Ontario Gaming License
How to get a Ontario gambling license: current costs, timelines, requirements, taxes, and operating limits.
Content updated · Research checked
Ontario's competitive internet gaming route has two separate gates. The operator first needs an AGCO Internet Gaming Operator registration for each distinct gaming site and must also complete iGaming Ontario onboarding and execute an Operating Agreement. iGO, not the private operator, conducts and manages the scheme; the operator acts as iGO's agent. The route permits wagering by eligible people who are physically located in Ontario. Ontario residence is not required, and an Ontario registration does not authorize play elsewhere in Canada.
Before launch, the operator and its in-scope suppliers must complete the applicable registration, control, testing, AML, financial, reporting, and systems-readiness work. The fixed operator fee is CAD 100,000 per site per year, and the operator compensation share is 80 percent of gaming revenue. Treat the Operating Agreement as a separate commercial and compliance workstream: the detailed agreement and policies are NDA-gated, so the full budget and completion date are operator-specific.
License facts: The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) registers and regulates internet gaming operators and gaming-related suppliers. iGaming Ontario (iGO) is the separate Crown agency that conducts and manages the competitive internet gaming scheme and contracts with private operators acting as its agents.
- Cost boundary
- The AGCO fee is CAD 100,000 per distinct gaming site per year. An applicant may select a one- or two-year registration term and pays the fee matching that term. Registration fees are non-refundable and HST does not apply to them. AGCO may also recover reasonable investigation costs, and additional regulatory cost recovery may apply. Annual gaming-related supplier fees are CAD 15,000 for a Manufacturer and CAD 3,000 for Other. ITL, legal, integration, and iGO onboarding costs have no fixed all-in total.
- Process timing
- Operators should expect at least 90 days to complete AGCO registration and execute the iGO Operating Agreement. The AGCO registration step alone takes at least two months after a complete iAGCO application and fee payment. Several of the seven iGO steps and seven AGCO steps can overlap, but ITL capacity, supplier readiness, control implementation, AML and financial submissions, systems and data testing, technology confirmation, and the final Operating Agreement can extend the schedule. No standard three-to-six-month completion range applies.
- Tax / revenue model
- The principal gaming-economics payment is contractual, not an AGCO tax. Operators remit wagers less winnings and eligible deductions to iGO, which pays 80 percent of gaming revenue back to each operator as variable compensation. The remaining approximately 20 percent is iGO's share of adjusted gaming revenue before its operating and stakeholder expenses. Separately, the federal general corporate income tax rate is 15 percent and the Ontario higher rate is 11.5 percent for income taxable in Ontario, but tax nexus, taxable income, deductions, HST, minimum tax, and available rates or credits are entity-specific.
- Applicant / local requirements
- An operator does not have to establish its business in Canada. The AGCO application still requires entity and personal disclosures, financial and tax records, a corporate schematic covering 5 percent or greater interests, foreign criminal background checks where applicable, a supplier list, a gaming-site diagram, and a Registrar's Standards gap analysis. No blanket exemption from server or data-location requirements is established, so the production architecture must be confirmed with AGCO and iGO.
- Term / continuation
- AGCO internet gaming registrations may use a one- or two-year term, with CAD 100,000 per gaming site payable for each year. AGCO normally sends a reminder 60 days before expiry. The renewal application and fee must arrive by the expiry date; an expired registration cannot be renewed and the operator cannot continue operating without a valid registration. The iGO Operating Agreement has its own term, continuation, suspension, and exit rules, which are not fully public.
The iGaming Ontario Act came into force on May 12, 2025 and made iGO a standalone Crown agency rather than an AGCO subsidiary. BetGuard, the centralized self-exclusion system for all regulated Ontario online gaming sites, launched on May 14, 2026. Although a majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal found the proposed international-liquidity model lawful in November 2025, current iGO rules still prohibit liquidity pools involving play outside Ontario. The Supreme Court of Canada scheduled the appeal in docket 42141 for October 7, 2026.
Licensing decision matrix
Ontario market entry has two gates: AGCO registration for each gaming site and an iGaming Ontario Operating Agreement. Supplier registration and independent testing follow the actual function and product stack.
Definedfixed by the route or ruleScope-specificchanges with the entity, product, or approvalUnresolvedno dependable rule or figure yet
- Applicant route Defined
- A private operator needs an AGCO Internet Gaming Operator registration for each site and an executed iGO Operating Agreement before launch.
- Applicant entity Defined
- The operator does not have to base its business in Canada, but the full applicant, ownership, financial, tax, and supplier structure undergoes assessment.
- Local presence Scope-specific
- No blanket local-company or local-server rule resolves the model. Service, tax, data, system, and operational locations must be cleared for the proposed architecture.
- Key people Scope-specific
- Directors, officers, beneficial owners, and other relevant people undergo disclosure and suitability work. The exact personal scope follows the entity and control structure.
- Technical approval Defined
- In-scope games, RNGs, and wagering system components require certification by an AGCO-registered independent testing laboratory. Supplier registration remains function-specific.
- Tax or revenue base Scope-specific
- The 80/20 iGO model is contractual: operators receive 80% of gaming revenue as variable compensation. Eligible deductions and entity tax treatment depend on the agreement and operator facts.
- Ongoing duties Scope-specific
- AGCO standards, iGO policies, AML, financial, systems, data, self-exclusion, incident, and agreement reporting continue after launch. Detailed agreement terms are NDA-gated.
- Approval timing Defined
- Plan on at least 90 days for AGCO registration and iGO agreement execution. The AGCO registration step alone takes at least two months after a complete filing.
- Fees and cost Defined
- AGCO charges CAD 100,000 per gaming site for each registration year. Investigation, testing, supplier, legal, integration, and iGO onboarding costs are separate.
Continue the decision
Move from the jurisdiction record to the next operator task. These routes do not change or extend the permission described above.
Use the gambling-license application framework
Map the applicant, permission scope, evidence, conditions, changes, and exit before relying on a jurisdiction route.
Open resourceCheck target-market access
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Compare licensing service providersFAQ
Is an AGCO registration enough to launch in Ontario?+
No. A private operator must receive its AGCO Internet Gaming Operator registration, complete the remaining AGCO and iGO readiness steps, and execute the iGO Operating Agreement as the final step before market entry. OLG.ca follows a separate government-operated route.
How much is the Ontario operator registration fee?+
The AGCO fee is CAD 100,000 per distinct gaming site for each registration year. Applicants may select a one- or two-year term and pay the corresponding amount. The fee is non-refundable and exempt from HST. AGCO may charge reasonable investigation costs and additional regulatory cost recovery, while ITL, supplier, legal, and implementation costs are separate and do not have a public fixed total.
How long does Ontario market entry take?+
Expect at least 90 days to complete AGCO registration and execute the Operating Agreement. The AGCO registration step alone takes two months or more after a complete application and payment. Supplier readiness, certification, control implementation, AML and financial submissions, systems testing, and agreement execution can make the actual timeline longer.
Which suppliers need an AGCO registration and ITL certification?+
AGCO decides supplier registration from the actual function on a case-by-case basis. Published examples include platforms, game and game-system suppliers, customer-wallet providers, odds makers, integrity monitors, and independent testing laboratories. In-scope games, RNGs, and system components that accept, process, determine, display, or log wagers require certification by an AGCO-registered ITL. Do not assume every vendor or every platform component needs the same registration or certificate.
Do players need to live in Ontario?+
No. Residency is not the test. A player must be physically located in Ontario to wager legally but may register or manage an account, including deposits and withdrawals, while outside Ontario.
Does the operator need a Canadian company or Ontario servers?+
The operator does not have to establish its business in Canada. That does not answer every corporate, tax, banking, service-of-process, server, or data-location question, and no blanket exemption from local-server requirements is established.
Is iGO's 20 percent share a gaming tax?+
No. Under the operating-agreement model, operators remit gaming revenue to iGO and receive 80 percent back as variable compensation. Approximately 20 percent remains as iGO's share before its own expenses and stakeholder payments. This is not a statutory 20 percent gaming tax, and it is separate from AGCO registration fees and corporate tax.
Can Ontario sites currently pool players with international sites?+
No. Liquidity pools involving play outside Ontario remain prohibited. The Ontario Court of Appeal supported a proposed international-liquidity model, but that ruling is under appeal at the Supreme Court of Canada and has not changed current operating permission.