Ontario News: PokerStars & Casumo Granted Licenses + Pariplay Expands Presence

In the latest Ontario iGaming market news, Casumo, PokerStars, and Pariplay have made moves to enter or expand in the province. PokerStars and Casumo have both been granted licenses while Pariplay has a new content agreement in place. (Image from pariplay.com)

Ever since the Canadian province of Ontario opened its legal and regulated online gambling market at the start of April, there has been a flurry of iGaming developers and operators queuing up to get a license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). Striving to get a slice of the market, the latest of these to earn a license include PokerStars and Casumo Casino, two major operators that already operate in many of the world’s other key iGaming markets.

Following the recent issuing of licenses to software developers, including Hacksaw Gaming and 1×2 Network, the AGCO has given the two leading operators the green light to start operating in the province. The Flutter-owned PokerStars was issued a license that will run until June 2024. PokerStars already has its Canadian-based platform in place and is now accepting players from the region.

The AGCO has also awarded a license to Casumo, an online casino we know well here. This was issued to its parent company, Pret Gaming and will run until June 2023, at which point it will be up for renewal. Other brands that have received Ontario licenses in June include Jackpot City, Royal Vegas, Ruby Fortune, and Spin Casino via its Super Group subsidiary, Cadtree Limited, while SkillOnNet has also received a license.

Still in its infancy, the newly regulated Ontario iGaming market took over three years of work before it could open officially. Now live, the market has some strict regulations that developers and operators have to abide by. This includes the banning of auto-play features on slot games and a minimum spin speed of 2.5 seconds. Games must also display the balance in Canadian Dollars and not ‘coins’ while multi-screen or split screen gaming is also forbidden.

The Canadian iGaming market is now flourishing and not only in terms of the revenues being brought in. Players have a wide range of games to enjoy from developers such as Inspired Entertainment, Play’n GO, High 5 Games, and Evolution, and will now have access to them on the newly licensed platforms above.

Pariplay Expands Canadian Presence via a Partnership with Atlantic Lottery

Already holding a license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), has struck an agreement with the Atlantic Lottery in the province. The agreement will see Pariplay’s portfolio of casino games developed by its in-house developer Wizard Games feature on the lottery operator’s platform.

Alongside those titles, the Atlantic Lottery will also offer games from Pariplay’s Fusion platform, which contains titles from collaborating brands including Kalamba Games, Stakelogic, iSoftBet, Skywind, RedRake Gaming, and Play’n GO. Among the big name slots Atlantic Gaming’s customers can look forward to include Dragons of the North, Rumble Rhino Megaways and Wildwood Buffalo.

Following the announcement of this new partnership, Michael Mckinnon, Atlantic Lottery’s Vice President of Gaming said:

We have been looking for a new main supplier that could deliver industry-leading casino content to our customers. We have found exactly that with pariplay. This is a huge deal for us and believe that our choice will prove popular with our customers once it goes live.

Andrew Maclean, Pariplay’s Vice president of Sales, also shared his delight of this deal when he stated:

The North American markets are one of our main focuses at Pariplay and while we already have a strong presence, this agreement with ALC will no doubt prove to strenghthen that further.