The grace period for unlicensed gambling operators is finally coming to an end
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has announced that illegal sports-betting platforms must become licensed within the province by October 31st at the latest. Unlicensed gambling operators must exit the market by October 31st
In a statement the AGCO warned that any operators who continued to operate illegally beyond the deadline would face penalties. However, the commission did not go into any more detail on what those penalties might be.
Legal sports betting and iGaming launched in Ontario on April 4th with many companies who had yet to receive their licenses at that point given a grace period to continue to operate. The announcement means that this grace period is now set to expire at the end of the month.
In its statement, the AGCO also noted:
Registrants must know, understand, and comply with all applicable regulatory requirements, including this standard upon its effective date (Oct. 31).
Registered operators that have yet to transition from the unregulated market to the regulated market once the Standard comes into force, the registrant will be required to end its unregulated operations within Ontario pending the registrant’s entry into the regulated market.
The AGCO will continue to work closely with registered operators and gaming-related suppliers to help them understand their compliance obligations.
The statement also explained requirements for iGaming applicants:
Applicants must ensure they comply with this Standard once it comes into force. This will require that applicants end their unregulated operations within Ontario if they have not yet acquired their AGCO registration by the time the Standard comes into force.
Applicants that are non-compliant with this Standard, once it comes into force, risk having their application for registration refused.
The AGCO is providing a reasonable notice period to support further transitioning to the regulated market, including making their customers/players aware of potential blackout periods due to pending registration.
Source: https://gamblingindustrynews.com/
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