iGaming Ontario Welcomes New Chairlady Aboard After Forestell Departure

iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the AGCO and regulator of the online gambling space in Ontario, Canada, has announced the appointment of Heidi Reinhart as the new chair. Reinhart will take over from Dave Forestell, now the chair of the Board of Directors at the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

On July 21, 2023, the AGCO confirmed the appointment of Forestell as the new chair, paving the way for iGO to complete its own appointment. Before joining AGCO, Forestell had served as the chair of the online gambling regulator since July 2021. He stepped down from this position to join AGCO’s Board of Directors.

Last month, Heidi Reinhart was appointed as the acting chair of the AGCO after Lalit Aggarwal’s resignation. According to the regulator, Aggarwal, who has served as the chair since July 2019, is leaving so he can attend to personal business matters and spend additional time with his family.

During his tenure at the helm of the AGCO, Aggarwal is lauded for improving the governance systems for the cannabis, casino, and alcohol regulation while guiding the gambling industry through the Covid-19 pandemic. He also worked to modernize the province’s charitable gaming sector.

Reinhart, a professional lawyer, is a partner at the Canadian office of Norton Rose Fulbright and specializes in corporate and securities law. Before taking up her most recent roles, she served as the vice chair of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario since September 2021.

In addition, Reinhart previously held the role of board member at Volunteer Toronto, a volunteer organization in Toronto. She also initially volunteered at the Hospital for Sick Children and the Kitchener Waterloo Humane Society. Reinhart began her career as a caseworker and group adviser with Community Legal Aid in Windsor.

iGaming Ontario has already released a statement thanking Forestell for welcoming Reinhart aboard and for his dedicated service over the years. The statement reads: “iGaming Ontario welcomes Ms Reinhart and extends a sincere thank you to Mr Forestell for his leadership of this agency from its inception.”

In her new role, Reinhart is tasked with providing direction to one of the world’s leading online gambling markets. Ontario launched its iGaming space in April last year before quickly establishing itself as a competitive online gaming and betting sector in Canada and worldwide.

According to the latest AGCO report, the province is home to 75 legal online gambling sites managed by 44 operators. In its fiscal year 2022/23, ending on March 31, 2023, Ontario recorded total gambling stakes of CA$ 35.5 billion while generating CA$ 1.4 billion in revenue. The report further revealed that there are more than 1 million active player accounts spending an average of CA$ 174 per month.