With the launch of regulated iGaming in Ontario weeks away, we continue to support and act as a resource to both regulators and industry as we collectively embark into unchartered territory.
AGCO, the body responsible for creating standards for the gaming industry, has already seen some operators not playing by the rules and are working hard to alter this behaviour through consultative conversations. They are also directing operators to view IAB Canada’s recent webinar, in partnership with thinktv, to review the standards they are obligated to meet.
Meanwhile, iGaming Ontario, to further discourage marketing and advertising efforts by unregulated internet gaming Operators as of April 4, plans to send a communication to the largest media outlets in Ontario requesting that they only accept advertising from Operators that are registered and approved in the province. IAB Canada strongly supports this effort and will share the iGaming communication with our broader membership once it is available.
In addition, to help provide agencies and approved operators with options for online advertising in Ontario, we are in the process of finalizing a comprehensive document that lists Canadian publishers and ad tech vendors’ acceptance status of iGaming Ontario ads. Like our elections advertising file, this is a live document that will be updated as new information becomes available and can be found in our iGaming Resource Centre. This information will eventually be included in our Publisher Media Kit and, if you are a publisher accepting iGaming Ontario ads and would like to be included, please reach out.
We are looking for the right opportunities to bring to our working group to assist our members in any way that we can and are currently exploring technical solutions that could further assist the digital ecosystem in supporting the regulated market. We are kicking off talks with the IAB Tech Lab to see if there are ways, we can help to ensure ads by unregulated players do not see any airtime.
We look forward to some great discussions leading up to and after launch and encourage you to join the conversation by reaching out to policy@iabcanada.com