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AGCO Tightens Online Casino Bonus Disclosure Rules in Ontario

31 October 2026

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has introduced stricter standards for how online casinos must disclose promotional bonuses to players. Rule changes effective this year position the lottery regulator as a leader in transparency measures for consumer-facing advertising.

The AGCO's revised standards for internet gaming prohibit vaguely-worded promotional incentives, including risk-free and free-play advertisements that require participants to wager. To ensure transparency, advertising materials promoting gambling incentives, bonuses and credits are banned unless directly marketed to consenting players or clearly detailed on the operator's website.

A 2024 AGCO publication stated players "should not have to spend or risk their own money to qualify" for something marketed as "free play." All conditions - including those involving risking or losing personal funds - must be immediately clear when an offer is presented, with full details available in one click.

AGCO's bonus-promotion standards make specific requirements of online casinos

If wagering on the bonus is required, that must be disclosed. If the player must risk their own money, that must be disclosed. And if the bonus can't reasonably be won without substantial losses, the offer must be modified or removed.

While "free" and "risk-free" promotions attract new players, these terms have specific legal meanings under AGCO rules. "If qualifying for the bonus involves spending, losing, or risking a player's own money, these facts must be disclosed when presenting bonus conditions or calling the offer free," stated the registrar in an October enforcement notice.

The AGCO's proactive approach continues expanding. The regulator warns that non-compliance with "free-play" promotion rules "may result in regulatory action, including fines or other penalties." In July, the commission penalized Casino Days $48,000 for a misleading high-risk bonus offer that caused "significant player losses and multiple complaints about poor complaint resolution."

More importantly, AGCO has identified "bonus achievability" as a monitoring priority. The regulator will pay particular attention to bonus "upgrades" and similar promotions.

"Regarding Royal Casino's promotions, AGCO's new gaming standards require all conditions to be clearly disclosed, no matter where the promotion appears," said Mandee Faid, AGCO's strategic communications director. "This applies equally to all Royal Casino offers."