A company that helps power online sportsbooks has received a regulatory approval needed to participate in Ontario's competitive market for internet gambling.
Kambi Group PLC announced Monday that it received approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) to act as a gaming-related supplier effective April 4. That day is when the province’s new market for legal online sports betting and internet-based casino gambling is scheduled to go live.
The AGCO approval will ensure certain sportsbook operators can launch in Ontario when the province’s first-of-its-kind iGaming market launches next month. Kambi’s clientele includes several firms that have received operator registrations from the AGCO — putting them on track to take bets in the province — including Unibet-owner Kindred Group, LeoVegas, and BetRivers-owner Rush Street Interactive.
Kambi's registration from the AGCO will also allow the Malta-headquartered company to provide sportsbook technology and services to its consumer-facing partners in Ontario. Those offerings include an “unparalleled ice hockey product,” the company says (which could be important in Canada, a hockey-crazed country), as well as its “Bet Builder” feature.
"This landmark achievement is a testament to Kambi’s expertise and exemplary track record in compliance, and we are excited to be in a position to deliver our market-leading sportsbook technology to our partners’ customers in Ontario from day one,” said Kristian Nylén, Kambi’s chief executive officer and co-founder, in a press release.
Kambi takes another step closer to launching in Canada having obtained regulatory approval to launch our leading sportsbook with partners on day one of the online market opening.
— Kambi (@KambiSports) March 21, 2022
You can read the full press release here: https://t.co/CKb3yMFpuY#weknowwhatittakes pic.twitter.com/IHaEIZjuSY
The AGCO’s authorization is also another sign of the momentum that continues to build ahead of the launch of the Ontario iGaming market. The framework will be unique in Canada as it will allow private-sector operators to compete against each other and the province's government-owned lottery and gaming corporation for business.
As of Monday morning, 14 iGaming operators had received their registration from the AGCO, which is one of the key steps for companies that want to participate. The other key step is executing an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario, a government agency and AGCO subsidiary.
Kambi is not the only vendor that recently received its Ontario registration either. For example, the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) had its registration issued back in February, which will allow it to act as one of the independent integrity monitors that the province’s iGaming operators can use.
The IBIA is the “largest customer transaction-based betting integrity monitoring system” in the world, and recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian Gaming Association that will allow the two organizations to cooperate.
“IBIA will be one of only a handful of sports integrity monitors recognized by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for licensed operators and we believe there is great value in deepening our relationship with the organization,” said Paul Burns, president and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, in a press release. “As the CGA looks ahead to the opening of Ontario’s iGaming market and the expansion of sports betting products and services across Canada in 2022, the protection of athletes and integrity of sports betting is a key priority.”
