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Canadian companies Nuvei, GeoComply among SBC Awards 2025 winners

EveryMatrix, Kaizen Gaming, Optimove and Sportradar were among the standout winners at the SBC Awards 2025 ceremony, which took place at the MEO Arena in Lisbon. Canadian-based companies Nuvei and GeoComply also took home big awards in their respective fields.

Held on Thursday, Sept. 18, the final day of SBC Summit, the event marked the 12th edition of the awards, dedicated to celebrating the achievements of industry leaders, operators and suppliers across key industry sectors, including payments, marketing and platform innovation.

The evening was hosted by legendary Dutch international soccer goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar, who presented 37 awards in front of a 1,200-strong audience of industry leaders and stakeholders.

It proved to be a standout night for Kaizen Gaming, which retained its crown as Operator of the Year – Large while also securing Sportsbook Operator of the Year. 8888.bg earned the title of Operator of the Year – Small and Vegas Legends was recognized as Operator of the Year – Medium.

Other operator categories saw Betsson Group named Casino Operator of the Year, while 1xBet collected Marketing Campaign of the Year. Novibet was celebrated for its innovative approach to gaming, winning the Innovation in Casino & Gaming Entertainment award.

In the Rising Star categories, accolades went to BetMGM Europe as Rising Star in Casino and Boomerang as Rising Star in Sports Betting.

In the payments and compliance categories, Montreal-headquartered Nuvei dethroned last year’s winner Pay4Fun to claim Payment Solution of the Year. Vancouver-based GeoComply was recognized with Fraud & Compliance Solution of the Year, while Payhound took home Payment Innovation of the Year.

Shining a light on exceptional leadership and workplace culture, SOFTSWISS, who were once again crowned Employer of the Year, while the prestigious Leader of the Year award was jointly presented to Natalia Nogues (Control F5) and Vigen Badalyan (BetConstruct).

In the supplier categories, BetConstruct enjoyed further recognition, collecting the award for White Label Supplier of the Year. EveryMatrix successfully defended its title as Multi-Channel Supplier of the Year while also picking up the Socially Responsible Initiative of the Year award.

Sportradar underlined its dominance with wins for both Sports Data Product and Land-Based Betting & Gaming Product. Optimove also enjoyed a double success, securing Marketing & Services Provider of the Year and Acquisition & Retention Partner of the Year.

On the casino side, Pragmatic Play was recognized as Slots Developer of the Year – Large, while BGaming and Kendoo took home the honours for Slots Developer of the Year – Medium and Small categories, respectively. Soft2Bet, which launched its Canadian-facing B2C platform ToonieBet in Ontario this year, earned the Innovation in Casino Entertainment gong.

Other notable winners on the night included:

  • Alea: Aggregator of the Year
  • BETBY: Esports Supplier of the Year
  • Blask: Rising Star in Casino Innovation / Software
  • DATA.BET: Rising Star in Sports Betting Innovation / Software
  • Evoplay: Industry Innovation of the Year
  • FeedConstruct: Live Betting Product
  • FIRST: Sportsbook Supplier of the Year
  • GR8 Tech: Platform Provider of the Year
  • Inspired Entertainment: Virtual Sports Supplier
  • Playtech: Live Casino Supplier
  • Spribe: Crash Game of the Year
  • Wazdan: Innovation in Mobile

The awards ceremony concluded the final day of the SBC Summit, which drew 30,000 industry professionals to the Feira Internacional de Lisboa from Sept. 16-18.

BCLC honours AGLC for GameSense campaign with sports teams

Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis‘ (AGLC) responsible gambling partnerships with numerous pro sports teams in Alberta have attracted glowing attention from Canada and beyond.

The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) has named the Alberta crown corporation as the winner of its inaugural GameSense Innovation Award, which was established to recognize the most creative, impactful and original GameSense-branded initiative of the year.

GameSense is the BCLC’s player health program that it launched in 2009. It later began licensing it out to allow other organizations across provincial and national borders to lean on it for their own player protection programs. As well as AGLC, licensees who use GameSense include the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) and Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming, commercial operators like BetMGM and MGM Resorts, and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

BCLC and its GameSense partners selected AGLC as the winner for its province-wide sports-betting campaign that brought GameSense messaging directly to fans through partnerships with Alberta’s professional sports teams. AGLC was presented with the award at the annual GameSense Summit in Edmonton on Sept.17.

GameSense at Oilers games and beyond

Alberta’s government continues to prepare to open a regulated commercial iGaming market next year. The AGLC will regulate that market, as well as continuing to operate Play Alberta, currently the only regulated online gaming platform in the province.

In the meantime, AGLC has somewhat cornered the market in terms of sports team partnerships. Play Alberta is the official sports betting partner of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames and sponsored the home jerseys of both of Alberta’s pro hockey teams last season. It’s also the official sportsbook of the Edmonton Elks and the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and held a similar status for the Calgary Stampede last year.

BCLC stated in a release that AGLC’s winning GameSense campaign resulted in over 23.9 million impressions, 2.3 million video views and a 10% increase in direct traffic to its player health resources. GameSense messaging was featured in stadiums and arenas across Alberta, including at the Oilers’ Rogers Place, as pictured above.

“This award is a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation – and a little friendly competition – in promoting player health messaging and resources,” said Ryan McCarthy, director of player health at BCLC. “AGLC’s campaign exemplifies how GameSense can be brought to life in engaging, high-impact ways to reach people where they’re at, like when they’re watching their favourite athletes hit the ice or the field.”

“AGLC’s GameSense Program reached new heights this past year and seeing its campaign recognized with the inaugural GameSense Innovation Award is an achievement I am proud of,” added AGLC CEO Kandice Machado. “The decision by BCLC to develop this award will further encourage jurisdictions to promote resources that ensure gambling remains fun and a form of entertainment. My thanks to our partners in B.C. and Alberta’s professional sports landscape, who supported the campaign.”

Super Group raises FY guidance, targets ‘podium position’ in Alberta

Super Group, the parent company of the Betway sportsbook and numerous online casino brands, has raised its full-year guidance and is confident about parlaying its status as an established operator in Ontario and the rest of Canada into a strong entry into a regulated Alberta market.

The multi-brand operator said this week its results last quarter outperformed expectations in what is typically a softer seasonal period. Speaking at the company’s inaugural Investor Day on Sept. 18, executives cited continued momentum in sports betting, optimized pricing and more efficient trading and consistent engagement in casino for the gains, as well as improved operational leverage across its core international markets including Canada, which is its second-largest region by revenue after Africa.

As a result of the over-performance, Super Group raised its FY revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance to over C$3 billion and C$765 million, respectively, up from around C$2.8 billion and C$655 million. That’s despite projecting an adjusted EBITDA loss in the U.S. of approximately C$35 million as it completes its wind-down in U.S. iGaming markets before the end of the year.

“Our performance through the third quarter continues to demonstrate the resilience of our model and the strength of our execution,” said CEO Neal Menashe. “We’re seeing strong contributions from both sports and casino, deeper customer engagement, and continued margin improvement across key markets. As a result, we’re pleased to raise our full-year outlook and remain confident in our ability to deliver for our shareholders.”

Canada grey-market leader, Ontario regulated contender

In its Investor Day presentation, Super Group cited internal estimates that suggest its Spin Casino is a top 10 online casino brand in Ontario. We cannot know for sure, as iGaming Ontario (iGO) does not break down its financial reporting on an operator-by-operator basis. Some 50 operators run nearly 90 regulated iGaming websites in Ontario’s regulated market.

Five of those sites are Super Group’s. In Canada’s only regulated iGaming province, the company offers online sports betting and online casino on Betway and an iCasino-only quartet of brands: Spin, Jackpot City, Royal Vegas and Ruby Fortune. All five of those platforms are licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

Despite that presumed positioning in Ontario, Menashe said on an earnings call in August that growth in the regulated province is “still below our expectations.” In the quarter ended June 30, 2025, Super Group’s Ontario revenue grew 5% year-over-year.

In the other provinces, where iGaming is unregulated outside of government lottery corporations’ platforms but Super Group has a strong and longstanding presence, growth has been much stronger at 22%. Super Group said in its presentation it has a podium position outside Ontario, a status supported by data that H2 Gambling Capital showed to Canadian Gaming Business last year.

The company added in its presentation that it has launched a new “Grizzly” Canada-focused brand using a bear mascot that it says offers an identity tailored to Canadian customers. Executives told in-person and online listeners on Thursday that the operator has utilized “out-of-the-box marketing tactics” to build brand awareness in Ontario, specifically referencing Jackpot City, which they said has established high brand awareness across the country through years of “above-the-line and affiliate marketing.”

Super Group and Ontario transit agency Metrolinx, which runs the Toronto-area GO Train network, were in talks last year over a sponsorship agreement that would have given Jackpot City the naming rights to Toronto’s Exhibition GO station, but the idea was reportedly halted by Ontario Minister of Transportation Prabmeet Sarkaria.

To Alberta, eventually… and beyond?

Super Group expects its Ontario positioning and its longstanding presence in other provinces including Alberta to give it “first-mover” status when that province begins regulating iGaming.

Incidentally, Super Group has pushed back its projected timeline for that happening to the second half of 2026.

When Alberta does launch regulated online casino and sports betting, Super Group is confident that it has a strong entry strategy, with the tools and historic presence to maintain what it called its “podium position” there. It also promised to utilize lessons learned from Ontario, where executives noted the TAM proved greater than they had expected prior to regulation in 2022.

“Honestly, if you told me 25 years ago that Canada would only have one state regulated by now and it would have gone state by state, I’d have said you’ve lost your mind,” Menashe told the room when asked about the potential of more provinces opening up after Alberta eventually gets off the ground, touted to be early next year.

“It depends on each of the regulations and it depends a little bit on the success of Alberta,” he added. “Maybe they’ll follow and have a look at that. No signs right now. But because we’ve got a good footprint there and we’ve learned how to do it, whatever comes, we are up for it.”

Casino gaming drives Loto-Québec to 11% revenue increase

Loto-Québec reported that its revenues grew more than 11% for the second quarter of the calendar year, driven by larger gains in casino and gaming halls.

The crown corporation’s latest financial update, posted Thursday, Sept. 18, showed that its total revenues hit $766.5 million for the three months between April 1 and June 30, 2025. That was an increase of $76.8 million (11.1%) from the same quarter in 2024.

Casino and gaming hall revenues constituted the largest chunk of that money, yielding $323.4 million, a year-over-year jump of 17.6%. The organization noted in a release that it enhanced those offerings during the quarter through new gaming options such as table games installed in gaming lounges, an inter-location progressive jackpot in poker and an optional bet in blackjack.

Lottery revenue was $236.3 million, a more modest increase of 7.8%. And the “gaming establishment” sector, which encompasses sports betting, video lottery terminals in bars, and bingo and Kinzo halls, recorded revenues of $212.2 million, up 5.7%.

Loto-Québec’s net income climbed 9.9% year over year to $384.4 million, rising by $34.7 million.

CEO cites continued momentum

CEO and President Jean-Francois Bergeron said that the results continued the crown corporation’s momentum from last year. For the 2024-25 fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, Loto-Québec’s total revenue and net income both ticked up fractionally from the previous year, with revenue reaching $2.993 billion and net income hitting $1.518 billion.

“Our digital platform continued to capture the market, with increasing results for both lottery and casino games,” added Bergeron. “This success is based on a diversified, up-to-date and responsible offering. This start to the year is promising and I am convinced that we will continue to deliver results that we can be collectively proud of because they benefit all of Québec.”

The gains came after some upgrades to Loto-Québec’s various channels in the previous months. Last November, it launched an immersive live-streaming gaming experience from Casino de Montréal in partnership with awager and in February it struck an online casino content deal with growing Canadian supplier Bragg Gaming Group. It also recently added Jackpot Digital’s electronic dealerless poker tables in multiple casinos.

The CEO noted that the organization has also made further developments this quarter, including expanding the conference centre at the Gatineau area’s Hôtel-Casino du Lac-Leamy.

Online gaming lobbyists call for open market

However, industry lobbyists and the Québec Online Gaming Coalition (QOGC) continue to advocate for Québec to open up its gaming market and allow commercial operators to enter the province to compete with the government lottery.

At June’s Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto, QOGC spokesperson Ariane Gauthier argued that Loto-Québec’s small full-year increases suggest the crown corporation “has shown no progress this year” and is actually declining in performance once you adjust for inflation.

TRM Public Affairs President and Canadian Online Gaming Alliance lobbyist Troy Ross presented data at CGS that suggested that around 27% of all online gambling in Québec takes place with Loto-Québec, leaving approximately 73% being conducted on unregulated platforms.

Gauthier argued that even a more generous estimate of 50 to 60% is not good enough. The QOGC, whose members include DraftKings, FanDuel parent Flutter, BetMGM co-owner Entain and other leading operators, has urged Québec to look at the successes Ontario has had with its first years of regulated iGaming and follow a similar path.

Meet the winners of SBC’s inaugural Affiliate Leaders Awards

Bet365 Partners, Clever Advertising and Flashscore were among the winners at SBC’s inaugural Affiliate Leaders Awards, a ceremony celebrating the affiliates, operator programs and suppliers driving innovation across the global betting and iGaming affiliate industry.

Held on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 17, at Lisbon’s MEO Arena, the ceremony was hosted by globally recognized sports presenter Alison Bender, who handed out 23 awards in front of 500 industry professionals.

“Our events have always highlighted the crucial role the affiliate ecosystem plays in the industry,” said SBC Founder and CEO Rasmus Sojmark, Speaking after the event. “After launching the Affiliate Leaders Summit last year, it felt only right to introduce a dedicated awards ceremony to further recognize this impact. This evening’s awards were a tremendous success, and I want to extend my congratulations to all the winners on their well-deserved victories tonight.”

The nominees were selected from the pool of entrants by an independent panel of judges and the winners cwere hosen through a vote by industry peers, ensuring the public had the final say on which individuals and companies deserved the spotlight.

Clever Advertising emerged as one of the night’s biggest victors, claiming two awards for Affiliate Product Innovation and Affiliate Employer of the Year.

Elsewhere in the affiliate categories, Flashscore won Sports Affiliate of the Year, Game Lounge secured Casino Affiliate of the Year and Gentoo Media claimed Affiliate Campaign of the Year. 

Meanwhile, Odds Scanner Group won Best Affiliate Network, while Oddschecker was recognised for Affiliate Traffic Source of the Year. Additional affiliate winners included Riddick’s Partners for Rising Star of the Year and CryptoLists for Crypto Affiliate of the Year.

In the operator categories, bet365 Partners claimed Best Affiliate Programme, 7StarsPartners won Affiliate Programme of the Year (Large) and Vegas Legends took Affiliate Programme of the Year (Medium / Small). Social Media Campaign of the Year went to Boomerang Partners, with Pin-Up Partners winning Affiliate & Digital Marketing Campaign of the Year.

The night also celebrated the affiliate leaders who are making their mark on the industry. Alina Famenok (CEO, Already Media) claimed one Affiliate Leader of the Year award, with the other being shared by Jesper Søgaard and Christian Kirk Rasmussen (co-founders and co-CEOs, Better Collective).

Other individual awards went to Websa Ltd’s Anna Arakelyan for Affiliate Account / Community Manager of the Year, Anna Maria Baccaro of Hub Affiliations for Affiliate Content Manager of the Year, and VBET’s Kristine Sakoyan for Affiliate Marketing Manager of the Year.

In the supplier categories, Affigates won Affiliate Technology of the Year, whilst 1spin4win took home Casino Title of the Year. ControlF5 was awarded Marketing Agency of the Year and RavenTrack won Affiliate Management Platform of the Year.

“I would like to extend a huge thank you to our headline sponsors: Blockbuster Partners, Vegas Legends and VBET, and to our premium sponsors bet365, Clever Advertising, SAP and Wunderino, alongside our supporting sponsors too,” added Sojmark. “Their commitment and support were essential in making this celebration possible.”

You can find the full list of Affiliate Awards winners here.

SCCG Management to help Bragg select iGaming operator partners

Global gaming advisory firm SCCG Management has formed a strategic partnership with iGaming supplier Bragg Gaming Group to help the Toronto-based supplier better select its operator partners.

SCCG said in a release that it will leverage its global network of more than 130 client partners to ensure that Bragg’s Player Account Management (PAM) and other solutions “are presented to the right partners in the right markets,” thereby accelerating adoption and maximizing impact.

Bragg offers a fully managed, end-to-end solution that allows online casino, sportsbook and iLottery operators to seamlessly integrate content as well as services such as strong compliance, automated KYC and fraud prevention tools, personalized CRM campaigns and data-driven player engagement. Operators in regulated markets like Ontario, U.S. gaming states and Brazil can manage their entire product suite across casino, sport and lottery verticals through a single account and single wallet.

“We’re thrilled to partner with SCCG Management, a respected leader in the global gaming industry,” said Bragg CEO Matevz Mazij. “This strategic partnership is a pivotal step for Bragg Gaming Group, aligning two companies dedicated to shaping the future of online gaming. SCCG’s unparalleled global network provides the perfect channel to introduce operators to our award-winning PAM platform and expand our footprint with operators worldwide.

“This collaboration will enable us to deliver our scalable, responsible, and player-focused solutions to more partners, accelerating the distribution of our technology and strengthening our position as a global leader in iGaming technology.”

SCCG Management has offices in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Brazil and more than 30 years of experience in helping gaming companies grow and refine their operations. Last year, it announced it was working with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) on a comprehensive assessment and strategic enhancement of BCLC’s work, including a study of its technological infrastructure, market strategy and gaming integrations.

SCCG says it has a specialty in tribal gaming, and it intends to leverage that experience and those relationships in the Bragg partnership.

“We are thrilled to partner with Bragg, whose PAM platform represents one of the most advanced and trusted solutions in the iGaming industry,” added SCCG Founder and CEO Stephen Crystal. “At SCCG, we pride ourselves on connecting operators with technologies that drive sustainable growth and compliance across global markets. Bragg’s innovative platform and proven track record make them an ideal partner for operators seeking both efficiency and differentiation in highly competitive environments.”

Bragg looks to build on growth

Bragg is licensed or otherwise approved and operational in more than 30 regulated iCasino markets across the world. It works with a large number of online and land-based gaming operators, providing them with proprietary and exclusive content as well as PAM technology. It has several in-house gaming brands, including Wild Streak Gaming, Atomic Slot Lab and Indigo Magic, and aggregates content from many more via the Powered By Bragg program. It delivers games built on its remote game server via its Bragg HUB platform.

The supplier has been growing strongly in recent times, entering Brazil’s new iGaming market on day one in January and extending into a second Canadian province via a deal with Loto-Québec in February, as well as adding to its U.S. reach. It has struck several high-profile deals in North America, including recent casino content agreements with Fanatics and Hard Rock Bet in the U.S. and with Betty in Ontario. Its other operator partners include the likes of Caesars Digital’s various online casino brands, bet365, BetMGM, FanDuel, Golden Nugget Online Gaming and BetRivers.

Last month, Bragg reported a 4.9% year-over-year revenue increase and a 10.8% rise in gross profit for the second quarter of 2025.

Amid that growth, Bragg has made several key hires in 2025, including veteran casino executive Holly Gagnon as board chair, former Aristocrat executive Scott Milford as executive vice president of group content and ex-Sportradar senior vice president Luka Pataky as EVP of AI and innovation.

Last week, the firm announced it had secured a new US$6 million financing agreement with the Bank of Montreal (BMO) which Mazij said would offer it greater financial flexibility.

MIXI takes over PointsBet with two-thirds ownership

MIXI has completed its off-market takeover of PointsBet, ending a protracted acquisition saga.

The offer from the Japanese company’s Australian subsidiary closed on Sept. 12 with MIXI Australia holding 66.43% of PointsBet Holdings Ltd. shares.

After months of back-and-forth between competing offers from MIXI and PointsBet’s fellow Australian sportsbook betr (formerly BlueBet), MIXI now holds a two-thirds controlling stake in the operator, which offers sports betting in its home country and online sports betting and casino in Ontario. betr still owns around 20% of PointsBet and voted its entire shareholding against MIXI’s takeover.

betr had attempted to beat MIXI to the punch with an offer made up of share equivalents rather than cash, but PointsBet’s board recommended MIXI’s proposals at every turn over the last few months. MIXI’s bid valued PointsBet at AU$1.25 (C$1.15) in cash per share, driven up from an initial price of AUD$1.06 per share by betr’s competition.

MIXI previously failed to seal the deal in a shareholder vote in June, when the final shareholder approval rate of around 70% fell short of the required majority. That led to MIXI moving its takeover bid off-market.

MIXI Australia added in a statement last week that while betr leaders have suggested there is scope for “potential synergy realization” through a collaboration with a MIXI-controlled PointsBet, MIXI does not intend to collaborate with betr. What will happen to betr’s 20% shareholding now that MIXI is in control of PointsBet is unclear.

PointsBet CEO Sam Swanell previously criticized betr’s operating model and noted that significant existing overlap between PointsBet and betr customers meant that the benefits of a merger of the two sportsbooks would have been limited.

Now, as PointsBet looks to continue its strong growth in the Ontario online casino market, as well as awaiting entry into Alberta’s upcoming market, it will be led forward by MIXI. While betr had disclosed plans to sell PointsBet Canada operations to Hard Rock Digital for around C$40 million if they took control of PointsBet, MIXI has not hinted at any changes related to PointsBet Canada.

FINTRAC fines SIGA nearly $1.2M for alleged compliance violations

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) continues to penalize notable Canadian gaming operators for alleged violations of anti-money laundering and compliance laws.

After fining a temporary charity casino in Ontario and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) in recent weeks, FINTRAC announced on Sept. 12 that it has fined the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) $1.175 million for three supposed incidents of non-compliance.

SIGA is a non-profit First Nations organization that runs seven Indian casinos in Saskatchewan, including Bear Claw Casino & Hotel, Dakota Dunes Casino and Gold Eagle Casino. It also operates the province’s only regulated and authorized online gaming website, PlayNow.com.

In accordance with Saskatchewan’s gaming model, all of SIGA’s net revenue is reinvested. Half of it is distributed to the 74 First Nations in the province, another 25% is forwarded to Community Development Corporations (CDCs) for local community initiatives and the remaining quarter goes to the province’s General Revenue Fund. In the 2024-25 fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, SIGA posted an annual record of $378 million in gross revenue and a new all-time high of $146 million in net income.

What does FINTRAC allege?

In a public statement posted on Friday, FINTRAC said that a compliance examination unearthed three violations of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) and associated regulations via the following:

  • Violation No. 1: Failure to submit suspicious transaction reports despite reasonable grounds to do so
  • Violation No. 2: Failure to report suspicious transactions with the prescribed information
  • Violation No. 3: Failure to develop and apply adequate written compliance and risk-assessment policies and procedures

Violation No. 1, which FINTRAC categorized as a “Very Serious” violation, constituted a failure to file four suspicious transaction reports, said the organization. FINTRAC alleged that SIGA ignored multiple indicators of suspicious activity that met the threshold for reasonable grounds to report suspicious transactions. Those included a level or volume of transactions that was inconsistent with the client’s apparent financial standing or their usual pattern of activities, and transactions involving people identified by the media, law enforcement and/or intelligence agencies as being linked to criminal activities.

The other two violations, classified as “Serious,” involved three supposed instances of SIGA not including money laundering or terrorist financing indicators in suspicious transactions reports that it submitted, and an alleged failure to “properly assess the risk for all of its patrons.”

“Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Regime is in place to protect the safety of Canadians and the security of Canada’s economy,” said FINTRAC CEO and Director Sarah Paquet in a release. “FINTRAC works with businesses to help them understand and comply with their obligations under the Act. We are also firm in ensuring that businesses continue to do their part and we will take appropriate actions when they are needed.”

SIGA joins BCLC in appealing FINTRAC fine in court

Like BCLC before it, SIGA vowed in a statement posted later on Friday to fight the FINTRAC fine in federal court, stressing that no criminal activity or money laundering was found at SIG casinos and rejecting FINTRAC’s findings.

“It should be noted that the penalty is based on administrative reporting requirements only. There is no money laundering, terrorist financing, or other financial crimes at SIGA’s properties,” stated SIGA. “SIGA has a compliance program which is routinely audited by FINTRAC. SIGA does not agree with the violations found by FINTRAC, nor does it agree with the administrative penalties assessed. SIGA will be appealing both the finding of violations and the penalties assessed to the Federal Court.”

The fine is the latest in a flurry of increased enforcement activity from FINTRAC, multiple counts of which are being appealed by the alleged offending parties.

The temporary, non-profit Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) casino, which runs for just a few weeks each summer at the Toronto-area event, is contesting a fine of almost $200,000 for allegedly failing to conduct either an adequate risk assessment procedure or a biannual review of its compliance program. CNE Casino denied committing any PCMLTFA violation and pointed to a lack of criminal activity, alleging erroneous FINTRAC actions and conclusions.

And BCLC has also taken FINTRAC and Canada’s Attorney General to court, claiming it was “ambushed” by the financial watchdog before being fined $1 million for multiple alleged AML violations. The B.C. lottery’s representatives wrote that the related examination by FINTRAC was “conducted without proper notice to BCLC and contrary to FINTRAC’s established examination procedures” and argued that the crown corp. was not given adequate opportunity to comply with FINTRAC demands.

Canadian sports betting ads debate re-emerges as Bill S-211 awaits movement

The 2025 version of a federal bill that would establish a national framework on sports betting advertising in Canada lies dormant in the Senate, for now. But the debate has heated up again this week amid the return of the NFL.

An editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published this week titled ‘Protecting Canada’s youth from the risks of exposure to gambling advertising’ asserted that sports betting ads “punctuate screened competitive sports games without limits on their duration or frequency.”

That, wrote CMAJ Medical Editor Dr. Shannon Charlebois and her co-author Dr. Shawn Kelly, “insidiously normalizes a harmful activity” and exposes minors to potential addiction.

The authors called for federal intervention to establish national regulation, and for the bill that would do just that, Bill S-211, to be expedited.

S-211 would require the development of a national framework placing more controls on the volume, dissemination and nature of gambling ads. It passed second reading in the Senate in June and is awaiting the kind of thorough committee discussion that its 2024 predecessor, Bill S-269, had last year before failing to reach discussion in the House amid wider political upheaval.

The Senator who has lent her name to both those bills, Sen. Marty Deacon, told the CBC’s ‘The Morning Edition’ this week that she is hoping S-211 will be taken up in committee in early October.

Blaming ads for problem gambling ‘naïve,’ says CGA

In a separate article about the CMAJ editorial, CBC gave room to Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) President and CEO Paul Burns to respond.

Burns stressed, as he has done many times before, that advertising is currently regulated. He cited the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario’s (AGCO) numerous advertising-related regulations, including restricting operators’ marketing of promotions and bonuses and prohibiting advertising that targets youth or uses athletes for anything other than responsible gambling messaging.

On Thursday, the CGA published its own written statement in which it stressed that any talk of further restricting advertising must be “informed by evidence-based research,” language Burns also used in a Senate committee last year, as well as in Canadian Gaming Business magazine.

“For over two decades, Canadians have had unrestricted access to unregulated online gaming and disregarding the existence of such activities or purporting that advertising is the cause of problem gambling would be unrealistic – and naïve,” stated the CGA on Sept. 11. “While the discourse surrounding gambling advertising in Canada has often been driven by emotion, the CGA maintains that a comprehensive discussion on gaming advertising is valuable, provided it is grounded in factual information and data.”

Betting adverts decreasing, data shows

The CGA also stressed that it is a combination of broadcasters, sports leagues and regulators and oversight bodies from both inside and outside the gaming industry that determine how and when sports betting adverts are seen, not the gambling operators themselves. One of the oversight bodies is thinkTV, a Canadian commercial television marketing and research association.

thinkTV CEO Catherine MacLeod has stated multiple times, including in Parliament last year and at this year’s Canadian Gaming Summit (CGS) in Toronto, that the number of adverts related to gambling content has tailed off since the initial boom after Canada legalized single-event sports betting in 2021 and Ontario opened its regulated iGaming market the following April. That was echoed in Senate committee discussion last year by Burns, Canadian Association of Broadcasters President Kevin Desjardins and then-Responsible Gambling Council CEO Shelley White.

“The number of gambling ads that we clear every year has gone down, down, down, down, down,” MacLeod said on a CGS panel. She noted that as of that time in mid-June, thinkTV had cleared 88 gambling ads in Canada through the first half of 2025. Her organization clears at least 35,000 TV adverts every year, she said. “We have to keep this in perspective.”

In this week’s statement, the CGA noted that “misinformation” has accompanied the new NFL and NHL seasons. “As summer turns to fall, we can set our watches by the return of ill-informed articles about sports betting advertising as soon as the first NFL game is broadcast,” the CGA wrote in a post on LinkedIn sharing its statement.

Despite the re-fired discussion, the CGA stressed that online gambling ad spend fell 7% in 2023 and another 1% in 2024, and iGaming made up 5% of total ad spend and 2% of total media ad spend in 2024. iGaming ads accounted for around 5% of all commercials during NHL and NBA game broadcasts in Canada last season, CGA research found.

SIGA selects Agilysys to modernize casino point-of-sale solutions

The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) has selected global hospitality software and services provider Agilysys, Inc. to upgrade its point-of-sale (POS) solutions across its seven casinos.

SIGA selected Agilysys’ InfoGenesis POS and Eatec tools partly for the ability they provide the gaming operator to not only modernize existing service but also scale up as the organization evolves, the First Nations gaming operator said in a release. Agilysys technology is already utilized by well-known casinos across the world, added SIGA.

Previously, SIGA casinos’ hospitality offerings ran on disconnected, site-specific systems, which made reporting and procurement time-consuming and difficult to manage consistently. Staff had to assemble data from several different POS systems as well as rely on manual spreadsheets for tracking inventory and menu costs. Now, the teams at SIGA’s various casinos will have access to real-time reporting, automated supplier price updates and tighter cost control measures, all from a unified platform.

“Investing in modern, scalable technology that equips us to deliver consistently excellent service across properties, while also improving the work experience for our team members and using resources conservatively and responsibly is central to how we serve both our business stakeholders and our broader community,” said SIGA Director of Operations Kevin Doucette in a statement.

Agilysys’ solutions also offer SIGA the capabilities to more deeply integrate its food and beverage systems with its casino management platform to enable personalized, loyalty-based offers driven by real-time guest insights. SIGA launched a new omnichannel loyalty program, SIGA Rewards, around this time last year.

“As a First Nations-owned non-profit organization, SIGA strives to strengthen the lives of First Nation people through employment, economic growth opportunities and positive community impact,” added SIGA Project Manager Peter Abutu. “The fact that Agilysys respects our First Nations principles and has business practices that align with them also is an important factor when we considered a longer-term technology partner.”

FINTRAC fines SIGA nearly $1.2M

Non-profit First Nation operator SIGA reinvests 100% of its net income into the province and its First Nation communities. It runs seven casinos in Saskatchewan which offer slot machines, live table games, electronic table games, live entertainment and food and beverage services, as well as the province’s only regulated and government-approved online gaming and sports betting site, PlayNow.com.

In late June, SIGA reported its best-ever year for the third year in a row, posting $378 million in gross revenue for the 12 months from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, up from $347 million last year. Net income was up from $139 million last year to $146 million this year.

Meanwhile, in not-so-great news for the non-profit First Nations operator, FINTRAC announced this week that it fined SIGA $1.175 million for several alleged violations of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA).