Ontario iGaming Registration Step by Step: AGCO Application and iGO Onboarding

Ontario’s open iGaming market attracts more international operators than any other regulated market in North America, and the entry process is clearer than most. It is also a two-track process, with a regulator and a conducting agency to satisfy in parallel. This guide sets out the steps, documents and timelines so a launch can be planned realistically.

Step 1: Confirm eligibility and stop unregulated activity

The AGCO expects applicants to cease any unregulated supply to Ontario players before or at registration. Operators that served Ontario before April 2022 transitioned under published conditions, but new applicants should not be live in the province while applying. Decide early whether to register the existing foreign entity or a Canadian subsidiary; the latter simplifies tax, banking and payments.

Step 2: Register with the AGCO through iAGCO

Registration is filed online through the iAGCO portal. The operator applies as an Internet Gaming Operator and submits corporate information, ownership and control charts, financial statements, business plan, and detailed personal disclosures for directors, officers and significant shareholders. The AGCO conducts background investigations, and the depth of review scales with the complexity of the ownership structure.

Step 3: Register suppliers

Platform providers, game studios, aggregators and certain service providers must be registered as Gaming-Related Suppliers before their products can be used in Ontario. Operators should map their supply chain at the outset and confirm each supplier’s registration status, since an unregistered critical supplier blocks go-live.

Step 4: Meet the Registrar’s Standards

Ontario regulates by outcomes. The Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming set requirements for game integrity, player protection, responsible gambling, AML, data security and advertising. Operators prepare a control activity matrix showing how each standard is met and have the gaming system independently tested by an AGCO-registered laboratory. Advertising rules prohibit public advertising of inducements and bonuses and restrict the use of athletes and celebrities.

Step 5: Sign the operating agreement with iGaming Ontario

iGO is the legal conductor of the games. The operator signs an operating agreement that sets out the revenue share, currently 20% of gaming revenue, reporting obligations, data-sharing requirements and brand approval. iGO onboarding runs in parallel with AGCO registration and includes technical integration for reporting.

Step 6: Go-live checklist

Before launch the operator needs AGCO registration issued, the iGO agreement executed, certified games and platform, approved brands and domains, responsible-gambling training completed, AML programme in place including FINTRAC registration where required, and payment arrangements with Canadian-capable providers.

Timelines and fees

From filing to launch typically takes three to six months. AGCO registration fees are charged per gaming site annually, with separate fees for suppliers, and there is no provincial gaming tax beyond the iGO revenue share. Federal and provincial corporate taxes apply.

After launch

Registrants face ongoing reporting to both AGCO and iGO, standards-based audits, notification duties for changes in ownership or key individuals, and advertising oversight that has produced published penalties for breaches.

Our licensing practice coordinates AGCO registration, supplier registrations and the iGO agreement. Read our overview of how the Ontario model works.