IAGR Allows Canadians to Now Check If Their Gambling Website Is Legal

The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) has launched a dedicated tool that allows consumers in Canada to quickly verify whether a website is actually licensed to run its business operations locally in a province. IAGR Helps Canadians Find Their Way in Sea of Gambling Options Flagging Illegal Offers Commenting on the latest launch, Kevin Mullally, who is IAGR’s CEO, noted that the solution called CheckBeforeYouPlay.org was an opportunity for every consumer to quickly check if they were visiting a legitimate website. The website arrives in time for the Illegal Gambling Awareness Week (IGAW), which is designed to help raise awareness around the issue of such unauthorized websites that operate without meeting regional and jurisdiction-specific requirements and do not hold a license from a recognized local gaming body. ”A professional-looking website or a recognizable name can give consumers confidence without knowing whether the site is properly licensed in that location. We want consumers to routinely check the licensing status of a site before opening an account or making a deposit,” Mullally said, commenting on the tool’s launch. IAGR has urged regulators to help coordinate consumer communication in order to elevate the issue in the public eye and urge people to proactively check what types of websites they are engaging with. The IAGR has noted that the risks of unlicensed gambling websites remain significant – from the theft of identity and financial information to personal harm through the lack of responsible gambling solutions. The inaugural IGAW is a first-of-its-kind attempt to bring the consumer focus not on simply playing responsibly, but on raising awareness that certain websites already make this impossible by the fact that they do not follow well-established market rules.