AGCO Issues Fines to Relax Gaming and Pragmatic Play for Content on Unlicensed iGaming Sites
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario took action on May 7 against two companies connected to major gaming content suppliers. Relax Gaming Limited, the company behind the Relax Gaming provider, and Arrise Solutions Limited, which represents Pragmatic Play, received administrative monetary penalties of $40,000 each.
The penalties followed an AGCO investigation. The regulator found that games from both providers were available on unlicensed iGaming sites, with those platforms accessible to players in Ontario. For the province’s regulated market, this is a sensitive issue: registered suppliers may work with licensed operators, but they must not provide their content to sites that bypass local rules.
Both companies are registered with the AGCO as developers and suppliers of gaming content for online casinos. In other words, these are not outside studios with no market status, but providers that already operate within Ontario’s regulated system and are required to follow its rules.
After being notified by AGCO investigators, Relax Gaming Limited and Arrise Solutions Limited did not drag out the process. According to the regulator, both companies cooperated with the investigation and quickly restricted access for players in the province to their games on unlicensed platforms.
For the AGCO, this case looks like another signal to the market: registration in the province gives companies the right to work with legal operators, but it also comes with specific obligations. Even if a provider’s content appears on an unlicensed site without being the central part of its business, accountability can still follow.
Mark Patterson is the news writer at CasinosInCanada who covers the latest developments in the iGaming industry, including casino launches, regulations, and market updates.
It would be interesting to know exactly how these games end up on unlicensed sites. Through aggregators or directly? That would be useful to find out.
$40,000 does not look like a huge amount for companies like these, but it is not great from a reputation standpoint. Especially for Pragmatic Play.