
Playgon, a Canadian live dealer company serving Ontario’s regulated online casino market, has been ordered to shut down its Las Vegas studio by the Nevada regulator. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), Playgon’s partner in the state had claimed when setting up the studios that its games would be for entertainment purposes only. However, Playgon’s Vegas Lounge products became available for real-money play at some Ontario online casinos earlier this year.
Playgon is based in the Canadian province of British Columbia but produces its Las Vegas live dealer content through an affiliate, Bitrate Productions. Using real Las Vegas dealers is one of the selling points the company pushes in its marketing materials.
Streaming live dealer games from Nevada to other American states would be illegal without a special agreement. Most states with legal online casinos require live dealer studios to be in-state. Delaware and West Virginia have deals in place with New Jersey and Pennsylvania, respectively, to stream games from their studios.
Playgon feels it was following the law by streaming only to international online casinos. However, the NGCB argues that even that requires licensing.
A statement by Playgon, announcing its shutdown, asserts that its legal advisors believe the NGCB is wrong in its assessment. However, the regulator gave Playgon only eight days to comply before taking legal action, leaving no time to appeal. It says it delivered its cease-and-desist on July 18, with a deadline of July 26. Playgon confirmed that it had shuttered its Nevada studios on the latter date.
MGM Resorts International and Playtech have similar plans to stream content from MGM’s Las Vegas retail properties to online casinos in the UK and Mexico. MGM is, obviously, a licensed retail casino operator in Nevada.
Playgon Partners Include Aggregators & iGO
In addition to live dealer games, Playgon’s product lineup includes purely digital online table games and a daily fantasy sports platform.
Its presence in Nevada, through Bitrate Productions, dates back to at least 2016. That’s when the NGCB says its legal counsel assured the regulator—twice—that the games would be for “entertainment purposes only” and therefore exempt from the need for a license.
However, Playgon obtained a gaming license from the Malta Gaming Authority in 2021. At that time, it made clear that it intended to offer its products, including live dealer games, to European gambling operators.
The following year, it struck distribution deals with three major iGaming content aggregators: EveryMatrix, Pariplay, and Relax Gaming. All three now operate and offer content—although not Playgon’s—in regulated US online casino markets.
It’s unclear whether this escaped the NGCB’s notice or the regulator was simply slow to act. Given the timing of the order, it may have been Playgon’s expansion into Ontario’s recently privatized online casino market that attracted the regulator’s attention or proved to be the final straw.
Playgon announced in August 2023 that it had received approval from iGaming Ontario (iGO). iGO is the crown corporation that “conducts and manages” the activities of private sector online gambling operators on behalf of the province. Its games went live in the province in January 2024 after receiving certification from Gaming Labs International.
According to Playgon, the Las Vegas studio employed 79 people. Their jobs are at risk if it can’t reopen. In the meantime, the company says it hopes to accelerate existing plans to open new studios elsewhere so service to its partner casinos can resume.