Some of the most important voices in online gambling in Canada will come together later this week at the 26th edition of the Canadian Gaming Summit.
Over 2,000 delegates including policy makers, Canadian iGaming executives, and online gambling fans will spend three days together at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre discussing the future of online gambling in Canada.
Responsible online gambling, legal sports betting in Canada, and opening up newly regulated markets outside of Ontario are among the many things to be discussed at the Canadian Gaming Summit.
Article Highlights
- The entire first day of the upcoming Canadian Gaming Summit is committed to discussing responsible gaming.
- These panels are likely to feature lively discussions about the merits of private and public iGaming regulatory systems.
- The Canadian Gaming Summit will have numerous discussions about the future of iGaming in Canada, including casino gaming and legal Canadian sports betting.
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All about responsible gambling on day one
Following the legalization of sports betting, ads for sportsbooks in Canada have dominated the airwaves, especially in Ontario where there are many legal sportsbooks. All these ads have increased awareness of the risks of gambling addiction and also increased calls for the number of gambling advertisements to be reduced.
These growing concerns have obviously reached the ears of Canadian policymakers and iGaming operators as the entire first day of the upcoming Canadian Gaming Summit is committed to discussing responsible gaming.
The summit’s curtain raiser will be a discussion on how regulators, sportsbooks, and online casinos in Canada can best balance player protection and growth. Following that discussion, Martin Lycka, the SVP for American Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Gambling at Entain, and Glenn Healy, Director at the NHL Alumni Association, will spend nearly an hour discussing the dangers of gambling addiction and future responsible gaming legislation in Ontario.
Day 1 is planned to close with discussions relating to the effect of advertising on gambling addiction and on how regulators can better differentiate legal gambling sites in Canada from illegal ones. These are two incredibly timely issues that will not only come up again at the conference, but will also be key issues that shape the future of igaming in Canada.
Ontario iGaming model dominates day two
There will be over two dozen different panel discussions available for Canadian Gaming Summit attendees to enjoy on day two. While most of these discussions will cover unique topics, one issue stands out above the others. That issue being Ontario’s iGaming regulatory model.
The day will start with a discussion “comparing provincial models on compliance, RG, licensing and more.” Duncan Hannay, Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) President and CEO, will lead this discussion alongside fellow lottery executives Steve Tunison and Marie-Noelle Savoie, from Lotteries and Gaming Saskatchewan and British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), respectively.
iGaming in Ontario, will again be the focus later in day two with at least five other panels directly comparing Ontario’s new online gambling market to the rest of Canada. For example, “Ontario, One Year Later,” a panel led by Martha Otton, the Executive Director at iGaming Ontario, will be a discussion party based around the “best practices that may be applicable to other provinces and territories should they open their markets.”
Calls for Quebec, British Columbia, and the other Canadian provinces to open up their online gambling markets have grown louder following the success in Ontario, so these panels are likely to feature lively discussions about the merits of private and public igaming regulatory systems.
Esports, new technologies, and other topics affecting the future of igaming in Canada
In addition to panels on responsible gaming and igaming regulatory models, the Canadian Gaming Summit will have numerous discussions about the future of iGaming in Canada. Front and centre in those discussions are esports and new technologies.
Rivalry CEO and Co-Founder Steven Salz will deliver a speech to cap off day two reinforcing the importance of looking forward. Rivalry is a Canadian sportsbook focused on the esports market. The site just unveiled a new esports betting app in Canada, which will surely be discussed as he addresses his colleagues.
Some of the many other panels dedicated to the future of igaming in Canada include, “Game mechanics and UX – innovating online casino via inspiration from the videogaming industry,” “Esports Betting in North America…,” “eSports betting in Canada: investing, reducing friction and opening up a new audience,” and “Cybersecurity: managing risk in a brand new market.”
Noah Strang is an experienced sports writer having covered many professional sports leagues across North America. He has worked extensively covering the NHL and been accredited media for the Vegas Golden Knights in the past. He’s also known as one of the best iGaming writers across Canada with extensive experience covering the development of legal sports betting across the country. He was born and raised in Vancouver, BC, and enjoys taking advantage of the coastline. When not writing, you can find him watching whatever sport is on TV or playing pickup basketball.