People

Don Bourgeois

Counsel
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Don has over 25 years of experience in the gaming sector, primarily in executive positions, including casinos, charitable gaming, lottery, internet gaming, and horse racing.

He was previously General Counsel for the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, where he was also Deputy Registrar, and counsel for the Ontario Racing Commission and its Executive Director. Don was the architect of the AGCO’s shift to a risk-based approach to regulation and the modernization of the liquor licensing regulatory structure and the Gaming Control Act and its regulation, the development of the Registrar’s Standards and Requirements, the Registrar’s eligibility assessment process for applicants for registration or licensing, and the AGCO’s regulatory assurance program.

He is Co-Director of the Osgoode Professional Development’s Certificate in Gaming Law, and the author of several legal texts, including The Law of Charitable and Casino Gaming and numerous articles. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Canadian Gaming Association’s Industry Leadership and Outstanding Contribution.

Education & Memberships

education

Called to the Ontario Bar, 1984
Osgoode Hall Law School, LL.B., 1981
Wilfrid Laurier University, B.A., 1978

Awards and Recognition

Chambers & Partners

Gaming Law

The Best Lawyers™ in Canada

Gaming Law

Professional & Community Involvement

Co-Director, The Osgoode Certificate in Gaming Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, Professional Development Program
President, Createscape Waterloo Region
Director, Canadian International Development Organization

Speaking Engagements & Publications

Liquor Laws of Canada, (with Craig Slater)

LexisNexis Canada (2018)

Halsbury’s Laws of Canada – Charities, Associations and Not-for-Profit Organizations

LexisNexis Canada,  second edition (2018), reissue (2013), first edition (2008)

Halsbury’s Laws of Canada – Liquor Control

LexisNexis Canada, 2017

The Role of the Lawyer in Enterprise Risk Management and Risk Assessments

Canadian Gaming Lawyer Magazine (Summer, 2015)

Guide to the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010

LexisNexis Canada (2017)

Election Law of Canada

LexisNexis Canada (April 2015)

The Law of Charitable and Not-for-Profit Organizations

LexisNexis Canada, fifth edition (2016), fourth edition (2012), third edition (2002), second edition (1995) and first edition (1990).

The Law of Charitable and Casino Gaming

Butterworths Canada, 1999

Charities and Not-for-Profit Administration and Governance Handbook

Butterworths Canada, second edition (2009) and first edition (2001)

Charities and Not-for-Profit Fundraising Handbook

Butterworths Canada, second edition (2006) and first edition (2000)

“A Role for the Private Sector Lawyer in the Policy-Making Process”, Chapter 14, Public Law

Bar Admission Course, Law Society of Ontario

Public Law in Canada

Nelson Canada, 1990

The Six Nations Indian Land Claim to the Bed of the Grand River

Historical Research Report Series, Report No. 1, Ministry of Natural Resources, 1986

“The Role of the Historian in the Litigation Process”

Canadian Historical Review, June 1986

Review of our Children are our Future in Canadian

Journal of Native Studies, 1983

Industry groups

Gaming and Gambling