The GCG even went so far as to conduct a commissioned study on the fiscal impacts of legal online gambling, warning the Ontario government that it could expect CA$550 million (US$432 million) less tax money each year from land-based gaming revenue. It also contends that iGaming could eliminate one in four jobs in the retail gaming sector.

Furthermore, gaming operator Great Canadian and leaders at Unifor, the largest union in Canada, have taken particular issue with Ontario levying only a 20% tax on iGaming revenue, while land-based casinos are taxed at a much higher effective rate of 55 percent.

Operators Argue That Legalization Will Only Impact Gray Market

As a counter-argument to Great Canadian Gaming’s stance that legalized iGaming will impact the land-based industry, operators such as DraftKings argue that market legalization is namely a way to get rid of the gray market and generate new tax revenue, raising the point that Ontario gamblers have gambled online for a while already.

In August 2021, the operator expanded its presence in Canada with the announcement of an exclusive Wayne Gretzky NFT:

“The DraftKings customer base in Canada has shown tremendous engagement in our daily fantasy contests over the years, and we expect there will be similar levels of enthusiasm to access exclusive DraftKings Marketplace content as NFT adoption in the collectibles space accelerates.”– Matt Kalish, Co-founder and President, DraftKings North America

Matt Kalish, co-founder and president of DraftKings North America, emphasized the iconic nature of Gretzky in Canada:

“For Canadian sports fans across generations, arguably no athlete is more revered than Wayne Gretzky, which makes this upcoming series of drops all the more impactful knowing that customers in Canada can now participate and acquire unique collectible items of one of their favorite sports heroes.”

To check out which online casinos are the best to play with in Ontario, see our full list ranking of websites available at online casinos in Ontario.

Casino Operator 888 Received Ontario iGaming License in March 2022

Earlier in March 2022, online casino provider 888 announced that it had been granted a new iGaming license in Ontario, with the news arriving just ahead of the Canadian province launching its legal online gambling market.

888 can now offer online casino, sports betting and poker products to players in the province of Ontario, having been granted the license by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

Itai Pazner, who is the chief executive of 888, highlighted the Canadian province as the perfect long-term growth opportunity for the operator:

“As a group, our focus is on strengthening our presence and offer to customers across key regulated markets. To that end, Ontario represents an attractive long-term growth opportunity for 888 and this is an extremely strategically important milestone for us.”– Itai Pazner, Chief Executive, 888

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