Ontario Gambling Regulator Announces New Online Slots Restrictions

While the online betting community has been celebrating the signing into power of Bill C-218 which allows for single-event wagers on any sport, the online casino industry received news of several new slot restrictions.

In preparation of allowing offshore casino sites to begin gambling in Ontario the government instituted iGaming Ontario, an offshoot of the state’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). This newly formed gambling regulator recently announced several restrictive additions to the market.

 Laundry List of No-No’s

Any region looking to enter the multi-license online gambling arena needs to ensure that there are sufficient regulations to protect players from harm with the potential influx of new operators and a swathe of new bonuses and promotions for them to claim.

Attorney General Doug Downey said:

“We are determined to work with industry, responsible gaming advocates and regulatory partners to ensure Ontario is a world leader in building a safe online gaming environment that meets consumer expectations.”

However, the concern is that they have chosen a restrictive rather than balanced approach to introducing themselves to the industry.

Their opening salvo includes the following online slots restrictions:

• All autoplay slots and slot features are banned
• Spins must last a minimum of 2.5 seconds
• All features that allow for faster spins are banned
• No multi-slot or split-screen slots play is allowed

There are some additional requirements that we do however agree with including always showing current balances and stakes in Canadian dollars and giving players the tools needed to easily set deposit limits.

 Promoting Safer Ads

The gambling regulator has also taken its lead from other leading jurisdictions such as the UK and Sweden when it came to setting out the foundation of its advertising requirements. Some of the new laws include that gambling ads may not:

• Make it seem as though gambling can solve financial, social, and emotional problems
• Target gamblers with compulsive disorders and other at-risk individuals
• Use child-friendly language, celebrities, fictional characters, and imagery
• Appear on billboards or other signage new schools

The clause dealing with the promotion of sign up bonuses might be a difficult one for many operators to swallow as it states welcome bonuses and other incentives may not appear anywhere other than on the casino website.

When it comes to giving potential players a reason to trial a new casino free spins and deposit bonuses are the industry’s primary acquisition tool. By limiting the bonus to being displayed on the casino site Ontario may miss out on a lot of ad revenue which may have gone on television, radio, and print advertising.