Canada
Celebrating a milestone: welcoming back Canada’s gaming industry!
The Canadian Gaming Association is thrilled to be able to say “welcome back” as Canada’s gaming industry slowly begins to re-open. First up are Alberta and Nova Scotia, who announced that they will allow charitable gaming centres and casinos to open their doors to employees, customers, charities and communities. This is a milestone worth celebrating.
As you are well aware, in mid-March, Canada’s gaming service providers worked in cooperation with provincial governments to close down all casinos and casino amenities – restaurant, hotels, entertainment, and conferences and meetings – as we are a part of the broader hospitality and tourism industry.
We supported taking whatever steps were necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19 and to keep our employees, customers, and communities safe and healthy, and that is the same commitment we are making to re-open our facilities.
The Canadian gaming industry is uniquely qualified to implement enhanced health and safety measures as we are the most highly regulated industry in the hospitality sector, and gaming sites implement operating standards that cover all facets of our operations on a daily basis.
We follow rigorous standards for health & safety and have a strong culture of compliance, as required by provincial regulatory frameworks set out by regulators. This is how we do business.
Regardless of where we are located, every service provider across Canada has created a detailed health & safety plan that will be implemented before facilities re-open and will be used to help keep people safe as we learn to live and work with COVID-19.
We are also working cooperatively with our provincial partners – regulators, lottery corporations, public health agencies – to ensure that we have a coordinated effort that demonstrates our unwavering commitment to health & safety.
The Canadian gaming industry is a large, mature industry that is present in every region of the country and generates significant benefits and activities across the broader Canadian economy.
Legalized gaming continues to be a pillar of the broader hospitality industry and raise significant non-tax revenues to fund key government programs and initiatives. Cities with casinos augment the tourism and convention industries and help transform the local tourism sector by driving new and greater volumes of local, domestic and international visitation.
We have approximately 100,000 front line employees who could not come to work during the government-mandated shutdown. We look forward to welcoming more service providers, employees, charities and customers back over the weeks and months to come.
Internet Gaming Operator by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
This significant milestone authorizes absolutebet to offer regulated iGaming services in Ontario’s legal market under the oversight of AGCO and iGaming Ontario (iGO).
The registration marks a key step in absolutebet’s mission to bring a trusted, responsible, and innovative online casino experience to Ontario players. absolutebet is committed to operating with integrity and transparency, meeting all provincial standards for player protection, responsible gambling, anti-money laundering, and game integrity.
“Securing AGCO registration is more than a milestone—it’s the start of absolutebet’s journey in one of the most exciting regulated markets in the world,” said Chen Truman, Founder of absolutebet. “We are building a brand that will grow with the Ontario community and set the stage for future expansion.”
On the regulatory milestone, Krisztina Kalla, Legal & Regulatory Compliance Advisor of absolutebet, commented: “I’m incredibly proud to see all the hard work behind this license pay off. Securing AGCO registration has taken months of preparation and close collaboration with regulators and partners. I am very happy to see the result of that work, and even more excited as we move into the launch phase and open up the absolutebet community to Ontario players in a fun and responsible way.”
Ontario is recognized as one of the most competitive and fast-growing regulated iGaming markets in North America. With AGCO registration secured, absolutebet will move forward with the final stages of its iGO onboarding process in preparation for launch.
Evoplay, the award-winning game development studio, has partnered with Caesars Entertainment to expand its footprint in the Canadian market, following its initial entry earlier this year. The partnership integrates 20 of the studio’s top-performing titles onto Caesars Palace Online Casino, Horseshoe Online Casino and Caesars Sportsbook & Casino in Ontario, including fan-favourites such as Hot Triple Sevens, Triple Chili, and The Greatest Catch Bonus Buy.
Having announced its official entrance into Ontario in March, the collaboration with Caesars marks a significant step in Evoplay’s local strategy. Further standout releases, such as Inner Fire Bonus Buy and Hot Volcano, also launched as part of the initial package, with additional player favourites, including Fruit Nova and Ice Mania.
The collaboration underlines Evoplay’s commitment to working with leading operators to deliver high-quality content tailored to regional audiences.
Alex Malchenko, Head of Sales at Evoplay, said: “Launching with Caesars in Ontario marks a key milestone in our North American strategy.
“It reflects both the strength of our portfolio and our commitment to providing innovative, high-performing content to operators of the highest caliber.”
Ricardo Cornejo Rivas, Vice President of Online Gaming at Caesars Digital, said: “Evoplay brings a fresh and dynamic approach to online gaming, which we’re excited to offer to our players in Ontario. This portfolio of standout titles adds to our growing content library and furthering our ongoing goal of delivering top-tier entertainment experiences to our players.”
The iGaming Ontario Board of Directors has announced Joseph Hillier as the organization’s new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 8, 2025. Joseph’s depth in the Ontario igaming market combined with successful public and private sector careers make him the ideal President and CEO at this critical point in iGaming Ontario’s growth.
Joseph was most recently Chief Strategy Officer and Corporate Secretary at the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), where he delivered significant strategic and regulatory initiatives across the province’s alcohol, cannabis, gaming, and horse racing sectors. Prior to the AGCO, he served as Chief of Staff to Ontario Attorney General Hon. Doug Downey and led the development, launch and implementation of Canada’s first private sector-driven igaming market and the creation of iGaming Ontario. Joseph also spent more than a decade working in the financial and legal services sectors.
The Board expressed its sincere thanks to David Smith for serving as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer since Martha Otton’s retirement.
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