The Alcohol and Gaming Commission (AGCO) is preparing to launch iGaming Ontario’s Centralized Self-Exclusion (CSE) later this year.
As part of the preparations, AGCO has amended the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming to make it easier for companies and individuals alike to understand what to expect.
The new CSE standard (2.14.1) focuses on the outcome of the self-exclusion, rather than the steps to get there, emphasizing that player protection should be the priority – no matter what the circumstances are.
Currently, individual operators in Ontario manage their own self-exclusion registers, but this means that customers need to sign up to the register on each site they use.
This also means that they can self-exclude from one site, but easily sign up for another without any barriers.
However, the CSE will apply to the entire regulated market and give players the option of self-excluding for six months, one year or five years.
Once launched, iGaming Ontario will be responsible for maintaining the CSE.
AGCO has also introduced a new level of expectations to the 2.14.1 standards.
Once the CSE launches, all regulated operators will be required to participate in it and promote it on their websites.
Operators will also be responsible for closing player accounts no more than 24 hours after they add themselves to the registry and refunding any outstanding credit from their wallets.
An additional change was also made to 2.03, which rules that advertising, marketing materials and communications cannot target high-risk, underage players, as well as those on the CSE.
AGCO has required iGaming operators to offer a voluntary self-exclusion program since the launch of Ontario’s regulated iGaming market in 2022
