No. An affiliate cannot advertise casino bonuses in Ontario to the public. Under the Registrar’s Standards for Internet Gaming, Standard 2.05 confines inducement advertising to the operator’s own site and to consented direct marketing, and the AGCO’s guidance names affiliate links and descriptions expressly. The operator, not the affiliate, is the party that carries the liability under Standard 1.19.
This is a reference piece, not news: the rules took effect on April 4, 2022, and the enforcement example is from March 2025. This desk read the AGCO’s advertising guidance note, its BetMGM penalty notice and the consolidated Standards on 19 September 2026.
The three Standards that decide whether affiliates can advertise casino bonuses in Ontario
Affiliates are not a registered class in the three AGCO pages read here; the AGCO reaches them through the operator that pays them.
| Standard | The rule, as the AGCO states it | Tested by |
|---|---|---|
| 1.19 | Operators answer for contracted third parties, who must act “as if they were bound by the same laws, regulations, and standards” (notice, March 2025). | $110,000 penalty served on BetMGM Canada, not on the two affiliates. |
| 1.21 | Affiliates advertising for Ontario must not also advertise sites operating in Ontario without AGCO registration; the operator polices this (guidance note, March 2022). | No enforcement example in the three AGCO pages read. |
| 2.05 | Inducement, bonus and credit advertising is prohibited “except on an operator’s gaming site and through direct advertising and marketing, after receiving active player consent” (notice). | $100 cash for a $15 deposit; 377 and 94 sign-ups; $127,180 and about $34,000 in commissions. |
Why an affiliate page cannot carry the offer
The guidance note, updated April 8, 2022, reads 2.05 widely. The prohibition applies whether the inducement is advertised directly or indirectly; indirect advertising includes promotional codes and general references inviting the public to learn more about offers on the gaming site. It applies to real or perceived inducements on any channel, and the note names links and descriptions provided by affiliates and search engine results. A site description with no bonus reference, code or learn-more invitation is not addressed by 2.05 in the text read. The site’s audit of Standard 2.05 covers the operator’s side of the same rule.
Two channels are permitted: the operator’s own site or app once a player chooses to visit, and direct marketing to players who consented there. Consent obtained on third-party websites does not count, the note says, so an affiliate cannot collect opt-ins and pass them upstream.
One caveat: 1.19 and 2.05 are quoted as the 2025 notice reproduced them and 1.21 is the note’s paraphrase; the consolidated Standards carry amendment markers as recent as May 2026, so check them before relying on a quotation.
What the BetMGM penalty involved
The notice of March 26, 2025 states the conduct as alleged. On or about January 13 and 14, 2024, BetMGM representatives were alleged to have offered $100 in cash at the National Franchise Show for opening an account and depositing $15. On or about March 11, 2024, BetMGM acknowledged that its affiliate Above the Street had engaged in prohibited inducement marketing: 377 sign-ups and $127,180.00 in commissions. On or about April 13, 2024, a second affiliate, Maple Leaf Marketing, was recorded at 94 sign-ups and about $34,000.00. The $110,000 penalty was served on the operator, which the notice calls the licensee; this desk did not read the iGaming Ontario register.
On a napkin, about $161,000 in commissions bought 471 accounts, roughly $342 each as an illustration, against a $110,000 penalty paid by the operator. The notice does not say whether either commission was recovered; on its face the affiliate was paid and the operator was fined. No later affiliate case appeared in the one search this desk ran and the three AGCO pages it read on 19 September 2026, a scoped absence; the site’s table of AGCO bonus-advertising penalties tracks the wider record.
Questions readers ask
Can affiliates advertise bonuses in Ontario?
Not to the public. Standard 2.05 confines inducement, bonus and credit advertising to the operator’s own gaming site and to direct marketing to players who consented there, and the AGCO’s guidance note names links and descriptions provided by affiliates, promotional codes and search-engine results as covered channels. An affiliate page may describe a site; it may not carry the offer.
Who is responsible when an affiliate breaks AGCO advertising rules?
The operator that contracted the affiliate. Standard 1.19 makes operators responsible for the actions of third parties they contract for any aspect of their Ontario gaming business, and requires them to hold those parties to the same standards. In the one affiliate case this desk read, the $110,000 penalty was served on BetMGM Canada, not on either marketing company.
Has AGCO fined an operator for affiliate marketing?
Yes. On March 26, 2025 the AGCO announced a $110,000 Order of Monetary Penalty against BetMGM Canada Inc. over two 2024 incidents in which marketing affiliates allegedly offered cash for new accounts, citing Standards 1.19 and 2.05. The notice records 377 and 94 sign-ups, with commissions that sum to about $161,000. This desk found no later affiliate case in the AGCO pages it read.
Ontario is not alone in regulating the channel rather than the copy; Brazil’s advertising rules take a similar line. The house rule applies here too: the sentence that costs you is in the document, so read the current Standards, not a 2022 note or this summary. This site publishes no bonus codes and runs no sign-up funnels. 18+; gamble responsibly, and if it has stopped being a leisure expense, begambleaware.org.