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