Ontario iGaming Operating Agreement: iGO Terms 2026
This is the Ontario iGaming operating agreement explained. It is the contract every registered operator signs with iGaming Ontario (iGO) before taking a real-money bet in the province. The agreement turns an AGCO registration into a live commercial arrangement and sets the 20 percent revenue share. It also binds the operator to run its brand as iGO’s agent. This guide covers what the agreement is, how it sits alongside the AGCO registration, what it obliges you to do, the 2024 amendment that reshaped it, and where operators get it wrong.
Key facts
- Counterparty: iGaming Ontario (iGO); the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) registers the operator first
- Revenue share: operators keep 80 percent of gaming revenue; 20 percent goes to the province through iGO under the agreement
- Legal basis: the operator acts as iGO’s agent, so gambling is conducted and managed by the province under the Criminal Code
- iGO control: full access to all gaming, player, and transaction data, plus sole discretion to monitor, suspend, or terminate
- 2024 change: Order in Council 210/2024 lets registered operators serve players outside Canada through separate international sites
- Scope: the agreement authorises play by users located in Ontario only, not the rest of Canada
Ontario iGaming operating agreement explained
The operating agreement is the commercial contract between a private operator and iGaming Ontario. It is separate from the AGCO registration, and you need both to go live. The AGCO decides whether your company is eligible to hold a registration. iGO then signs the agreement that lets you offer online casino, sports betting, or poker to players in the province. Without the signed agreement, a registration alone does not authorise a single bet.
The agreement exists because of how gambling law works in Canada. The Criminal Code reserves the conduct and management of gambling to the province. So iGO holds that authority, and each operator runs its site as iGO’s agent. That is the core of the arrangement. You build, fund, and market the brand, while iGaming Ontario is the legal conduct-and-manage body behind the offering. For a fuller view of the market and the regulator, our guide to what iGaming Ontario is sets out how the two bodies divide the work. The commercial route into the province runs through an Ontario iGaming licence and the agreement that follows it.
How the AGCO registration and the operating agreement fit together
Entry runs in sequence, not in parallel. First the AGCO registers the operator through the iAGCO portal and clears its ownership, integrity, and financial standing. Then iGaming Ontario offers the operating agreement, and only companies the AGCO has already cleared reach that stage. So the registration is the gate, and the agreement is the commercial contract that follows.
The split matters in practice because you answer to two bodies with different jobs. The AGCO owns the Registrar’s Standards and the enforcement powers behind them. iGO owns the contract, the revenue reconciliation, and the day-to-day commercial relationship. The AGCO sets out the roles of the AGCO and iGaming Ontario in full on its official site. If the AGCO suspends your registration, the operating agreement cannot keep you live. If iGO terminates the agreement, your AGCO registration does not let you take bets on its own. For the standards side of that relationship, see our breakdown of the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming.
What the operating agreement covers
The agreement sets the commercial and operational terms of the relationship. iGaming Ontario develops and oversees these agreements once the AGCO has registered the operator, as it explains for operators joining the Ontario market. It is not a licence document. Instead, it is the contract that governs how you operate as iGO’s agent once the AGCO has registered you. The main areas it addresses are set out below.
| Area | What the operating agreement addresses |
|---|---|
| Revenue reconciliation | The 20 percent share of gaming revenue that iGO reconciles and collects on behalf of the province |
| Responsible gambling | The operator’s duty to apply iGO and AGCO responsible gambling requirements |
| Anti-money laundering | Alignment with iGaming Ontario’s AML program and policies alongside federal obligations |
| Dispute resolution | A process for handling player complaints that the operator cannot resolve directly |
| Data and reporting | iGO access to gaming, player, and transaction data, plus regular operational reporting |
| Insurance and security | Insurance cover and system security standards the operator must hold and maintain |
Because these terms bind you from the day the site goes live, the compliance function has to be built before launch. The revenue share and the reporting duties in particular shape the finance and data work an operator carries from day one.
Ontario iGaming Operating Agreement Explained: 20 Percent Revenue Share
The headline commercial term is the revenue share. Operators keep 80 percent of gaming revenue, and 20 percent goes to the province through iGaming Ontario. This share is not a separate gambling tax. It is the commercial return built into the agreement. So iGO reconciles it on behalf of the province, rather than the tax authority collecting it directly.
The distinction changes your model. Because the 20 percent applies to gaming revenue rather than profit, it comes off the top before your operating costs. So a thin-margin product feels the share more than the fixed fee does. Federal and Ontario corporate tax then apply to the registered entity on top of the revenue share. For the full picture, including the AGCO regulatory fee of 100,000 CAD per gaming site each year, see our Ontario iGaming licence cost breakdown. Model the share into your projections before you commit, because it sets the unit economics of the whole operation.
Player protection, AML, and dispute resolution duties
The agreement puts several ongoing duties on the operator, and they run for the life of the contract. iGaming Ontario develops and oversees the AML program that registered operators align with. So your own controls have to match it, and the federal regime that sits behind it. Responsible gambling requirements apply in the same way. The operator carries them into product design, marketing, and player messaging.
Player funds sit inside this framework too. The AGCO’s Registrar’s Standards require an operator to protect and account for player money. So the funds an operator holds are not free working capital. Dispute resolution is the third duty most operators underestimate. When a player complaint reaches iGO’s process, the operator has to cooperate. To staff the compliance, AML, and reporting posts these duties expect, our key function roles for a gaming licence show which posts you need before launch.
Data control, monitoring, and termination rights
The 2024 framework gives iGaming Ontario firm control over data and oversight. Under Order in Council 210/2024, iGO retains full and unrestricted access to all gaming data, player registration data, and transaction data for Ontario players. It also holds sole discretion to monitor operators and to suspend or terminate an agreement for non-compliance. So the operating agreement is not a fixed-term guarantee; it is a contract iGO can act on.
Operators also have to meet stringent requirements on AML, player risk assessment, system standards, security, and insurance. These are conditions of staying in the agreement, not one-time entry checks. In practice, the data feeds, the risk controls, and the insurance cover you set up at launch have to keep meeting the standard. That obligation runs for the whole term. When any of them slips, iGO can escalate through the contract while the AGCO acts through the Registrar’s Standards. Our AML and compliance management service keeps those controls aligned with both sides.
International play under the amended agreement
The most significant change to the agreement came in 2024. Order in Council 210/2024 lets a registered Ontario operator run separate international sites. On those sites, players outside Canada access games and sports betting through the operator’s gaming application. The international sites fall under their own jurisdictions’ rules rather than iGaming Ontario’s oversight. Before this change, the model was built around Ontario players alone.
The practical effect is that an operator can hold one corporate platform serving Ontario under the iGO agreement and other markets under their own licences. Still, the Ontario agreement authorises Ontario play only. It gives no European Union, United Kingdom, or United States access, because each of those markets runs its own regime. For example, Romania requires its own Romania online gaming licence regardless of any Ontario registration you hold. So keep the international sites and the Ontario site clearly separated in how you route and verify players.
Ontario iGaming Operating Agreement Explained: Term and Renewal
The agreement runs alongside the AGCO registration term, which you hold on a one or two year basis and renew. Renewal depends on continued eligibility, so the agreement stays live only while the registration behind it stays valid. When you renew the registration, the commercial relationship with iGO continues on the terms in force at that time.
The terms themselves can change. iGaming Ontario and the province update the framework through instruments like Order in Council 210/2024. Operators then take on the amended terms rather than negotiating their own contract. So treat the agreement as a standard-form arrangement that moves with policy, not a one-off deal you lock in at signing. That is why watching iGO and AGCO updates is part of the ongoing compliance job, not a task you finish at launch.
Where operators get the operating agreement wrong
Most problems trace back to treating the agreement as a formality after the AGCO registration. It is a live contract with continuing duties, and the recurring mistakes follow from missing that. The common ones are these:
- Budgeting for the 100,000 CAD fee but not modelling the 20 percent revenue share off the top of gaming revenue
- Assuming the AGCO registration alone authorises play, when the signed iGO agreement is also required
- Treating player funds as working capital instead of money the operator must protect and account for
- Building AML and reporting controls that do not align with iGaming Ontario’s program and data-access rights
- Running international traffic and Ontario traffic through the same flow without clean player-location separation
- Reading the agreement as a fixed guarantee, when iGO holds discretion to monitor, suspend, and terminate
The fix is to plan the agreement as an operating relationship from the start. When the right entry structure depends on your products, budget, and other markets, a short consultation resolves it faster than a long checklist. Our gaming licence acquisition service manages the AGCO filing and the iGO agreement together so the two stay in step. Operators planning a wider Canadian footprint should also track the separate Alberta iGaming licence market, which runs on its own registration.
Ontario iGaming operating agreement explained: next steps
The Ontario iGaming operating agreement makes a registered operator part of the province’s conduct-and-manage market. It carries a 20 percent revenue share, live AML and reporting duties, and iGO discretion over monitoring and termination. The figures that decide the case are your first-year total and your revenue-share exposure, not the fee alone. Confirm the current terms, the registration period, and the data and insurance requirements with the AGCO and iGaming Ontario before you sign. For a costed entry plan mapped to Ontario and any further Canadian provinces, speak with the DD Consultus advisory team at contact@licencegaming.com or +356 99408536.
Ontario iGaming Operating Agreement Explained: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the iGaming Ontario operating agreement?
The Ontario iGaming operating agreement explained here is the commercial contract a registered operator signs with iGaming Ontario before offering real-money play in the province. The agreement sets the 20 percent revenue share and the operator’s responsible gambling, AML, and reporting duties. The operator runs its brand as iGO’s agent under the province’s conduct-and-manage authority.
Do you need both an AGCO registration and the operating agreement?
Yes. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario registers the company first, and iGaming Ontario then signs the operating agreement. A registration without the signed agreement does not authorise any bets. iGO offers the agreement only to companies the AGCO has already cleared.
How much revenue share does the operating agreement set?
Operators keep 80 percent of gaming revenue and pay 20 percent to the province through iGaming Ontario. This share is the commercial return built into the agreement rather than a separate gambling tax. Federal and Ontario corporate tax still apply to the registered entity on top of it.
Can iGaming Ontario terminate the operating agreement?
Yes. Under Order in Council 210/2024, iGO holds sole discretion to monitor operators and to suspend or terminate an agreement for non-compliance. Operators must keep meeting requirements on AML, player risk, system standards, security, and insurance for the full term.
Does the operating agreement allow international players?
Since 2024, a registered operator can run separate international sites where players outside Canada access games through the operator’s application. Those sites fall under their own jurisdictions’ rules. The Ontario agreement itself still authorises play by users located in Ontario only.
Are player funds protected under the agreement?
The AGCO’s Registrar’s Standards require operators to protect and account for player money, so player funds are not free working capital. The operating agreement and the standards together set how an operator holds and reports those balances. iGaming Ontario retains access to the transaction data behind them.
Does an Ontario operating agreement cover the rest of Canada?
No. The agreement authorises play by users located in Ontario only. Other provinces run their own frameworks. Alberta has legislated a separate regulated market that will need its own registration and agreement when operators join it.
How long does the operating agreement last?
The agreement runs alongside the AGCO registration term, which operators hold on a one or two year basis and renew. It stays live while the registration behind it remains valid and the operator keeps meeting the standards. Renewal continues the relationship on the terms in force at that time.