Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario

It's just I think it's particularly interesting in the context of, you know, we also heard.

Dr. Karen Schnarr, the CEO of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, speak, I think, the previous day on a panel at G2.

I mean, we've heard her, if you've heard her speak at events before, I've heard this line from her before.

She was pretty open in saying that, you know, the AGCO wishes that it had the powers that some US state regulators and authorities have to whether it's like sending cease and desist or bringing civil charges or going after the sort of, you know, you think about like the before prediction markets, of course, the big thing in the US was sweepstakes.

The problem is that the reality is very different.

Now, if you access one of these iGaming Ontario sites, what we call the .ca sites, because they have .ca in their URL.

Here in Ottawa, they work as intended.

However, if you go across the river to Gatineau, something different happens.

You're, you, you, you're pleading a different case.

So we say with respect that if the Ontario government chooses to go beyond the reference question and introduce evidence, which they have done, that we are entitled to respond to that evidence.

So we have affidavits from a, an executive at iGaming Ontario, and we have an affidavit from George Sweeney, who's an executive of one of the iGaming Ontario operators, and they both gave evidence on this point, to which we are responding.

But even so, I mean, all Ontario would have to do is remove the prompt, remove the direction or the link, and you'd have a different factual situation altogether.

The problem is that the reality is very different.

Now, if you access one of these iGaming Ontario sites, what we call the .ca sites, because they have .ca in their URL, here in Ottawa, they work as intended.

However, if you go across the river to Gatineau, something different happens.

And we've included at the next tab of our condensed book, tab three So this is a screenshot of the popular betting website bet99.ca. Our investigator was in Saskatchewan, not Gatineau, when this was done, but we're on common ground that this is what happens across the country outside Ontario.

You're, you, you, you're pleading a different case.

So we say with respect that if the Ontario government chooses to go beyond the reference question and introduce evidence, which they have done, that we are entitled to respond to that evidence.

So we have affidavits from a, an executive at iGaming Ontario, and we have an affidavit from George Sweeney, who's an executive of one of the iGaming Ontario operators, and they both gave evidence on this point to which we are responding.

But even so, I mean, all Ontario would have to do is remove the prompt, remove the direction or the link, and you'd have a different factual situation altogether.

He, I think he was try- also trying to make a point.

So the New Brunswick finance ministry or whoever c- I guess the AGCO is, is the Alcohol and Gaming Commission in Ontario.

There must be an equivalent in New Brunswick.

Pulls him over, puts him a fine.

So it does stuff like buys lunches for schoolchildren and other worthwhile causes.

And, you know, they had some administrative compliance program issues, minor issues that likely could have been fixed if FinTrack had decided to work with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission.

But instead, FinTrack decided to drop the maximum penalty on this tiny charitable casino.

And that goes back to my comment about I think perhaps they've lost the plot a little because there are certainly problems.

Why has that been such a sore point here? I really wish

I had an answer for that.

I mean, again, I've said this prior to joining Connectify, I was with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

I think Ontario and Alberta did a ton of stuff really well when it came to setting up a competitive online marketplace.

Canadian spirits producers will be more hard hit as a number of them rely on the U.S. market for 30-40% of their sales.

Meanwhile, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario will now permit liquor vending machines in licensed establishments, framed as another self-service option while keeping public safety and responsible service rules in place.

I can just imagine pouring myself a... glass of je ne sais quoi from the machine in the members lounge and then walking over to the next machine and getting my Twinkies or whatever else is on the vending menu.

Meanwhile, champagne producers in France just received emergency approval to raise alcohol levels to 15% from the traditional 13% cap due to record summer heat, accelerating the sugar accumulation in grapes and and the smallest anticipated crop in decades.