Tiidal Gaming Applies for a License in Ontario

The launch of Ontario’s iGaming and sports betting market is edging closer, and more companies express their interest in the marketplace. This week, leading eSports and gaming platform company Tiidal Gaming Group announced that it has applied to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to become a regulated gaming-related supplier in the province.

Initially, the province’s open market for private operators was on schedule to start in Q4 of last year, however, it was delayed to this year, and more specifically April 4, 2022. And after Canada legalized single-sports betting via Bill C-218, a plethora of gaming operators from the industry have expressed their interest in joining the jurisdiction.

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Tiidal Gaming Group has applied to the AGCO through its wholly-owned subsidiary Tiidal Gaming Canada for a gaming-related supplier – manufacturers license. If approved by the regulator, this license would allow the company’s wholly-owned technology division Sportsflare to supply other approved sportsbook operators with artificial intelligence-powered eSports betting solutions.

Tom Hearne, CEO of the company, stated that the team wants to gain early-mover advantage in Canada’s most populous province and what is expected to be one of the largest markets on the continent. He added that the corporation would like to expand its presence in North America, and introduce its cutting-edge wagering products to the Ontarian gamblers.

If the company receives regulatory approval from the AGCO it will join the list of several others who have also recently got their green light by the commission to join the market. The list features World Series of Poker, PointsBet, Rivalry, theScore, 888, and most recently Bragg Gaming Group and FansUnite which announced their licenses this week.

The CEO of PointsBet Canada, Nic Sulsky has shared that the approved gaming brand will try to draw locals away from illegal and gray market websites, but he says that it will be a difficult task to do so. He also does not agree with the low operators’ fee of just US$100,000 and 20% tax rate as this way there is a higher chance of a not so well-intended operator to get their hands on a license.

One Major Concern

In the meantime, bettors who suffer from compulsive gambling disorders, such as Chris Fogolin who has been a victim of one for the last 16 years, are worried about the increase of gaming offerings. Mr. Fogolin who is now Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare’s intensive gambling addiction help program said that his addiction got so bad that he was thoroughly consumed by sports betting and even described it as an illness.

Diana Gabriele, a Canadian-certified problem gambling counselor at Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare also agrees that the increase of online gaming offerings and accessibility in Ontario is concerning. She explained that iGaming has become even more problematic since March 2020, as when land-based casinos closed, many gamblers resorted to online substitutions. And in her expert opinion, online gaming is much harder to resist and control.

Source: “Tiidal Gaming Submits Application to Become Regulated Gaming-Related Supplier in Ontario, Canada”, Yahoo, March 10, 2022