Every regulated online casino and sportsbook in Ontario is required to follow the AGCO’s Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming. They cover everything from advertising and game design to self-exclusion and sports betting integrity.
Most of that rulebook was written before the market opened on April 4, 2022, and despite that, it’s changed less than you would assume. Comparing archived versions of the standards with AGCO’s announcements reveals only a handful of changes to the rules themselves. This timeline lists each one, when it was announced and when it took effect.
Every change since 2022
Listed by the date each change took effect.
| Standard | What changed | Took effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1.22 | Operators and suppliers had to stop serving unregulated markets | October 31, 2022 |
| 4.09, 4.35, 4.36 | Tighter security for live dealer studios and presenters | October 31, 2022 |
| 2.14 | Self-exclusion no longer cancels bets on events already under way | February 28, 2023 |
| 4.08 | Live dealer equipment must be certified | April 4, 2023 |
| 2.03 | Athletes and influencers banned from gambling ads | February 28, 2024 |
| Definitions | Definitions updated for the new iGaming Ontario Act | May 2025 |
| 2.14.1, plus 2.03, 2.14, 3.01 | Every operator must join central self-exclusion (BetGuard) | May 14, 2026 |
October 2022: the end of the transition period
When the Ontario market opened, operators and suppliers that had been serving Ontario without registration were given time to move over. The AGCO announced on October 3, 2022, that the transition would end on October 31. From then on, registered companies had to stop serving Ontario players outside the regulated market and stop working with unregistered suppliers. The same update added security rules for live dealer studios and, in April 2023, a certification requirement for live dealer equipment.
February 2023: closing a self-exclusion loophole
Originally, self-excluding cancelled all a player’s future bets, including bets on games that had already started. That let a player bet, watch the game go against them and self-exclude to get the stake back. Beginning on February 28, 2023, a bet was refunded only if the player self-excludes before the event starts.
February 2024: athletes out of gambling ads
This was the biggest change of the four years, and the slowest. The AGCO proposed it in April 2023, confirmed it in August 2023 and gave operators until February 28, 2024, to comply. It made two changes:
- Ads can’t use active or retired athletes, except to promote responsible gambling.
- The test for celebrities and influencers changed from having a “primary appeal” to minors to whether they “would likely be expected to appeal” to them, which is a much wider net.
May 2026: central self-exclusion
The newest change came with BetGuard, Ontario’s market-wide self-exclusion register. The AGCO published the rules in December 2025, revised them in April 2026, and they took effect the day BetGuard launched. Every operator upon seeing that a player is on the BetGuard register must now:
- Block anyone on the register from opening or using an account, log them out straight away and return their unused funds.
- Stop marketing to them and cancel and refund their open bets within 24 hours.
- Keep offering its own site-level self-exclusion as well, which the AGCO plans to review within a year of launch.
What was already in place at launch
Several rules that sound recent have been there from day one:
- The advertising ban on inducements (Standard 2.05): Operators can’t advertise offers publicly, only on their own sites or to players who’ve opted in to receive mail. Our article on the advertising code covers how it works.
- Slot design rules (Standards 2.16 to 2.23): No autoplay, no turbo or quick spin, a minimum game cycle and a running net position on screen.
- No betting on junior hockey: Bets on the Canadian Hockey League, including the OHL, were banned before launch.
- Anti-money laundering rules: These took effect on December 31, 2021.
What changed without changing the rules
A lot of what looks like new regulation has come through guidance and enforcement instead:
- Guidance: In April 2022, the AGCO confirmed the advertising ban covers targeted ads, promo codes and affiliate links. In May 2025, it issued guidance on spotting and supporting players at risk of harm.
- Suspended betting markets: The AGCO suspended betting on UFC from December 2022 to January 2023 over integrity concerns, and on WBA boxing in April 2024.
- Penalties: The maximum penalty for an operator that breaks a standard has stayed at $200,000 per breach since March 2022. Our AGCO enforcement record lists everyone.
What hasn’t been settled yet
Shared poker tables with players outside Canada still have no standard. Ontario’s Court of Appeal ruled in November 2025 that they’d be lawful, and the Supreme Court of Canada heard the appeal on October 7, 2026. Any standards would come after that ruling. Our article on the poker player pools appeal covers the case.
The standards also say nothing specific yet about newer areas like AI tools or micro-betting.
How to read the standards yourself
The AGCO publishes the full standards as a single page. Each amended section carries a tag such as “[Amended: April, 2023]”, which is the quickest way to see what has changed. For how the market itself has grown over the same period, see Ontario iGaming after four years.
You must be 19 or older to gamble online in Ontario. If gambling has stopped being entertainment, ConnexOntario is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day.