Canadian Gaming Association and IBIA ally to oversee upcoming Ontario market

With Ontario's iGaming market slated to launch April 4, the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) announced Monday it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), with the purpose of providing a framework for cooperation and coordination between both entities on betting and related integrity issues to protect the Ontario and wider Canadian market, sports, consumers and regulated betting operators from corrupt activities. 

IBIA represents many of the largest regulated sports betting operators in the world, with its account-based integrity monitoring system covering over $137 billion in betting transactions per annum globally. The association has recently been accredited by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario as an independent integrity monitor, as all licensed operators in Ontario will be required to be part of a monitoring system. 

Many existing IBIA operators are also members of the CGA, and the two associations have agreed to explore and establish cooperative projects and partnership working in areas of mutual interest. 

The CGA and IBIA will be equal partners in those projects, which may involve a wide range of activities, including promoting the commercial and related integrity interests of the two associations' betting operator members, and establishing a viable regulated betting market with high consumer channeling rates and related consumer, sports, and operator integrity protection measures.

The recent changes to the Federal Criminal Code to permit single-event sports wagering has introduced new sports betting offerings to Canadians while bringing enhanced regulatory oversight to sports betting in Canada.

The gaming industry, professional and amateur sports bodies, and gaming regulators in regulated sports betting markets around the world already cooperate to protect the integrity of sport and sports betting.

This way, the industry can detect and report suspicious activities in betting markets, use detailed market data to investigate and punish corruption, develop educational activities to protect players and sporting events, support sports bodies as well as law enforcement and regulatory authorities in the fight against fraud and manipulation, and more.

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, spoke about this new alliance in an official press release and said: "Protecting the integrity of the betting market in Ontario, and indeed the wider Canadian market, is very important to IBIA and its members. We will be seeking to engage with a wide range of key stakeholders on betting and integrity related issues and see the CGA as a pivotal partner in the achievement of that goal. The CGA has been a driving force behind the evolution of regulated betting in Canada and IBIA views it as a valued and critical partner in the continued development of the sector and in placing sporting and betting integrity at the forefront of that."  

Paul Burns, President and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, added: "IBIA will be one of only a handful of sports integrity monitors recognized by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for licensed operators and we believe there is great value in deepening our relationship with the organization. As the CGA looks ahead to the opening of Ontario's iGaming market and the expansion of sports betting products and services across Canada in 2022, the protection of athletes and integrity of sports betting is a key priority."