Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) is an Ontario Crown agency that reports to the Ministry of the Attorney General. The AGCO is responsible for regulating the alcohol, gaming and horse racing sectors in accordance with the principles of honesty and integrity, and in the public interest.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the AGCO include the administration of the:

The AGCO also administers sections of the:

History

The Ontario Racing Commission was established in 1950 to oversee horse racing and on and off-track betting in Ontario. It was merged into the AGCO in 1998.[1]

The AGCO was established on February 23, 1998, by the Government of Ontario under the Alcohol and Gaming Regulation and Public Protection Act of 1996.[2] This Act transferred responsibility for the Liquor Licence Act and the Gaming Control Act to the AGCO. As a result of the establishment of the AGCO, the Government of Ontario passed complementary legislation to extinguish the Liquor Licence Board of Ontario, the Racing Commission of Ontario, and the Gaming Control Commission.[3]

On April 1, 2016, the AGCO assumed responsibility for regulating horse racing under the Horse Racing Licence Act, 2015.

On April 4 2022, the AGCO updated restrictions on gambling promotions through which the iGaming companies draw newbies. Since that time lucrative bonus codes, signup deposits and free spins will be available for the gamers from Ontario only directly on the websites of the casinos and betting platforms.[4][5]

Mandate

The mandate of the AGCO is to regulate the alcohol, gaming and horse racing sectors in accordance with the principles of honesty and integrity, and in the public interest.

After the legalization of cannabis in Canada for recreational use in October 2018, the Commission was charged to vet the applications for retail licenses (by private enterprise companies) and the Commission will also inspect the shops.[6][7]

References
  1. "The Regulation of Horse Racing in Ontario | Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario".
  2. "Law Document English View". Ontario.ca. July 24, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2016.
  3. "Commercial Gaming Association of Ontario".
  4. AGCO (April 2022), AGCO Updates Registrar's Standards for Land-based Gaming to Strengthen Player Protections in Ontario, retrieved April 25, 2022
  5. Alexander Liam (April 2022), Ontario Gambling Industry Evolution: Tougher Rules for Online Casinos and the Great Threat for Land-Based Gaming, retrieved April 25, 2022
  6. "Ontario could see up to 1,000 private pot shops after cannabis legalization". September 27, 2018. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  7. "Cannabis - Private retail licensing and regulation". September 27, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
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