Ontario Auditor General Report Reviews iGaming Expansion

Dave Schwab Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

Bonnie Lysyk is Ontario’s Auditor General. She recently released a 12-page report covering potential legal challenges to the province’s stance on expanding online gaming.

The report was titled “Internet Gaming in Ontario.” It covered the expansion of both online casino gaming and sports betting. She contends that there are certain issues that need to be addressed ahead of any expansion plans. Ms. Lysyk also examined the legality of Ontario’s plans for expansion under the province’s internet gaming model. This also includes the governance structure that is currently in place. Another aspect of the report covered the fairness and integrity of internet gaming in Ontario.

She is calling for a significant level of oversight and management by the provincial government. In a direct quote from the report, the Auditor General wrote: “To fulfill the ‘conduct and manage’ requirement, a provincial government need to be actively involved in the delivery of gaming activity.” As of now, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation is the only legal online gaming provider in the province. This entity is responsible for the operation of PROLINE+ as the only legal sportsbook.

The provincial government has turned to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) to review applications for commercial operators. Also involved in the process is iGaming Ontario as a subsidiary of AGCO.

US-based sportsbook operators such as FanDuel and DraftKings have expressed an interest in expanding into the Ontario market. The idea of a province working directly with a commercial gaming entity could be the subject of legal challenges. Ms. Lysyk specifically mentioned iGaming Ontario and its current business model as a prime example.

The Auditor General was adamant in suggesting that iGaming Ontario needs to take the proper steps to ensure compliance with the Criminal Code. This would need to be completed prior to any launch by a commercial operator.

The current plan in Ontario calls for the availability of additional online sportsbook and casino apps covering the entire province. The target time frame for launch is the first quarter of next year.

To date, iGaming Ontario has yet to release a detailed plan for the regulation of these online sports betting and casino apps. As the only province in Canada with this type of expansion plan, every aspect of the process has come under close scrutiny.

Also part of her report, Ms. Lysyk noted:

“Under Ontario’s new model for internet gaming, key responsibilities to maintain integrity and fairness have been entrusted to the private sector such as direct testing of internet gaming systems, game design, gaming systems, determination of payouts and odds-setting.”

This is another aspect of the plan that could be subject to legal challenges down the road. However, the AGCO has already developed standards covering her concerns with the integrity of the process. There is also a Customer Care and Dispute Resolution Policy in place. This will give iGaming Ontario the ability to monitor players to address any concerns with commercial operators.

Written by Dave Schwab, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert. You can learn more about our author's expertise here.

Dave Schwab

Dave Schwab has been covering the sports betting industry for the past 12 years as the main focus of his specialty marketing company for online content. This endeavor followed a previous career in the field of sales and marketing in the wholesaling sector.Most of his weekly pieces focus on the rapidly expanding legal US sports betting industry. However, he still does extensive work covering betting angles that can provide a competitive edge to avid players. Dave believes that it is always a challenge to take past results and current form to try and correctly determine a future result. Sports brings out the unpredictability in what should be a fairly predictable outcome based on the stats, facts and recent trends in a particular matchup. More from Dave Schwab