Ontario Gaming License

Who regulates gambling in Ontario?

Two bodies regulate Ontario iGaming. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) registers and supervises operators, suppliers, and testing labs, and enforces the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming. iGaming Ontario (iGO) is the provincial entity that legally conducts and manages the market under the Criminal Code and signs each operator's Operating Agreement. iGO became an independent agency on 12 May 2025.

You need both to launch: an AGCO Certificate of Registration and an executed iGO Operating Agreement. AGCO is your regulator; iGO is your commercial counterparty.

How does the Ontario agent model work?

In most offshore jurisdictions you hold a licence as an asset. In Ontario you do not. Under Canada's Criminal Code, only the province can conduct and manage gambling, so iGO is the legal operator of record and you act as its commercial agent. Every bet is technically placed with iGO, which collects the gaming revenue and remits 80% back to you as compensation.

Two consequences follow, and both change your business plan:

• The 20% share is not a tax you can optimise. It is a commercial term, and iGO can revise it at renewal.

• Your registration and Operating Agreement are not transferable and cannot be sold as an asset. A buyer in any M&A deal applies from scratch, pays the C$100,000 again, and waits out the full timeline. Ontario removes the clean licence-sale exit that offshore operators rely on.

Who should apply for an Ontario gaming license?

Ontario rewards a specific profile and punishes the rest.

Good fit

An operator already live in a tier-1 regulated market such as the UK Gambling Commission or Malta Gaming Authority, with a game library already certified by a recognised lab. You need C$3 to 8 million in working capital for launch and marketing, and a real reason to be in a mature North American market. Certified libraries often qualify for faster certification, which shortens the critical path.

Poor fit

A startup operator, a crypto-native brand, or anyone treating Ontario as a first licence. The capital, the compliance build, and the agent model all work against you. For most new operators we recommend an offshore licence first and Ontario later, once volume and a clean compliance record justify the cost. We will tell you which of these you are before you spend a dollar on it.

How much does an Ontario gaming license cost?

An Ontario gaming license costs C$100,000 per site per year, plus a 20% revenue share to iGO and 26.5% corporate tax on profit. The AGCO and iGO figures below are official or contractual; the rest are market estimates, not MGL quotes. Your own build cost depends on portfolio size and how much compliance you already run.

One honest point on capital: Ontario imposes no bond, deposit, or minimum paid-up capital. There is no refundable lockup with the state. The real requirement is operating capital to run and market the business against entrenched incumbents.

What taxes apply to Ontario operators?

Ontario operators pay 26.5% combined corporate income tax on profit (15% federal plus 11.5% Ontario). The 20% remitted to iGO is a commercial revenue share, not a tax, though press often calls it one. There is no separate gaming turnover tax, and no withholding on player payouts.

• Corporate income tax: 26.5% on profit for a Canadian operating entity.

• iGO revenue share: about 20% of gaming revenue, commercial, not a tax.

• HST: operators do not charge HST on the revenue share; iGO self-assesses and remits it. Non-resident digital-service suppliers over C$30,000 in 12 months register under the GST/HST simplified framework.

• Player winnings: recreational winnings are not taxable in Canada, with no withholding at payout.

How long does it take to get an Ontario gaming license?

iGO cites a 90-day minimum. Treat that as a floor, not a plan. A realistic new-entrant timeline runs 8 to 19 months once you add corporate setup, CAD banking, certification, and readiness testing.

The single most common reason Ontario slips past 12 months: operators who wait for AGCO approval before starting game certification. All games, RNG, and critical systems must be certified by an AGCO-registered Independent Testing Laboratory (ITL) such as GLI or BMM before you can complete. The major labs carry queues of 3 to 4 months for a new entrant, and 6-plus for a large library. Engage a lab on day one, in parallel with the application, never after.

What are the ongoing compliance requirements?

Ontario has moved from onboarding mode to enforcement mode. Recent AGCO penalties include C$350,000 against FanDuel for failing to report suspicious betting, C$110,000 against BetMGM over cash inducements, and C$105,000 against theScore over a high-risk gambling failure. Penalties run up to C$500,000 per offence.

What that means for your build: real-time sports-integrity monitoring, AML controls, and responsible-gambling controls have to work from day one, not sit in a policy binder. iGO, not the operator, is the FINTRAC reporting entity, but it delegates day-to-day KYC and transaction monitoring to operators by contract, and you must pass an independent AML effectiveness review every two years.

Advertising is constrained too: no athletes or celebrities likely to appeal to minors, and no public advertising of bonuses or inducements outside your own site. You must also enforce player location and age in real time: only players 19 or older and physically in Ontario may play, verified by geolocation.

Ontario gaming licence for suppliers

If you supply registered operators rather than run a consumer-facing brand, you register with AGCO as a gaming-related supplier. You do not sign an iGaming Ontario Operating Agreement; that step is for operators only. AGCO registration alone lets you supply the market.

• Manufacturer of Gaming Equipment (C$15,000 per year): for entities that make, supply, install, test, maintain, or fix gaming equipment and game systems.

• Gaming-Related Supplier, other (C$3,000 per year): for entities that install, test, maintain, or fix equipment, or provide consulting services to operators.

Typical registrants: platform providers, game and game-system suppliers, wallet providers, odds makers, sports-integrity monitors, and independent test labs. Fees are annual and non-refundable. AGCO applies the same suitability and ownership scrutiny to suppliers that it applies to operators.

How does Ontario compare with Alberta and Kahnawake?

Ontario and Alberta are regulated markets where you operate as the province's agent; a Canadian-territory offshore licence like Kahnawake is far cheaper to enter but gives no legal access to players in Ontario or Alberta.

For most operators offshore is the right first step. Ontario and Alberta are later moves, chosen for regulated-market access and legitimacy, not for economics. See our Alberta iGaming License and Kahnawake license pages for the full picture.

Why choose MGL Solutions for Ontario licensing?

We do not sell Ontario as a volume product, because it is not one. What we do:

• Tell you honestly whether your profile fits before you commit capital.

• Clean and document your ownership chain to survive AGCO suitability.

• Run the AGCO and iGO tracks in parallel and put the ITL lab on the critical path from day one.

• Stand up the AML, integrity-monitoring, and responsible-gambling controls that enforcement now requires.

MGL holds a track record of 250-plus licences obtained across jurisdictions with zero rejections. Ontario is a market where preparation, not speed, decides the outcome.

Get a straight read on Ontario.