How does a casino become eligible to apply for an Ontario iGaming registration?

If you're trying to figure out whether a casino you're looking at is genuinely authorized to operate in Ontario — or you're just curious how this market actually works — the registration process is more rigorous than most people realize. Getting into Ontario's regulated market isn't simply a matter of filing a form. There are two separate gatekeepers, and a company has to satisfy both before a single player in Toronto can legally place a bet on their site.

Two bodies, one path

Internet gaming operators who want to join Ontario's regulated market must take steps with both iGaming Ontario (iGO) and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) before being allowed to provide their products and services to players in Ontario. The AGCO handles registration and ongoing compliance regulation; iGaming Ontario — which became an operationally independent agency in 2025 — is the entity that conducts and manages the market and signs commercial agreements with each operator.

The AGCO's regulatory framework helps ensure that igaming in Ontario is conducted, managed, and operated with honesty and integrity, and protects the Ontario public and players. Ontario's framework enables the Registrar to consider applications and provide registrations where operators have met the relevant regulatory requirements.

What the AGCO actually scrutinizes

The AGCO will only register those operators who act with honesty, integrity, in accordance with the law, and in the public interest. In assessing the eligibility of an operator, the AGCO carries out risk assessments and due diligence investigations, including assessments of each operator's character, financial history, and competence. This means the people behind the company — not just the company itself — are assessed. Corporations must show the relationship with shareholders owning 5% or more of the shares of the company or any associated companies. There's no hiding beneficial ownership.

On the technical side, at the time of application, operators are required to confirm that they will comply with the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming, and must also submit an analysis identifying gaps they need to address related to platforms, products, processes, and their control environment in order to comply. In other words, an operator can't just promise compliance — they have to show the work.

All registered internet gaming operators are required to submit an independently audited assessment of the processes and controls they have in place to meet the Registrar's Standards — the AGCO typically refers to these as a Control Activity Matrix (CAM) — which must include all controls related to the gaming site, including where the operator works with third-party suppliers and platform providers. Operators assessed during the AGCO's eligibility review as potentially posing elevated risk may be required to submit the independently audited CAM before they launch in the regulated Ontario igaming scheme.

Technology is a separate checkpoint. Any games and supporting critical gaming systems must be certified by an independent testing laboratory (ITL) registered with the AGCO before being made available for play in Ontario, and operators must ensure their suppliers have done so as well.

The iGaming Ontario side of the equation

Parallel to the AGCO process, the operator must also engage directly with iGaming Ontario. To get access to detailed information from iGO, including the Operating Agreement and Policies, operators need to sign an NDA. Operators seeking to participate in the Ontario regulated igaming scheme will also have to enter into a commercial agreement with iGaming Ontario. AGCO registration and an executed Operating Agreement with iGO are both required — neither alone is sufficient.

Responsible gambling obligations are baked in from the start. iGaming Ontario requires operators to obtain the Responsible Gambling Council's RG Check accreditation within the first two years of the Operating Agreement and maintain that accreditation for the remainder of their term. All igaming operators in Ontario also participate in BetGuard, the centralized self-exclusion tool, and are required to have their own self-exclusion program that meets the requirements set out in the Registrar's Standards. That's worth knowing as a player aged 19+: if you ever need to step back, BetGuard lets you opt out of every registered Ontario operator in one go — and ConnexOntario (1-866-531-2600) is there for support.

Timeline and fees

All operators' circumstances are different, but operators should expect a minimum of 90 days to complete the steps required to become registered by the AGCO and execute an Operating Agreement with iGO. The registration fee to operate an igaming site is $100,000 per site per year, and if an operator plans to run multiple distinct online gaming sites, they must apply separately for each site.

For players, the practical takeaway is simple: a directory of all fully registered and authorized operators and their igaming sites is available via the iGaming Ontario website. Registered sites also display both the iGaming Ontario logo and the BetGuard logo — those two marks together are the clearest signal that a site is genuinely part of the regulated Ontario market, not an offshore operation with no accountability to anyone in this province.