Last week, Toronto became the hotspot of the Northern American gaming industry, as the city hosted both the Canadian Gaming Summit and the SiGMA Americas Summit. This was a tremendous opportunity for key industry stakeholders who met at the two events where they discussed the state of the sector, exchanged ideas and presented their products and technology.
This was the first time since the legalization of single-event sports betting and the launch of Ontarioās iGaming Market, that Canada has become a host of a gaming conference of such magnitude. The CGS ran from June 7 to June 9, 2022, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, while SiGMA Americas was at Enercare Centre ā Exhibition Place from June 6 to June 9.
Several Takeaways for the Industry
Some key points from the Canadian Gaming Summit include discussions between Ontario regulators on the provinceās regulated iGaming framework. On the second day of the conference, the AGCO and iGaming Ontario held a keynote discussion on the state of Ontarioās online gaming market after its first two months of operations. And there was plenty of interest in the matter.
Dave Forestell, the chair of iGaming Ontario, was the moderator for the one-hour session, and the panelists included Tom Mungham, CEO and registrar at the AGCO, as well as Martha Otton, executive director of iGaming Ontario. The discussion informed that over 70 operators are currently in the licensing process with the regulators. Some of them receive licenses as early as 70 days or in other cases 120 days.
Mr. Mungham dismissed the chatter that there will be a firm July 1 cutoff date for the existing gray-market operators to the regulated one. He explained that there is a three-to four-month transition period, before the market shifts to its final black and white form. Regulators also informed that theyāre moving toward enforcement mode and they are listening to feedback on issues such as the provinceās strict marketing protocols.
First Geofencing Data
GeoComply, which is a geofencing provider for the provinceās private iGaming market has also provided some feedback on the framework. According to the CEO of the company, Anna Sainsbury, the company has intervened in over 15 million fraudulent attempts from residents of other provinces to try and gamble on the brand-new gaming market.
In her words, the staggering number of geofence crossing attempts is a testament that Canadians would want an equal gaming opportunity. John Levy, CEO of theScore Bet, which operates in the local market, said that regulators of other provinces will soon realize the success of the model, and they will probably try to launch their own one.
Next Yearās Dates are Confirmed
Also last week, the leading international events and media business for online gambling and sports betting sectors, SBC, announced dates for the next running of the Canadian Gaming Summit. The annual event will be taking place from June 13 to June 15, 2023, and it will be again hosted at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
