The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has now gone after platforms that promote unregulated gambling sites in the province. The watchdog has reached out to numerous parties that operate digital and traditional media platforms and warned them against advertising unauthorized gambling operations.
AGCO Hits Out Against Platforms Advertising Unregulated Gambling
Specifically, AGCO named Bodog as one of the prohibited brands that should not be pushed onto local players. The regulator explained that Bodog had agreed to block players from Quebec and Nova Scotia, but access to residents of Ontario remained intact for the time being.
Furthermore, argues AGCO, the platform continues to push advertising through various media outlets – both traditional and digital platforms, which is a breach of local regulation. AGCO has cited the Gaming Control Act, 1992, which obligates any gambling company operating in the province to obtain the necessary licenses.
Bodog and other companies were, in fact, allowed to offer their products before the province legalized online gambling several years ago. The companies enjoyed a grey area exemption in a sense, or at least, the law wasn’t enforced against them too strictly, if at all.
Following Ontario’s gambling legalization in 2022, most of the companies operating offshore chose to acquire a license locally and push forward in the newly minted market, leveraging their extensive player bases to achieve the best possible results.
Such Messaging Undermines the Regulated Market
Since the introduction of a fixed online gambling framework, AGCO has, however, been careful to ensure that local laws are upheld as they come with safeguards designed to protect consumers, something that was usually not the case at unregulated operators. Commenting on this development, AGCO CEO and Registrar Dr Karin Schnarr said:
“The AGCO is committed to protecting Ontario players and ensuring they have the safest experience by playing on regulated igaming sites. By refusing to carry advertising from unregulated and high-risk operators like Bodog, media organizations can exemplify social responsibility and play an important role in protecting Ontarians and supporting Ontario’s regulated market.”
AGCO
AGCO and the Registrar warned companies that promote those messages, and Bodog’s specifically, give these websites that are not regulated in the province a look of legitimacy that could make players register with those brands rather than choosing the locally-regulated ones.