INFORMATION BULLETIN No. 70
On January 16, 2013, a new schedule of monetary penalties for gaming came into effect. The new schedule was established by the Board of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and approved by the Attorney General of Ontario.
The new schedule was developed to reflect and align with statutory and regulatory amendments made to the Gaming Control Act, 1992 (GCA) in June 2012. Among these changes, a new regulation (Regulation 78/12) was introduced that covers all the gaming sectors under the AGCO’s responsibility (i.e. commercial gaming, charitable gaming, OLG lotteries and internet gaming). Since the previous schedule of monetary penalties was based on regulations which have been revoked, a new schedule was required.
The new schedule establishes penalties for infractions of both the GCA and Regulation 78/12. The penalty ranges are intended to be meaningful and appropriate for the different classes of registrants (operators of gaming sites, sellers of lottery products, gaming assistants, etc.). Maximum penalties have been established to provide the AGCO with sufficient flexibility to deal with those exceptional cases where very serious and/or repeated infractions may occur. The amounts listed are maximums only, and most penalties will actually fall lower in the potential range, based on individual circumstances.
Monetary penalties have been available to the AGCO as a compliance tool since 2009. They are one of several new programs that form the backbone of the AGCO’s compliance-based regulatory model, which aims to help licensees and registrants to achieve compliance without the AGCO relying solely on enforcement strategies such as suspensions or revocations of a licence or registration. All funds collected through monetary penalties are required to be used for education and training purposes for licensees and registrants or for public awareness campaigns. Based on improved compliance rates over the past few years, it is clear that the new programs are having a positive impact, and that the availability of monetary penalties has been a key contributor to that overall success.
PDF - Schedule of Monetary Penalties - Gaming (effective January 16, 2013)
For more information on the gaming regulatory reform of June 2012 or about monetary penalties more generally, please visit the AGCO’s website at www.agco.on.ca, or contact AGCO Customer Service at 416-326-8700 (GTA) or 800-522-2876 (toll free in Ontario).