Ontario’s gambling regulator has ordered Booming Games (Malta) Limited to pay CA$70,000 after finding that prohibited auto-play functionality was available on several of the supplier’s online slot games for months.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced the penalty on August 20 following a compliance investigation into games supplied to the province’s regulated iGaming market. The regulator said the feature had remained accessible to Ontario players across multiple titles before being disabled.
Auto-play allows slot rounds to continue without players manually initiating every spin. Ontario does not permit the feature because its rules require players to actively make each wager, creating a break between spins that gives them an opportunity to reconsider whether they want to continue playing.
According to the AGCO, Booming Games failed to properly configure, test and monitor some of its games both before and after their release in Ontario. The regulator identified the issue through targeted compliance activity and subsequently contacted the affected iGaming operator, after which the auto-play function was switched off. The operator involved was not publicly identified.
The regulator found two breaches of its Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming. Booming Games supplied slots containing auto-play functionality in violation of Requirement 2 of Standard 2.16, while inadequate ongoing monitoring and testing breached Requirement 3 of Standard 4.09. The monetary penalty was imposed under Ontario’s Gaming Control Act, 1992.
Ontario’s technical standards are designed to limit game features that can encourage faster or uninterrupted gambling. Alongside the prohibition on auto-play, the framework includes minimum timing requirements between slot spins and restrictions on features that can present losing outcomes with celebratory audiovisual effects.
The enforcement action comes as Ontario’s regulated online gambling sector continues to expand. iGaming Ontario reported CA$82.7 billion in wagers during the 2024-25 fiscal year, while gross gaming revenue reached CA$3.2 billion, up 32% from the previous year. An Ipsos study commissioned by iGaming Ontario and the AGCO also found that 83.7% of Ontario online gamblers were using regulated sites, although some regulated-market players continued to use unregulated platforms as well.
Booming Games can challenge the CA$70,000 penalty by requesting a hearing before Ontario’s independent Licence Appeal Tribunal. Suppliers served with a monetary penalty order have 15 days to seek such a review.