CEO Special: AGCO's Dr. Karin Schnarr on Ontario's secret to success

It can be difficult to spot the sharks sat ready and waiting at table games and slot machines on a casino floor. It becomes even more of a challenge when one of those sharks is a “cute little” grandmother who can appear harmless to the naked eye. That would’ve been the grandmother of Karin Schnarr, Registrar & CEO of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), who first developed an interest in gambling by watching the leading women in her life build a reputation as forces to be reckoned with on the poker and blackjack tables. 

“I never remember a time when we didn’t play euchre, rummy or cribbage. You hear stories about grandparents where they let the kid win; my grandma was never like that – and we always played for money,” Dr. Schnarr reflects with Global Gaming Insider. “You learn to be good at cards very early on when there’s always money at stake. I’d go down to Las Vegas with my mom and grandma, who was this cute little lady and she’d go to the tables where people would look at her like ‘oh, how nice.’ And she’d clean their clocks.

Dr. Schnarr recalls a family trip to Las Vegas, when her brother mistakenly believed he was up to the challenge of playing at the same table as their grandmother, only to be “cleaned out as well” by the delightfully ruthless gambling alpha. “It didn’t matter that he was blood,” she says, “poker was poker, and she took that very seriously. We didn’t come from a family of means so we grew up playing cards. I think my love of gaming also came from my mom… she was an avid blackjack player; she loved 
the game.”

Wandering eye

Despite the young interest in gambling, the future AGCO leader also developed a passion for optometry after babysitting for a family who ran one of the largest optical chains in Canada. Having grown up in Kitchener, Waterloo – known for hosting the second-largest Oktoberfest outside of Munich and as the birthplace of BlackBerry – Dr. Schnarr was able to stay local and attend the University of Waterloo with little worry of the financial handicap felt by present-day students. The University offered Canada’s only English-speaking optometry school, a “coincidental” positive as she continued her scholastic career. 

Unfortunately, Dr. Schnarr quickly discovered that “if you don’t like physics, optometry is a terrible career choice,” and chose to shift her academic focus to English while finishing the credits necessary to obtain an additional degree in biological sciences. After graduating from the University of Waterloo with dual bachelor’s degrees, Dr. Schnarr referred back to the “service-oriented” mindset instilled by her parents and joined the Government of Ontario as a Legislative Assistant.  

Even while a career in politics may not have been the future Dr. Schnarr envisioned when she first got accepted to the University of Waterloo, history shows it might’ve been a career path destined for quite some time. Dr. Schnarr recalled how her father sat on a number of Boards for various community initiatives, while she would also go door-to-door with her mom handing out pamphlets for local political candidates.

In yet another happy accident for Dr. Schnarr’s eventual journey to AGCO Registrar & CEO, a lack of funding to attend Purdue University led to her accepting the Government of Ontario appointment, a moment she sees as “being at the right place at the right time.”

“My ultimate plan really was to do a PhD in English and finish my Master’s at Queen’s University. I got accepted at Purdue and my funding fell through at the exact time the party I supported won the provincial election in 1995. I’d never intended to have a career in politics; I always thought I was going to be an academic. I loved the experience as a young person in politics. You’re not paid well and there’s no job security, but the opportunity to be at those tables, learn, listen and move up the chain quite quickly if you’re a hard worker. I never looked back.”

Academic activity

Dr. Schnarr ultimately chose to depart the Government of Ontario to work in management consulting by 2003, a move which would jumpstart her return to academia just three years later. In an effort to secure her MBA, Dr. Schnarr moved from Canada to London to attend the Ivey Business School at University of Western Ontario, where she also worked to secure a PhD in Business – General Management from 2009 to 2015.

While a return to student life offered challenges she had not faced in almost a decade, including the transition from a “really good salary” to living off $25,000 a year, it reminded the gaming executive of “just how much I loved academia.” Even with dreams of teaching in Nevada or Arizona given her love for warm weather, Dr. Schnarr instead chose to undergo “one of the world’s biggest ironies” and return to Waterloo as an Associate Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in July 2014. 

Shifting to the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics from 2020-2023, Dr. Schnarr found herself with an opportunity to re-join gaming in 2022, right as Ontario was about to embark on Canada’s first regulatory foray into iGaming. Coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Schnarr was tasked with a number of initiatives by the Ontario Government – one of which included overseeing a taskforce to help female entrepreneurs and university graduates. Once the taskforce concluded, Dr. Schnarr was asked to sit on the Board of iGaming Ontario as the provincial gaming manager was first being established, helping “reignite” her passion for the sector. 

Doors open in Ontario

Despite currently maintaining organizational independence, iGaming Ontario originally began as a subsidiary of the AGCO, providing Dr. Schnarr with a better understanding of how both entities helped regulate the province’s newest revenue generator. Before long, the young professor found herself swapping the responsibilities of university life for those more directly tied to gambling, including sports betting, iGaming and the role her new organization would play in establishing Canada’s inaugural regulated market. 

While Dr. Schnarr and her colleagues attempted to remain modest with initial revenue projections, the CEO shares how such estimates paled in comparison to Ontario’s immediate success. She recalls: “I remember in one of my very first meetings, the financial projections we had going into the market were so spectacularly off in terms of the success we saw even very early on. It was always changing and very dynamic to see how that developed, especially while things like sports integrity were coming up for the first time. 

“We absolutely didn’t get it perfect the first time, so how can we learn and continue to evolve and improve? It’s a balance. Gaming is a sector where we have to make sure we have strong protections from a regulatory perspective while also not overburdening the industry. We want people to invest and create all of those great jobs because there’s absolutely an economic benefit. You’re always trying to balance both sides of the coin.”

From 2022-2023, active player accounts in Ontario rose 115.9% to just over eight million, while total handle generated by licensed operators reached $59bn and increased 173.4%. In 2025, there were nearly 13.5 million active player accounts reported across Ontario, with the province’s handle set to eclipse $100bn for the first time during full-year 2026.

In the midst of such growth, former AGCO Registrar & CEO Tom Mungham had announced his intention to step down from the position by the fall of 2023, resulting in a “very wide open search” for the regulator’s next leader. Even with limited experience in gaming, a background in strategic planning and government operations gave Dr. Schnarr an advantage... 

Next in line

“I came from a very different background,” Dr. Schnarr explains, “I’m not someone that has a depth of experience in the gaming space. But what I did bring to the table was a depth of experience in strategic planning, change management and an understanding of how the government operates. I was fortunate to be there because I know there were a number of really amazing people that also tossed their hat in the ring; so I’m just grateful to the Board for giving me the opportunity.”

But Dr. Schnarr still had to consider one crucial factor. The same factor that had driven her original interest in gaming all those years ago: family. Knowing the Registrar & CEO title would include a full-time move to Toronto, Dr. Schnarr and her husband discussed the challenge of being separated from her youngest daughter, who was about to start university in 2024.

“I said to my husband, ‘I’m really busy, our younger daughter’s starting university next year; I want to make sure she’s supported, we would have to be separate. I would not want to try and do this job part-time.’ And he replied, ‘Karin, this is an amazing opportunity. These don’t come up very often. But not only is it good for you, it’s an unbelievable opportunity for you to model leadership behaviour for our daughters,’ and I’ve never forgotten that.”

Beginning her tenure as AGCO Registrar & CEO in September 2023, Dr. Schnarr’s original belief was that her focus would mainly centre around the “big r” rather than the CEO title. Instead, she soon discovered “exactly the opposite,” as becoming head of the AGCO came with responsibilities “no different to running a private sector company.” A noteworthy reminder is the AGCO Registrar & CEO title extends past gambling, with Dr. Schnarr additionally having to account for personnel monitoring liquor, cannabis and horseracing. Continuing the work of her predecessors, Dr. Schnarr has aimed to continue transitioning the AGCO from a “very structured regulatory system that heavily burdens ourselves” to an outcomes-based model.

At your own risk

Within the past 12 months, the AGCO has enforced regulatory penalties on operators such as FanDuel, theScore, Great Canadian Entertainment and PointsBet, showcasing an ‘actions have consequences’ mentality. Speaking on gaming’s constant expansion, the newest threat to regulators such as the AGCO has come in the form of prediction markets, which have been dominating headlines since early 2025. 

Backed by multi-billion-dollar valuations, the likes of Kalshi, Polymarket and Crypto.com have generated inconceivable amounts of trading volume since the US’ interest in the sector first catapulted. While many US states are currently tied up in prediction market legal battles, Ontario and Canada’s financial regulators have thus far limited their spread.

The AGCO Chief explains: "In Ontario, we already have a very open, welcoming and successful iGaming market. In some of the US states, it was a bit of a workaround if they didn’t have legal sports betting markets in place. We have a very robust, legal sports betting market. We’ve certainly been having a lot of conversations with the Ontario Securities Commission because they regulate the financial side. Any product that falls into the category of sports betting and gaming needs to have those controls and governance to be regulated according to the laws of the land.”

The AGCO is certainly not the only organization keeping on eye on prediction markets in Canada. Collaborating with government, iGaming Ontario, the Canadian Gaming Association and Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation remains a top priority for Dr. Schnarr on this and numerous other files. Looking to avoid duplicating efforts with her counterparts, she highlights how each is trying to work in a coordinated fashion during an extremely complex time for the industry.

“We are all trying to make sure we have a fair, legal, responsible gaming system in Ontario that’s going to provide a lot of comfort for players, whether it’s through iGaming or visiting one of our casino properties,” Dr. Schnarr said. “When iGaming Ontario separated, it made it a lot easier and a lot cleaner, because there wasn’t the potential for conflict of interest that can come up at times. It’s worked incredibly well. I was literally on the phone with the CEOs of those organizations this morning as part of a group conversation. Members of our teams, whether it’s legal, operations or policy, are always communicating.”

Canada’s next step forward

Recent gaming expansion in Canada brought forth Ontario’s first local competition since the sector’s inaugural launch in 2022. On July 13, Alberta officially debuted regulated iGaming with more than 50 operator registrations, featuring many of the same organizations that have already set up camp in Ontario. 

Dr. Schnarr and fellow Ontario regulators actually helped Alberta ensure a successful launch, with both provinces more inclined to work in harmony rather than against one another. We asked whether she views Alberta as possible competition to Ontario’s iGaming future, with Dr. Schnarr responding that she “100%” does not, and would even “encourage” other provinces to follow in the same footsteps. Describing the new launch as “absolutely fantastic,” Dr. Schnarr remembers seeing Alberta regulators in Florida “counting down” to July 13.

She concludes: “We want to encourage investment in gaming communities as more provinces start to think about this. Where can we make sure the rules are as similar as they possibly can be so that, if you’re investing in Ontario, it’s easy to invest in Alberta and other markets? Alberta was a really great partner with us for that. It’s a very similar system. There are a couple of places where they’re a little bit different, where we’re actually looking to say, ‘is this something we should be adopting?’ So I’m really excited about the launch.

While the AGCO Registrar & CEO remains “open to learning” from fellow regulators – especially in regards to market entry, consumer protection and payment providers – Ontario refuses to “get too distracted by what other jurisdictions are doing.” In cases where gaming collaboration takes precedent, however, Dr. Schnarr finds herself returning to her academic and political roots. 

Returning to your roots

As a consistent panelist at events such as G2E, the former professor notes her ability to “talk for three hours about absolutely nothing, ”as well as her love for establishing a stronger connection with coworkers. Not needing people to “come and find me in my ivory tower,” Dr. Schnarr is “very comfortable going to find them.” 

“When I look back at my career, I would have never thought this is where I would end up, but I can see all of these amazing steps that have landed me where I am. To lead this organization… It’s challenging some days but, hands down, it’s the most fun and interesting job I will ever have in my career. It’s an exciting place to come to work every day – and not everybody gets to say that,” Dr. Schnarr remarked.

“I’m incredibly privileged to head an agency where I get to think about public good. I am never going to be able to compete with the private sector in terms of what I can offer for compensation, so I’ve got people that are here because they love what they do. They love protecting people and they believe we’ve got the best possible system.”

In familiar terminology for Global Gaming Insider, Dr. Schnarr spoke on “drinking from a fire hose at the very beginning” of her tenure with the AGCO, and still wishes she had “more hours in the day sometimes.” Despite not having the “luxury” of focusing solely on gaming, Dr. Schnarr’s experience juggling multiple responsibilities dates back nearly 30 years ago to her studies... 
“I love my job. Every single one of my sectors is interesting. We as an organization are going through transformation in some of our strategic planning functions, to ensure they’re up to date with the newest technologies and, quite frankly, create an offer with the best possible customer experience. Every day there’s a new technology tool that helps us with that.” 

The minnow, much like her late grandmother, has slowly become the shark in gaming regulation.