The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), the province’s regulator, has issued internet gaming licences for 9 new brands, operated by Games Global, Betsson and Boyd Gaming subsidiary Pala.
This will allow the brands to offer games of chance within Ontario’s market for a 1-year term. 7 licences were issued to Games Global-owned Apollo Entertainment LTD, along with the other two websites controlled by Betsson-owned GWN Limited and Boyd-owned Pala Interactive.
The Apollo sites are Zodiac.casino, Yukongold.casino, Luxury.casino, Grandmondialcasino.com, Casinoclassic.com, Captain-cooks.casino, Goldentiger.casino. On.canplaycasino.com and Ot.betsafe.com are Palo Interactive and GWN’s licensed brand’s respectively.
The Ontario regulated igaming market launched on 4 April 2022 three years after the provincial government announced plans to end the lottery’s online gambling monopoly in April 2019. This was followed in 2020 by legislation introduced by the provincial government intended establish a licensing regime – a key regulatory hurdle that needed to be overcome in the period before the launch.