AGCO's Core Business Delivery

Licensees, registrants and authorization holders

The AGCO provides services to a wide group of licensees, registrants and authorization holders. The following tables outline AGCO’s currently active licensees, registrants and authorization holders as of March 2022. It also shows the information from the previous fiscal year.

Please note that due to the name changes impacting several licence, registration and authorization types, some of which resulted in re-categorization, there is some variance from the numbers reported in the 2020–2021 Annual Report.

Table 2—AGCO licensees and registrants

 

2020–21

2021–22

Alcohol Industry/ Licensees (Special Occasion Permits excluded)

33,034

32,381

Gaming & Lottery Registrants

29,305

25,828

Horse Racing Licensees

15,951

12,106

Cannabis

3,361

5,485

Table 3—Total number of liquor licences

 

2020–21

2021–22

Liquor Sales Licensed Establishments

18,464

17,872

Ferment-on-Premise Facilities

468

403

Liquor Delivery Services

582

707

Manufacturers (By-the-Glass Included)

1,286

1,307

Manufacturers’ Representatives

1,065

1,097

Grocery Store Licences

519

502

Onsite and Offsite Retail Stores

1,017

1,034

Other Endorsements

9,633

9,459

Note:

  • The implementation of the LLCA in November 2021 resulted in adjustments to certain licence categories.
  • Grocery Store Licences, Onsite and Offsite Retail Store Endorsements, and Other Endorsements are now included in this table.
  • There is a variance between numbers reported in this table for 2020–21 Liquor Sales Licensed Establishments and Manufacturers (By-the-Glass Included) and what was reported in the 2020–2021 Annual Report as a result of changes to licence categories.

 

Table 4—Total number of gaming registrations

 

2020–21

2021–22

AGCO Subsidiary (iGO)

-

1

Gaming Assistant

17,435

13,450

Gaming-Related Supplier—Lottery (not OLG or BOT)

 

16

 

17

Gaming-Related Supplier—Manufacturers

47

50

Gaming-Related Supplier—Other

70

76

Non-Gaming Related Supplier

305

280

Operator—Charitable—3 or less events per week

 

7

 

7

Operator—Charitable—4 or more events per week

 

59

 

56

Operator—Commercial

34

36

Seller

10,320

10,449

Trade Union

19

18

Total

28,312

24,440

Note:

  • igaming is a new line of business to be launched in April 2022, therefore there are no active registrations for that sector in 2020–21.
  • The “AGCO Subsidiary” indicated in the table above is the registration for the Lottery Subsidiary iGaming Ontario.

Table 5—Total number of cannabis licences and authorizations

 

2020–21

2021–22

Cannabis Retail Manager Licence

1,618

2,494

Cannabis Retail Operator Licence

1,049

1,407

Cannabis Retail Store Authorization

694

1,584

Total

3,361

5,485

Table 6—Total number of horse racing licences

 

2020–21

2021–22

Thoroughbred

-

4,651

Quarter Horse

-

375

Standardbred

-

7,267

Teletheatres

48

51

Racetracks

15

15

Note:

  • Total number of horse racing licences grouped by horse breed is a new data point added to the report this year.
  • Individuals in the horse racing sectors can hold a licence allowing them to work across breeds (Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, and Standardbred).
  • The counts per breed are not mutually exclusive of each other; this means that an individual licence may be counted more than once across the Standardbred, Thoroughbred or Quarter Horse categories.

Licensing and registration activities

The Licensing and Registration Branch (L&R) of the AGCO’s Operations Division is responsible for reviewing and processing applications for licences, permits, authorizations and registrations for the sectors regulated by the AGCO. Eligibility Officers, Senior Eligibility Officers and Managers review applications and supporting materials to assess an applicant’s eligibility to hold a particular licence, permit, authorization or registration. When necessary, they enlist the services of additional AGCO departments to facilitate further review or investigation of an application, such as the Regulatory Compliance Branch (RCB), the OPP Investigation and Enforcement Bureau (IEB), and the Audit and Financial Investigations Branch (AFI).

Additionally, L&R reviews and processes applications regarding renewing all licences, permits, authorizations, registrations and amendment applications received to amend or update information pertaining to an establishment or licensee.

As part of the AGCO’s risk-based licensing approach, L&R considers various factors in its review. These factors include an applicant’s type of business, location, compliance history and experience. Some establishments pose a greater risk to public safety, public interest and/or non-compliance with the law. Additionally, when reviewing an application, past conduct, financial responsibility, experience/training and honesty/integrity of an applicant are considered. If the Registrar believes that the issuance of a licence or registration is not in the public interest, the Registrar may issue a Notice of Proposal (NOP) to review or refuse to the applicant or licensee, who may request a hearing on the NOP before the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT).

During this assessment, L&R uses AGCO Board–approved criteria to assess the risk(s) posed to public safety and public interest and non-compliance with the law. All potential risks and concerns are reviewed to determine if the licence, permit, authorization or registration should

have a Level I, Level II or Level III risk designation or no designation at all. A risk designation ensures the AGCO focuses the appropriate resources towards the licensee and the establishment to ensure compliance is always maintained. If the Registrar believes that a licensee may require additional assistance or support to remain compliant with the applicable acts and/or the Registrar’s Standards, additional conditions may be attached to their licence, permit, authorization or registration. L&R performs risk-based assessments during the lifetime of all licences, permits, authorizations and registrations to ensure potential risks posed by a licensee or establishment are considered and evaluated.

The following tables outline the number of licences and registrations issued during the fiscal year. It is important to note that the following tables represent applications that have been approved and issued, not all applications submitted. In addition to this, some of the variance is due to the fact that tables now also show renewal and amended licences and registrations.

Table 7—Liquor licences issued, renewed and amended

 

2020–21

2021–22

Liquor Sales Licensed Establishments

3,400

6,988

Ferment-on-Premise Facilities

56

227

Liquor Delivery Services

308

275

Manufacturers (By-the-Glass Included)

375

505

Manufacturers’ Representatives

234

244

SOPs Issued

3,452

18,046

Beer Store—store location approvals

11

9

Grocery Store Licences

76

282

Onsite and Offsite Retail Stores

225

410

Other Endorsements and Authorizations

2,028

3,920

Table 8—Gaming registrations issued, renewed and amended

 

2020–21

2021–22

AGCO Subsidiary (iGO)

-

1

Gaming Assistant

3,391

14,491

Gaming-Related Supplier–Lottery (not OLG or BOT)

4

8

Gaming-Related Supplier—Manufacturers

18

70

Gaming-Related Supplier—Other

21

72

Non-Gaming Related Supplier

71

147

Operator—Charitable—3 or less events per week

0

5

Operator—Charitable—4 or more events per week

11

16

Operator—Commercial

25

40

Operator—Internet Gaming

-

23

Seller

1,555

2,764

Trade Union

4

10

Note: The “AGCO Subsidiary” indicated in the table above is the registration for the Lottery Subsidiary iGaming Ontario.

Table 9—Charitable lottery licences issued, renewed and amended

 

2020–21

2021–22

Bingo Event Licence

7

7

Bingo Hall Charity Association Licence

79

141

Break Open Ticket Licence

• Issued in conjunction with another licensed event.

27

32

Charitable Gaming Eligibility

• New category introduced in October 2021

208

284

Loonie Progressive Licence

• Issued in unorganized territory, First Nations or issued in conjunction with a bingo event licence.

6

8

Progressive Bingo Licence

• Issued in conjunction with a Bingo Event Licence

1

1

Provincial Break Open Ticket Licence

40

33

Raffle Licence

756

1,550

Social Gaming Licence

-

59

Special Occasion Gaming Licence

• Renamed Social Event Gaming Licence in October 2021

-

2

Super Jackpot Licence

• Issued in conjunction with a Bingo Event licence

2

-

Note:

  • Due to this sector transitioning to iAGCO in October 2021, the numbers reported for 2020–21 vary from the 2020–21 annual report.
  • The Social Event Gaming Licence was launched in October 2021; there are no numbers to report for the 2020–2021 fiscal year.
  • The Special Occasion Gaming Licence was launched in October 2020, resulting in low numbers issued.
  • The Social Gaming Licence is not issued under the charitable component of the Criminal Code. All wagers under this licence are paid out to winners and this is not a charitable fundraising opportunity.

 

Table 10—Cannabis licences and authorizations issued, renewed and amended

 

2020–21

2021–22

Cannabis Retail Manager Licence

1,390

944

Cannabis Retail Operator Licence

891

533

Cannabis Retail Store Authorization

733

1,186

Total

3,014

2,663

Note: There is a variance between numbers reported in this table for 2020–21 Cannabis Retail Store Authorizations and what was reported in the 2020–2021 Annual Report, as this data now includes new, renewed and amended applications.

Table 11—Horse racing licences issued, renewed and amended

 

2020–21

2021–22

Thoroughbred

3,094

4,927

Quarter Horse

325

465

Standardbred

3,614

7,746

Teletheatres

54

36

Racetracks

133

97

Note: There is a variance between numbers reported in this table for 2020–21 and what was reported in the 2020–2021 Annual Report, as this data now includes new, renewed and amended applications.

Table 12—Response to Public Notices—Alcohol and cannabis

In addition to issuing licences, registrations and authorizations across all regulated sectors, L&R also manages responses to public notices during the application process: objections (Liquor Sales Licence) and written submissions (Cannabis Retail Store Authorization).

 

2020–21

2021–22

Objections (Liquor Sales Licence)

2,823

163

Written Submissions (Cannabis Retail Store Authorization)

9,393

2,214

Compliance activities

The AGCO inspects, monitors and educates to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The AGCO’s compliance approach is risk-based and outcome-focused.

  • Risk-based refers to the regulatory risks underlying the Standards, regulations, laws and requirements. A risk-based compliance approach focuses the greatest resources on mitigating the highest risk areas.
  • Outcome-focused means emphasizing the results that regulated sectors are meant to achieve, rather than prescriptive activities that must be carried out.

The compliance activities emphasize monitoring through a series of inspection activities, including unannounced inspections, responding to police reports and evaluating regulatory submissions and public complaints. The AGCO also conducts ongoing regulatory assurance activities, including regular audits, compliance reviews and mystery shopper visits.

In the horse racing sector, the AGCO ensures compliance with the Rules of Racing by reviewing alleged rule infractions and having Race Officials present to officiate races. The AGCO supports the health and welfare of horses and horse racing participants by monitoring and enforcing the Equine Medication and Drug Control Program and ensuring an official veterinarian is in attendance to supervise live racing.

 

Partnerships

To support a coordinated approach to compliance activities, the AGCO’s compliance approach places significant emphasis on working with local community partners, including police, fire services, municipal by-law and public health units. In the liquor sector, this work also includes administering the Police Report & Last Drink Programs in partnership with the police.

 

Mystery Shopper Program

The use of mystery shoppers in the grocery sector continues to be an effective tool to aid in evaluating how grocery stores are performing in preventing youth access to alcohol. Throughout 2022–2023, the AGCO will expand its Mystery Shopper Program to cover all liquor licensees operating within the province.

To adequately assess the sector’s ability to prevent youth access to cannabis products, the AGCO continues to use its Mystery Shopper Program to identify retailers who present an increased risk of permitting youth access. During this fiscal year, the AGCO enhanced the Mystery Shopper Program to support enhanced oversight of cannabis retailers operating close to high schools.

 

Educational activities

The AGCO proactively provides education to all sectors to increase their understanding of regulatory obligations and improve overall compliance. All new licensees or authorization holders in the liquor and cannabis sectors receive this education. In addition, any licensee or authorization holder can take advantage of these opportunities at any time throughout the life cycle of their licence.

Please note that all information in the following tables has been adjusted to align with the new methodology of categorizing inspections that was implemented in fiscal year 2021–2022.The category “miscellaneous compliance activity” includes but is not limited to compliance activity driven by intelligence or investigation activity, Mystery Shopper Program or criminal charges.

Table 13—Compliance Services inspections—Alcohol

 

2020–21

2021–22

Inspection Activity

11,929

11,134

Consultation

1,431

531

Education

381

527

Miscellaneous Compliance Activity

1,003

834

Violations cited

1,012

1,297

Serious violations escalated for further review

86

116

Note: There is a variance between numbers reported in this table for 2020–21 violations cited and serious violations escalated for further review and what was reported in the 2020–2021 Annual Report as a result of changes to data categories.

Table 14—Compliance Services inspections—Lottery retailers

 

2020–21

2021–22

Inspection Activity

426

166

Consultation

13

4

Education

34

0

Miscellaneous Compliance Activity

6

7

Violations cited

48

33

Warnings

20

11

Table 15—Compliance Services inspections—Raffles

 

2020–21

2021–22

Inspection Activity

4

18

Consultation

4

2

Education

1

0

Violations cited

0

3

Table 16—Compliance Services inspections—Cannabis

 

2020–21

2021–22

Inspection Activity

3,027

4,229

Consultation

427

590

Education

1,193

685

Miscellaneous Compliance Activity

604

526

Violations cited

131

525

Table 17—Cannabis private retail inspections

 

2020–21

2021–22

Systems Assessments in Pre-Opening Inspections

522

929

Table 18—Compliance Services inspections—Horse racing

 

2020–21

2021–22

Inspection Activity

352

419

Consultation

17

40

Education

1

6

Miscellaneous Compliance Activity

33

24

Violations cited

32

30

Table 19—Rulings by Racing Officials

Breed

2020-21

2021–22

Thoroughbred

Stewards’ Rulings

109

139

Live Race Dates

134

140

Standardbred

Judges’ Rulings

313

337

Live Race Dates

523

587

Quarter Horse

Stewards’ Rulings

22

16

Live Race Dates

21

20

Technology Regulation and igaming Compliance Branch activities

Ontario’s public confidence in gaming is supported by the important work performed by the Technology Regulation and Igaming Compliance (TRC) Branch.

In 2021–2022, the TRC Branch successfully navigated a significant transformation to deliver on a new mandate for overseeing all aspects of regulatory compliance of the igaming open market that is to launch in April 2022. This transformation operationalized an innovative compliance framework and created three new units within the branch: Planning and Priority Setting, Independent Test Lab Oversight, and igaming Compliance Assurance.

The role of the Planning and Priority Setting unit is to produce sector-level compliance information, analysis, plans and priorities, providing direction to compliance teams in an evidence-based compliance program.

The role of the Independent Test Lab Oversight unit is to ensure the delivery of high-quality, impartial and independent services that assess and certify gaming technology products for use in Ontario.

The role of the Igaming Compliance Assurance unit is to deliver a full suite of modern and effective compliance assurance activities that address identified compliance priorities, providing reasonable assurance of compliance for regulated internet gaming entities and technology.

The three newly formed units work in concert to create a low-burden, priority-driven compliance program in the internet gaming space.

The TRC Branch ensures the technical integrity of gaming technology by developing minimum technical standards that products must comply with and by testing and providing approvals of games and related gaming systems against those standards. This technology is used throughout the province in all gaming industries and sectors regulated by the AGCO, including casino gaming, charitable and raffle gaming, lotteries and internet gaming.

The TRC Branch is composed of highly qualified and experienced experts. It includes an in- house laboratory (the Gaming Lab) equipped with the same gaming systems used at gaming sites in Ontario.

The Gaming Lab is accredited to the international standard ISO 17025:2017 for testing laboratories, considered the international benchmark for excellence in testing laboratories. This achievement sets the AGCO apart as the only known gaming regulator with an in-house accredited gaming laboratory. This accreditation provides annual third-party assurance of the ongoing quality of the testing performed by the Gaming Lab.

In 2021–2022, the Gaming Lab conducted its annual survey of regulated entities, reaching out to Gaming-Related Suppliers to request their anonymous evaluation and feedback. Twenty-four (24) Gaming-Related Suppliers responded to the survey, with 100 per cent of responses indicating they are either very satisfied or satisfied with the overall service provided by the Gaming Lab. The Gaming Lab will conduct its annual survey in 2022–2023 to gather valuable feedback from regulated Operators to enable it to continue to provide industry-leading services.

Table 20—Gaming Laboratory

 

2020–21

2021–22

Electronic gaming–related products requested for approval

1,395

2,616

Low-risk electronic gaming products that were pre-approved

43

51

Products with regulatory issues

discovered by the AGCO that were consequently not approved

87

193

Average turnaround time for approval

22 calendar days

25 calendar days

Note: There was an increase in requests for approval of gaming-related products in 2021–22 due to industry recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Appeals and arbitration

The AGCO’s Legal Services Division provides legal advice on licensee and registrant compliance within the regulatory framework and represents the Registrar at hearings of appeals before the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), the Horse Racing Appeal Panel (HRAP) and the Divisional Court and the Court of Appeal.

Table 21—Notices of Proposal (NOPs) and Orders of Monetary Penalty (OMPs)—Alcohol

 

2020–21

2021–22

NOPs

• Applications (new, change, transfer)

• Disciplinary (suspend and/or add conditions, revoke)

• Premises closed (revoke licence)

• Other

61

61

Orders of Monetary Penalty

9

21

Table 22—Alcohol-related settlements without a hearing

 

2020–21

2021–22

Number of settlements agreed to without a hearing (NOPs and OMPs)

11

16

Table 23—Notices of Proposed Order (NOPOs) or immediate suspensions—Horse racing

 

2020–21

2021–22

Notice of Proposed Order

to suspend, revoke or immediately suspend a licence

3

5

Table 24—Gaming-related settlements without a hearing

 

2020–21

2021–22

Gaming-related settlements without a hearing

0

2

Investigation and Enforcement Activities

Modernization, transformation and integration

The 2021–2022 year saw the implementation of several important initiatives to drive efficiency. The Investigation and Enforcement Bureau (IEB) implemented the Management Inspection Process to ensure processes are incorporated into everyday operations, providing accountability, consistency and reliability.

Pre-screening applicants during the eligibility process is key to supporting the honesty and integrity of licensees, registrants and authorization holders. To support this process, the IEB implemented the Enhanced Cannabis Application Pre-Screening Interview process for Retail Operator and Retail Manager licences to allow for immediate flagging of any criminal associations. In 2021, enhanced Cannabis Application Pre-Screening Interviews identified 80 applicants as problematic or with areas of risk.

In the igaming sector, the IEB implemented Eligibility and Major Investigations pre-screening igaming CEO interview questions to identify any possible risks associated with the AGCO registration of igaming companies.

Anti–money laundering

Anti–money laundering (AML) continues to be a key focus for the IEB. In 2021–2022, the IEB implemented a new enhanced IEB AML investigative strategy that focused Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) resources to attend the casino floor any time they are called for a suspicious cash transaction when the patron is present at the casino. This allows the IEB members to engage and question the patron regarding the source of funds and determine investigative action.

Partnerships are key to the success of our AML programs. This year, the IEB developed and implemented a video to raise awareness of AML investigative analytic processes among stakeholders, including the OLG, the OPP, the AGCO and FINTRAC. These partnerships were further supported by introducing the IEB AML Coordination Model, where dedicated OPP, OLG and AGCO analysts worked closely to query and analyze their respective agency’s data sets to openly share and discuss information and identify individuals and activities that pose AML risks. The IEB also developed and implemented a new joint AML Investigative Process with the OPP

Provincial Asset Forfeiture Unit for identified High Priority Individuals that warrant an AML investigation that will utilize resources effectively.

A data-driven mindset is key to the IEB’s AML approach. An analytical program/dashboard tool has been developed and implemented to help identify and initiate investigations of individuals who pose risks of engaging in money laundering activities. The IEB has reduced a significant number of manual processes by automating the intake of all suspicious transaction reports (STRs) generated at Ontario gaming sites into the established IEB AML analytical program/dashboard tool. This allows the IEB to allocate resources to focus on high-risk gaming areas, and ground decisions and actions against high-priority individuals to determine if criminal investigations and/or regulatory recommendations are warranted.

To support data collection and drive these analytical insights in 2021–2022, the IEB launched a newly developed OPP Report Management System (RMS) STR investigative report and training video. The new report’s drop-down menus and entry fields walk the investigator through the investigation to ensure that nothing is omitted. This data is also trackable, assisting with future analysis of the information collected in the database and statistic collection. Implementing an enhanced IEB Harm Reduction Strategy and training video ensures consistency and that patrons attending casinos in violation of exclusion orders receive addiction assistance when required.

The IEB Intelligence Unit initiated a collaboration between the Biker Enforcement Unit and the RMS Unit to create a streamlined way to search, identify and compare those listed in the Outlaw Motorcycle Gaming databases to those within the AGCO’s regulatory database. This search resulted in over one thousand outlaw motorcycle gaming members’ names that can be compared to all regulated sectors.

Leadership and stewardship

The IEB Anti–Human Trafficking (AHT) Working Group collaborated with the OPP Anti–Human Trafficking Unit, Criminal Intelligence Service Ontario and municipal partners in order to proactively focus on AHT activities. The working group created a 2021 list of AHT police contacts from police jurisdictions across Ontario that house casinos and/or racetracks. The development of this initiative allowed investigators to quickly mobilize a multi-jurisdictional response to locate a wanted material HT witness from Quebec.

The IEB also provided support and subject matter expertise/follow-up to assist GTA municipal police counterparts on illegal gaming venues.

The Cannabis Intelligence Sharing Working Group involving the IEB/AGCO/ Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team /OCS was implemented to share critical intelligence information, increase linkages to organized crime groups and enhance relationships. In addition, the Legal Cannabis Intelligence Working Group Due Diligence Investigators Network (DDIN) was implemented. The DDIN engaged cannabis regulators across Canada to share critical intelligence and information strategies from involved stakeholders and share linkages to organized crime connections and affiliations.

Table 25—Eligibility investigations

 

2020–21

2021–22

Gaming and Lottery

708

315

Cannabis

478

1,037

Horse Racing

88

122

Outside Agency Assist Checks

495

381

Table 26—Number of IEB investigations

 

2020–21

2021–22

Internet Gaming

60

126

Charitable Gaming

7

7

Cannabis

0

1

Horse Racing

0

153

Liquor Licence Holders and Applicants

140

106

Table 27—Lottery-related investigations

 

2020–21

2021–22

Lottery Insider Wins

49

39

Lottery Suspicious Wins

92

71

Other Lottery Investigations

102

64

Table 28—Occurrences at casinos and slot machine facilities

 

2020–21

2021–22

Total Investigations in Casinos and Slot Machine facilities

1,260

2,814

Total Criminal Code Offences

353

117

Total Non–Criminal Code Related Offences

280

629

Alleged Cheat-at-Play Instances

0

74

Cheat-at-Play Charges Laid

0

17

Note: This category overlaps with the gaming eligibility investigations in Table 25.