Who is Eligible to Play at Ontario’s New Mobile Sportsbooks and Casinos?
As you surely know, Ontario has opened its virtual doors to the wide world of online gambling. It’s not just the old government-owned and monopolized PlayOLG website, either. We’re talking about an authoritative, highly competitive market, complete with over 75 operators and counting!
Ontario has strict regulations in place to ensure safety and player protections remain at the forefront of its market. Those rules include eligibility guidelines that detail who can, and who cannot, access these websites.
Eligibility Requirements for Ontario’s New Mobile Sportsbooks and Casinos
The main requirements to participate as a player in Ontario’s iGaming market are age and location. The legal age to gamble in Ontario is 19. Geo-location restrictions mandate that all players must be actively present within provincial borders to bet. I’ll quickly review the proof behind these statements.
Legal Age to Gamble: 19+
This information is available in the FAQ section of iGamingOntario.com (otherwise known as iGO; the regulator of online gambling activities in the province). Under the query of age restrictions, it clearly states:
“You must be 19 years of age or older to participate in all internet gaming products conducted and managed by iGaming Ontario.”
iGaming Ontario
Geographical Restrictions: Within Ontario
This stipulation raises a lot of questions, which are, again, answered on the regulator’s FAQ page. The basic idea is simple – you must be physically present in Ontario to gamble on any legal, iGO-licensed websites. But there are still things you can do outside Ontario, without actually betting.
According to the strict guidelines, individuals can register a new player account from anywhere in the world. It is also possible to access an existing account without being physically present. You simply cannot place a bet unless you’re in the province. Each operator must implement geo-location software to fulfill this requirement.
To the question of account creation and access outside Ontario, the website’s FAQ states:
“Yes, players can open a new account and/or access an existing account with a regulated Operator when they are not physically located in Ontario. However, players cannot place wagers on any of those accounts while not physically located in Ontario.”
So if you’re 19 years old (or more), and you’re physically present in Ontario, you’re probably eligible.
But wait – that’s not all!
Voluntary and Compulsory Exclusions Impact Eligibility
In Ontario, there are two ways you can become excluded from live and/or online gambling. One way is voluntary and the other is not. Involuntary exclusion generally occurs by court order. Although less common, anyone excluded from gambling in this manner should already be well aware of their exclusion, and the reason behind it. Voluntary self-exclusion is far more common, and generally reversible without judiciary approval.
Self-Exclusion Programs
The ability to exclude oneself from gambling for a given period of time is one of the main benefits of Ontario’s high regulatory standards. Self-exclusion (and the Responsibility Check program as a whole) helps raise awareness of one’s gambling behavior. Subsequently, it gives players an easy way to take a step back. They can choose how long they want an exclusion from gambling to last, whether it’s a few days, a few weeks, or even a few years.
iGaming Ontario details the program thusly:
“Self-exclusion is a voluntary program that players can enroll in to take a break from internet gaming. Every regulated internet gaming Operator in Ontario offers its own self-exclusion program and details about their program can be found on each Operator’s website…”
Unfortunately, we can’t supply you with a link to that program because it doesn’t exist on the provincial level. Self-exclusion is not a market-wide, cross-platform feature at this time. Each website is required, by regulatory mandate, to integrate and promote a worthy self-exclusion program for its members.
Ontario officials claim they are “working to develop a centralized self-exclusion program”, which would allow players to register one time for self-exclusion from all iGO-licensed websites. Until that happens, self-exclusion is only available on a website-by-website basis. Even if one were to self-exclude from all of their current iGaming accounts, they could easily sign up new mobile sportsbook and casino accounts at other websites.
What if I Just Want to Play Free Casino Games?
That’s a great question, but you may not be happy with the answer. Even free games are off-limits to those who don’t qualify. That’s because eligibility requirements apply to free and real-money gambling in Ontario.
Unlike international iGaming sites of questionable repute, you cannot access the free games without an account. And you cannot have an account unless you meet the eligibility requirements.
Just to clarify, free casino games are available at Ontario’s online and mobile casinos. You can play them until the cows come home. But, before you can do so, you must be eligible to create an account and gamble for real money, whether you ever intend to place cash bets or not.
