Ontario’s gambling regulator has issued CAD$100,000 in penalties to licensed operator Apollo Entertainment for violations of the province’s iGaming responsible gambling standards.

The Registrar of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) said that the penalty relates to multiple alleged violations of the responsible gambling provisions in the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming.

Apollo is licensed by the AGCO for seven iGaming sites; Captain Cooks Casino, Casino Classic, Golden Tiger, Grand Mondial, Luxury Casino, Yukon Gold Casino and Zodiac Casino.

The AGCO did not mention any specific sites but found that Apollo had failed to conduct required interventions with players who might have been experiencing gambling related harms, with one case of a player losing over $2 million in under four months without receiving interventions from the operator.

The operator also failed to implement an adequate voluntary self-exclusion program, as well as providing insufficient tools for players to set financial and time-based gambling limits (i.e loss and deposit limits).

The AGCO also found that the operator had failed to ensure their employees understood the importance of responsible gambling, including assisting players who may be experiencing gambling related harms.

“The AGCO’s goal is to ensure Ontarians can enjoy online gambling on sites that operate fairly, responsibly and provide important player protections,” said AGCO CEO and registrar Tom Mungham. “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.”

The regulator said that Apollo had been responsive to the regulatory findings, and has already taken significant steps to strengthen the control environment on its sites to address the shortcomings.

Apollo has the right to appeal the Registrar’s action to the Licence Appeal Tribunal (LAT), which is an adjudicative tribunal independent of the AGCO and part of Tribunals Ontario.