AGCO Tightens Rules on Casino Bonus Advertising in Ontario
01 November 2026
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has issued stricter rules around the advertising of online casino bonuses, requiring clearer disclosure of terms and limiting where certain offers can be promoted.
Effective May 14, 2026, the AGCO's Registrar's Standards for Gaming now mandate that all marketing, including advertising and promotions, must be "truthful, shall not mislead players or misrepresent products". This includes a ban on suggesting that wins are probable, or that playing longer will boost the chances of winning.
More notably, the new rules now ban the advertising and marketing of "gambling inducements, bonuses and credits" from public spaces - these may only be communicated on gaming sites and through direct marketing, after the operator receives the player's active consent to receive such materials.
This restriction applies to incentive campaigns like free spins, deposit matches, risk-free bets, and all promotions of the kind. The rules state that permitted advertising materials must disclose "all material conditions and limitations of the offer at its first presentation on the gaming site", with other terms no more than a single click away.
Branding restrictions on bonus promotions
The new standards also include specific restrictions on branded language. An offer may not be marketed as "free" if the player must risk or spend their own money, and may not be called "risk-free" if in-game losses or wagering requirements are needed to cash out a win.
This is a licensing change toward more consumer-friendly disclosure, said a source familiar with the decision, after studies showed bonus hunters frequently misunderstand the wagering requirements, expiry terms and other conditions attached to casino promos. The AGCO's notice says this change aims to "reduce potential confusion and misconceptions about free credits".
The registrar's office told gaming media, "The AGCO requires that advertisements for gaming promotions using phrases such as "free credits" or "free spins" be genuine and not require the player to deploy the full value of the credits/play, to spend or risk their own funds, or to incur any associated losses to receive or use the credits/play."
What players should look for in bonus offers
Going forward, Ontario players should read closely to understand bonus values separate from the wager amounts required to cash them out. Expiry windows are presented up front, as are the eligible game types.
For example, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation's 50% Casino Bonus with a $20 deposit requires a 10x wagering requirement: that is 10 times the bonus amount. As stated clearly on the OntarioLOTTO.com page, the total required wager to cash out is $110. To be clear, a dollar of the bonus must be wagered 10 times.
To be eligible, the player must opt-in, complete a casino deposit of at least $20, and then wager that value (plus the bonus, if using it) within 168 hours (7 days). All jurisdictions have different tax rules, but in Ontario, the OLG says winnings from deposit matches, like this, are taxable.
The AGCO's new rules do not add limits on deposit match sizes, but do ban these matched deposit offers from external marketing channels. Players now won't see these promos outside a specific site or venue, such as a broadcast, print ad, or social media channel.
This follows a public information update from the AGCO on July 16, 2025, which clarified that for promotions labeled as free, players should not have to spend or risk their own money to receive free credits. "Promotions requiring players to spend their own money and lose it, before receiving free credits, would be considered non-compliant," the AGCO said then.
This change late in 2025 aimed to crack down on "free" promo marketing that included upfront costs, when it met with several warnings to certain iGaming operators. It will be a good specific legal bar for critics of "predatory" gaming advertising, said a legal observer following the gambling scene in Canada.
Bonuses are still taxed but using one is considered transparent
The AGCO did not issue limits to Ontario gaming operators on which bonuses they can offer, but matters of public disclosure - that is, bans on public advertising or promoting bonuses to unconsented users. For the consumer, the key thing is that operators must show a comprehensive list of terms up front, with remaining details a single click away.
The bulk of the disclosure, required on the landing screen, must state the incentives, expiry times, eligible terms, and instanceof wagering needed. Exclusionary terms, such as what games do not provide bonus-eligible spin, must be ready to view apart from those core bonus terms.
Players should note that in Ontario, winnings from a casino bonus are taxable, including any payouts from a deposit match, or a payout from an initial credit received without deposit. For context, OLG's casino FAQs make clear that free bonuses with wager amounts, are taxed and include expiry periods. That is, a freew money gives the player a cashable amount; a wager wager is earned on its cashable can make a player taxable.
Another veteran gambling observer said that the new specificity of how bonuses may be communicated would nudge the industry toward stricter compliance on bonus matching, or risk triggering enforcement actions from the AGCO.
There's no specific AGCO language on promotional offerings, but OM Clooney said there's a balance between income-anticipating players, and drawing complaints from casino-bonus promoters. "It comes from a view to protect consumers, if they chase a profit, rather than practice regulated gambling."
Some operators who asked to speak off the record serve a wide range of local and international players. Thus, they follow several sets of regulatory rules set by gambling regulators in various coverage areas.
To meet the latest disclosure standards, OLG now shows the full terms, including wagering limits for each type of bonus on the their gaming-list page, one click away from the hero elements on any site.
Longer disclosures - and opt-in agreements - could be more user-friendly
Nothing in the AGCO's most recent ruling bans low-wager bonuses. There have been no reports of regulatory pressure against low-wager costs from Ontario, unlike those seen in other parlay markets, observed a Toronto-area broker, Andrew Frazier.
Frazier noted that at present, the AWGCE has no specific direction, unlike the AGCO: "The understanding in those quarters is that players will accept some risk. It's more about those not mistaking the wager with the cash value of the bonus."
Shifting the list of terms from one item to an expanded list, could ensure transparency, both to the operator and consumers, said Mabmantom, a technology innovator pioneering socially responsible features in casino wagering devices.
"Over time, as players digest this transparency, they won't adopt the terms like 'risk free' to bonuses unless the provider has a higher threshold for wagering it on the center. Even the promoters realize that the limitations are designed for protection, if followed."
Under the AGCO, no restrictions have been issued on the values of casino bonuses, nor the time permitted to qualify. Bonus amounts and opt-in terms - which casino clients acknowledge, each time - are set by the provider of the games.
The spot most susceptible to violations, lawyers wager, is disclosing requirements for the qualifications validly, especially for provincial players. This change would ensure that players endorse the legal constraints uploaded to them, before they consent to the publication of their gaming data by the operator.
When asked at an industry trade summit to respond to the AGCO's new specifications, OLG spokesperson Phillip Brownberry chorused, "OLG is committed to responsible gaming and working with the AGCO to ensure all promotions and marketing materials comply with regulatory standards to protect consumers."