Altenar, a sportsbook provider, has been granted a license to operate in Canada, giving the company an opportunity to tap into the lucrative Ontario market.
The company is hopeful this license will spark more innovations for the Altenar product as it expands to a new market.
The license allows Altenar to operate freely in four locally regulated markets as well as gain a number of software approvals in various jurisdictions. At present, the company is focusing its efforts on the province of Ontario.
Altenar Head of Information Security and Technical Compliance Denise Vella says that: “The main gateway at this moment to the Canadian gambling market seems to be Ontario. It is a significant market and its decision to license and regulate online gambling will pave the way for others to follow.”
Altenar must abide by a number of tight regulations implemented on sports betting. It has shown that its iGaming framework is built to prevent fraud, money laundering and terrorist funding activities. In order to meet these regulations, the company performs strict verification methods when a new player creates an account.
Vella says that Altenar moved so speedily since legalization passed in April due to clever planning. She claimed, “The Ontario market is one of the most profitable ones, and this is why effective control activities have been designed specifically in order to meet the compliance requirements.”
Her reasoning seems to be valid. Only two months after Ontario launched its regulated online market, an estimated one-third of all adults in the territory had signed up for at least one sports betting website. One study shows that Ontarians spend $500m on online gambling annually.
The Canadian parliament passed Act C-128 on 29 June 2021, which amended the criminal code on sports betting to allow operators to enter the market.
