iGaming Ontario may not advertise promotions such as subscription or bonus welcome.
Ontario is Canada's most populous state, and the introduction of a highly regulated iGaming market has received much attention from industry-leading operators who want to take advantage of it. The province previously announced that the new system will begin on April 4, 2022, and approved operators are applying the final steps to online products.
AGCO and IGaming Ontario, two regulators in the gambling industry in the province, have not given operators permission to advertise welcome bonus promotions such as risk-free betting and welcome bonuses. And recently, Paul Burns, president and CEO of the Canadian Game Association, talked about how such marketing would work in the region.
Mr Burns pointed out that such special promotions can be posted on operators' websites as well as provided to players in their databases. However, according to him, such marketing cannot go into their ads. He added that even online casinos licensed in the province are not allowed to advertise these limited-time offers.
In addition, the president and CEO commented that in this way, competition in the Ontario market will be based entirely on the operator's products, not on who can come up with the biggest welcome bonus. According to him, it will be quite different from what gamblers have seen in the United States, and licensed operators will have to be creative to attract customers.
Because industry standard subscription bonuses cannot be advertised in the province, operators have already taken some steps to adapt to the new market. For example, Bet Rivers Canada offers opportunities to use sports books and casinos as an option for fun. Pointsvet Canada has sought help from local culture icon Trailer Park Boys and is acting as a brand ambassador.
Joined in 888
Last week, Ontario learned the name of one more operator licensed by AGCO and iGaming Ontario to operate in the upcoming marketplace, and the name is 888. The company is a leading online betting website, and in April this year, its proprietary technology will allow premium iCasino, sports betting and poker products to be released to qualified ontarian gamblers. 릴게임
Geofencing problems
One more problem that provincial regulators are concerned about is how operators can prevent players from participating outside their jurisdiction. Leading geofencing service providers are LocationSmart and GeoComply.