Under the Horse Racing Licence Act, 2015 (“the Act”), the Registrar of the Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has responsibility for issuing licences to all participants in racing, including Racetracks. An Applicant seeking to obtain a licence to operate a new Racetrack must submit an application to the Registrar. Once a licence is granted, an approved Racetrack Association must apply annually to renew its Racetrack Operator licence.
Licensing a new Racetrack involves a two stage process:
- Preliminary Approval – Preliminary approval for a licence is issued by the Registrar once a due diligence investigation of the Applicant is complete and the Registrar is satisfied as to the suitability of the Applicant. Preliminary Approval is issued with a licence and terms and conditions that must be agreed to by the Applicant.
- Final Approval – Final Approval for a licence is issued, once the Registrar is satisfied that the terms and conditions of the initial licence, issued at the time of Preliminary Approval, have been met.
A staged process for licensing provide the Applicant with a certain degree of comfort that certain regulatory issues have been addressed and allows the Registrar to maintain regulatory control over the longer term project of developing and building a racetrack. Applicants are advised that Preliminary Approval in no way guaranteed that Final Approval will be granted.
It should be noted that at any stage in the process, the Registrar can make the decision not to proceed with an application.