Regulation of Provincially-Operated Lotteries
On January 1, 2008, O.Reg 281/07 (Lotteries) of the Gaming Control Act 1992 (GCA) came into effect whereby the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) began regulating the sale of commercial lottery tickets, including the registration of lottery retailers.
Specifically, the regulation provides for the registration of lottery retailers, lottery retailer managers and lottery equipment suppliers in order to supply gaming services to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission (OLG) with respect to lottery tickets.
The inclusion of lottery-related registrants under the GCA means that they are subject to all of the existing requirements of the Act, such as investigation by the Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming (Registrar) concerning the character, integrity and financial competence of registrants/applicants and interested persons, the ability of the Registrar to propose suspensions and revocations of registrations, and inspections and investigations by the AGCO to ensure regulatory compliance. In addition, the regulation requires registrants to comply with standards established by the Registrar.
The AGCO began accepting applications for lottery-related registrations on July 1, 2007, with registration being required and enforcement of the new registration regime commencing on January 1, 2008.