Regulation of Provincially-Operated Lotteries
On January 1, 2008, amendments to the regulations under 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. Specifically, the AGCO registers those who sell lottery tickets and those who provide services to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (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 GCA, and other standards and requirements established by the Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming (Registrar) such as investigation by the 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.
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.