iGaming Ontario is ready to proceed with its highly anticipated centralized self-exclusion program after officially completing its search for a developer.
In a recent statement, the province’s online gambling authority announced that Integrity Compliance 360 and IXUP will head the project following a successful joint bid.
The verdict comes a little more than four months after iGO opened the request for proposal process on March 20.
iGO executive director says OLG to have active role in project
According to iGO Executive Director Martha Otton, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation will also be involved in the plan.
“We look forward to working with IC360, IXUP, OLG and our operators to develop a centralized self-exclusion program for Ontario’s iGaming players,” said Otton in a press release.
“This project reflects our ongoing commitment to build on the existing player protections here in Ontario. With IC360’s tech-first expertise in betting integrity through ProhiBet and IXUP’s demonstrated success with BetStop in Australia, we’re confident they will help us build a robust self-exclusion system for Ontarians who decide to take a short- or long-term break from gambling.”
The trio will also work closely alongside the province’s regulated online operators.
Program development to begin immediately
The new partners are wasting no time moving forward.
In the same release, iGO noted that it, along with the IC360-IXUP team, will begin developing the system “immediately.”
With the new centralized self-exclusion program, players will be able to self-exclude from all regulated online wagering sites at once. This also includes OLG.ca.
IC360 and IXUP will now be responsible for developing a strategy that coincides with the requirements laid out by iGO last November.
Its basic tenets include:
- Seamless integration with all regulated Ontario online gambling operators’ systems, including OLG
- Easy access for anyone 19-plus looking to create and manage their self-exclusion profile
- Implementation of identity verification, registration, renewal, and reinstatement processes that are intuitive, simple, and offer supporting resources
When available, the program will be the first of its kind in North America.
Both IC360 and IXUP bring extensive experience to Ontario
As one would expect from whoever the chosen party or parties for this project were, both IC360 and IXUP are well-respected within the global iGaming community.
The former supports over 95 operators, 150 colleges and universities, 50 gaming suppliers, and 25 professional sports leagues worldwide. Its title purpose is to deliver tech-forward, innovative integrity and compliance products and services to uphold integrity within the iGaming sphere.
“IC360 is excited to work with iGaming Ontario to generate a system that brings the highest standard of responsible gambling tools to one of the world’s leading gaming jurisdictions,” said Eric Frank, IC360 President.
“Through our tool ProhiBet and our education services we have always been strongly committed to responsible gambling and look forward to working with all stakeholders to deliver the best self-exclusion solution to protect players in Ontario.”
The latter, IXUP, designed, delivered, and now operates Australia’s national self-exclusion program, BetStop. Based in New South Wales, the cyber-security platform excels in the field of sensitive data facilitation and analysis.
“This project is a significant moment for responsible gambling in North America,” said Al Watson, IXUP CEO. “The entire IXUP team has worked exceptionally hard to establish IXUP as a key provider of state-of-the-art online gambling self-exclusion products globally, made possible by the application of our world leading secure data collaboration engine and we are extremely excited to continue this work in Ontario.”
Outside of work on the program being already underway, a timeline for completion has not yet been provided.
