MESSAGE FROM THE CGA

What a difference one year makes

BY PAUL BURNS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, CANADIAN GAMING ASSOCIATION

IT IS NO UNDERSTATEMENT to say that the past year had been a time of tremendous growth and change for the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA).

Having turned our full attention to COVID advocacy for our land-based industry, there was also the matter of successfully legalizing single-event sports betting, and supporting the Government of Ontario, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), and iGaming Ontario (iGO) with the development and launch of Canada’s first open regulated iGaming (including sports betting) market.

That was 2021 in a condensed nutshell.

As a result, the CGA has gained more than two dozen new members for a total of 60. We represent a full spectrum of companies from land-based and online casino operators to providers of global premium sports, eSports, and game content and technology, and our membership reflects the diversity of this industry.

I am so grateful for the leadership, support, and efforts of the CGA’s Board of Directors, our members, and our stakeholders, for the enormous achievements realized in 2021.

And yet, there is still more to do.

Since the rollout of our original strategic plan — CGA 2.0 – in spring 2018, where the association laid the groundwork to improve our communication, focus our work, and prepare for long-term sustainability, much has changed. In 2022, we will be updating our strategic plan, as two big pieces of advocacy work – federal sports betting and Ontario’s iGaming market, with COVID-19 thrown in as a surprise – have terminated, and others have taken their place.

The Board approved the establishment of additional Industry Committees to invite broader participation in the CGA, having had a successful outcome with the inaugural Regulatory Innovation Committee and its development of national Standards for Cashless Systems as well as national sports betting integrity standards in 2021. 2022 sees the launch of the first sub-committee that will tackle necessary AML changes, as well as a Sports Betting Integrity Committee that will work on national education tools that can help keep athletes safe.

In April, the CGA returned to ICE and in addition to two panel appearances, we hosted a small industry networking event where representatives from European-based B2B gaming suppliers and B2C operators learned about the benefits of Canada as a place to invest and grow.

And, for the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Gaming Summit – Canada’s longest running gaming industry conference – it is fitting that we return to Toronto for our first in-person Summit since Edmonton in 2019. It is shaping up to be our most successful one yet, as we hand over the reins to SBC.

SBC will become the new owner of the Canadian Gaming Summit and Canadian Gaming Business, including this magazine, going forward. We are excited to partner with this world-class organization and to work with them over the years to come.

With SBC’s global network, our enhanced ability to offer members discounts and increased engagement opportunities (such as networking and conference participation), and access to SBC media platforms, the CGA will be able to better tell the stories of the Canadian gaming industry and to promote the sector.

Thanks also to our partner, MediaEdge, for years of tireless work. We are grateful for their dedication to the Summit over the past 17 years.

With the responsibility of programming, organizing, and running the Summit behind us, the CGA will now focus on offering different kinds of events – more on that soon.

When reflecting on this year, I am proud of the both the quality and the amount of work that was accomplished. The focus going forward will be on our members and on increasing the amount of activities and materials we provide them.

These are exciting times in the Canadian gaming industry – what a difference a year makes!