Apollo Entertainment has been served a notice of monetary penalty totalling C$100,000 by the registrar of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario for alleged responsible gambling failures.
According to the AGCO, Apollo allegedly violated multiple responsible gambling provisions featured in the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming – 2.01, 2.11, 2.12, 2.14 and 2.23.
Alleged violations of the standards include, but are not limited to:
- Failing to conduct required interventions with players who may be experiencing gambling-related harms. One player experienced over $2m in losses in under four months without receiving interventions from the operator during that period.
- Failing to implement an adequate voluntary self-exclusion programme and provide insufficient tools for players to set financial and time-based gambling limits.
- Failing to ensure employees understood responsible gambling importance, including assisting players who may be experiencing gambling-related harms.
The AGCO added that Apollo has been responsive to the regulatory findings, noting that it has “already taken significant steps to strengthen the control environment on its sites to address the shortcomings identified by the AGCO”.
Tom Mungham, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar – AGCO, commented: “The AGCO’s goal is to ensure Ontarians can enjoy online gambling on sites that operate fairly, responsibly and provide important player protections.
“All registered operators have an obligation to proactively monitor patron play for signs of high-risk gambling, and must take appropriate actions to intervene and reduce the potential for gambling-related harm.”
A registered operator served a monetary penalty notice by the AGCO has the right to appeal the Registrar’s action to the Licence Appeal Tribunal, which is an adjudicative tribunal independent of the AGCO and part of Tribunals Ontario.
Earlier this year, the AGCO issued fines to three operators – Bunchberry Limited ($15,000), Mobile Incorporated Limited ($30,000) and LeoVegas Games ($25,000) – totalling $70,000 for violations of its Standards for Internet Gaming regarding game integrity.
