Payment Processing for Ontario iGaming Operators

Two bodies share the market. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) registers operators and suppliers under the Gaming Control Act, 1992, and sets the Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming. iGaming Ontario conducts and manages the games and signs an operating agreement with each private operator. iGaming Ontario was set up in 2021 as part of the AGCO and became a separate agency in May 2025.

The market opened on 4 April 2022. iGaming Ontario reported 49 operators running 84 gaming sites in its 2024 to 2025 fiscal year.

• AGCO operator registration: CAD 100,000 per gaming site per year.
• Revenue share: iGaming Ontario pays 80% of gaming revenue back to each operator and keeps 20%, as set out in the operating agreements.
• Gaming-related supplier registration: CAD 3,000 or CAD 15,000, depending on the category.

Usually not. The AGCO's supplier guidance lists payment processing that does not include a customer wallet function among the services that do not need registration. A provider that runs an electronic wallet holding a player balance is different: customer electronic wallet providers are named among the gaming-related suppliers that must register with the AGCO.

For your merchant account that means a card acquirer or payment service provider can serve you without its own AGCO registration, while any e-wallet you offer players needs to be registered.

Unlike the United Kingdom, the standards do not prohibit credit card deposits. What they prohibit is operators giving credit themselves.

• Deposits may only be accepted after the appropriate verification and must be authorised by a financial services provider.
• Cryptocurrency cannot be accepted.
• Withdrawals are paid to an account the player is the legal holder of.
• Operators may not extend credit or lend money to players, or refer them to credit providers.
• Player balances, bets and payouts are in Canadian dollars.
• Players must be 19 or older, and their details must be validated before a player account is opened.
• Deposit limits are offered to players when they register.
• Players must be physically in Ontario, which operators confirm with geolocation and must monitor while they play.

The standards require anti-money laundering procedures that meet the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, and copies of reports filed with FINTRAC must be available to the Registrar. Operators must also find out and reasonably corroborate a player's source of funds. Your acquirer reads your AML file against the same rules, so show where source-of-funds checks happen in your deposit flow and at which thresholds.

Ontario gambling is processed under merchant category code 7995. Code 7801 for internet gambling exists only in the United States region, so it does not apply. Card-absent gambling on 7995 is a Tier 1 category in the Visa Integrity Risk Program, and Mastercard requires non-face-to-face gambling merchants to be registered before processing. Your acquirer completes both registrations, using your AGCO registration and iGaming Ontario agreement as evidence that your gambling is lawful.

• AGCO registration and the iGaming Ontario operating agreement, held by the same legal entity that signs the merchant agreement.
• Geolocation set-up and how players outside Ontario are blocked.
• Deposit and withdrawal flows: verification before deposits, withdrawals only to accounts in the player's name, no player credit.
• AML policy, FINTRAC reporting and source-of-funds procedures.
• Responsible gambling tools on the live site: age checks, deposit limits and self-exclusion.
• Expected volume in Canadian dollars, average deposit and payment method mix.
• Processing history from other markets, if you have it.

Each Canadian province regulates gambling itself. Alberta opened its own licensed online market in July 2026, and Quebec's online gambling is run by Loto-Québec. An acquirer will want to see which provinces you serve under which licence. If you also hold an offshore licence for other markets, keep that business on a separate merchant account with its own permitted-market list.

Ecompayer is not a payment provider. You add your AGCO registration, company, volumes and payment methods once, and your profile is matched with a payment provider whose gambling programme accepts Ontario operators. Your account is then prepared with that provider so you can go live and take deposits. Final approval and terms are always the provider's decision.

• AGCO, Registrar's Standards for Internet Gaming, as updated 14 May 2026.
• AGCO, Roles of the AGCO and iGaming Ontario; Internet Gaming Operator Application Guide; Internet Gaming Suppliers Application Guide.
• iGaming Ontario, Annual Report 2024 to 2025, and market performance reports.
• FINTRAC, guidance for casinos.
• Visa Integrity Risk Program, 2023; Mastercard, Quick Reference Booklet, Merchant Edition.