When Canada passed new laws around gambling a few years ago, with each province having the powers to introduce their own gambling frameworks, one of the top priorities was to introduce better security for gamblers in Canada.

Ontario became the first province to revolutionize the iGaming industry, allowing private online casinos to apply for licenses to provide improved gambling options in the province.

To ensure that players in Ontario would be able to use the new iGaming offerings while staying safe online, the Alcohol and Gambling Commission of Ontario implemented strict criteria that casino operators would need to meet. The conditions of having a license issued include having certain tech and security standards on iGaming platforms.

Following the successful revenue generation by Ontario’s iGaming industry, more provinces are looking to introduce similar models, with Alberta currently progressing with plans to launch a regulated iGaming market this year. It is expected that they will establish a similar set of licensing conditions to Ontario’s, which will include standards for technology and security of platforms.

These requirements for minimum standards help to ensure that Canadians are able to play their favorite casino games on platforms that keep their money and their data protected.

These are the tech and security solutions behind Canada’s iGaming platforms:

Secure Payment Gateways

One of the key security requirements under the iGaming regulations is that platforms must have secure payment gateways to protect players from fraud. The casino operators use gateways that follow PCI DSS standards, for example, encrypted card data and secure key management. Casinos also use tokenization technology to replace sensitive data like bank card numbers rather than storing the bank card details on the platform.

Many operators in Canada offer payment methods including Interac and digital wallets, which provide the required standards for secure payments.

Game Fairness Tech

One of the biggest concerns that people have around playing online casinos is whether the games are fair or whether outcomes are manipulated. When you go to a physical, land-based casino, you see the dealer shuffle the cards and deal, so you have assurance that the games are being managed fairly.

Regulated casinos in Canada implement fair game technology such as RNG (Random Number Generator) systems to determine outcomes for slot spins and card deals. To back this up, the operators are required to have their fair tech systems audited by independent testing labs to prove that they are working correctly and generating randomized results.

Casinos must also share the RTP (Return to Player) as a percentage for each game, so that players are aware of the expected returns. The RTP percentage is based on long-term returns and fairness tech is also used to ensure the RTP is accurate.

Geolocation Restrictions

To comply with Canada’s iGaming regulations, platforms are required to apply geolocation restrictions. There are different gambling laws across the different provinces in Canada, so geolocation restrictions are essential for ensuring that only players in provinces where gambling activity is legal can access the site.

Ontario casinos use multi-layered location verification to check that a player is physically located in Ontario, using technology such as GPS and Wi-Fi triangulation, as well as IP address analysis tools. They also apply tech that identifies where a VPN is being used and blocks access from accounts using VPNs to ensure that only players in Ontario are using their platform.

Cybersecurity

Online casinos are a prime target for cyber criminals due to the high volume of financial transactions and amount of money that is circulating through the casinos. The cybersecurity technology used by an online casino, Canada will generally include:

• TLS/SSL encryption for data in transit
• AES-level encryption for data at rest
• Secure key management systems such as cloud KMS
• Account security including multi-factor authentication
• Vulnerability scanning and penetration testing
• Web Applications Firewalls
• DDoS mitigation services

Live Dealer Tech

Casinos games with live dealers have become increasingly popular and the tech behind this is essential for creating an engaging and smooth iGaming experience. Game providers create purpose-built studios that are kitted out with HD cameras and broadcast encoders that compress video to minimize latency.

Another tech innovation that online casinos in Canada are working on is VR enabled gaming, giving players the opportunity to jump into the 3D casino environment using VR headsets. This allows them to walk around the casino floor, sit at a table and handle chips or pull slot levers to create a more immersive iGaming experience.

Online casinos in Canada have many regulatory requirements to meet in terms of tech standards but implementing the latest tech solutions is also vital to stay at the forefront of the industry by offering players new and exciting experiences.