Sarah Chen
About Sarah
Sarah is a legal and compliance writer specializing in gambling regulation across North America. She spent four years as a compliance analyst for an Ontario-licensed iGaming operator before transitioning to full-time editorial work, giving her a rare insider perspective on how casino licensing and regulatory oversight actually function in practice. Sarah holds a degree in political science from UBC and has completed certificates in gambling regulation through the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
She covers provincial gambling laws, licensing frameworks, responsible gambling programs, and the evolving legal landscape for Canadians accessing offshore casino platforms. Sarah is responsible for verifying every legal and regulatory claim made on our site, from licensing details and jurisdictional compliance to responsible gambling tool availability. Her compliance background means she evaluates casinos not just from a player perspective, but from a regulatory one — understanding which operators are genuinely committed to fair play and which are merely checking boxes.
Sarah is a member of the International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA) and stays current with regulatory developments across all Canadian provinces. She is a passionate advocate for responsible gambling and believes the industry has a fundamental obligation to protect vulnerable players. Her guides on provincial gambling laws have become essential reading for Canadian players navigating the complex regulatory environment.
Outside of work, Sarah runs trail half-marathons in the North Shore mountains and volunteers as a financial-literacy mentor for new graduates in Vancouver. She'll happily tell you which two AGCO-licensed sites she actually plays on personally, and which Curacao operators she would not deposit a dollar at — that bluntness is the whole reason she ended up in editorial.
Areas of Expertise
Methodology & Approach
Sarah's review of a casino starts at the regulator. Every licence number is verified against the issuing authority (AGCO for Ontario, KGC for Kahnawake, MGA, Curacao eGaming, UKGC where applicable), expiry dates and ownership chains are traced, and any change of corporate control in the last 24 months is flagged. She then audits each casino's responsible gambling toolkit hands-on: deposit limits, loss limits, session time-outs, reality checks, self-exclusion flows, and the visibility of help-line links. Terms and conditions are read in full and indexed against eight high-risk clauses (e.g. dormancy, bonus voiding, dispute resolution venue). Anything that conflicts with Canadian consumer-protection norms is called out in the review and, where serious, in a standalone alert.
Credentials & Memberships
- B.A. Political Science, University of British Columbia
- Certificates in Gambling Regulation, University of Nevada Las Vegas
- Member, International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA)
- Former compliance analyst, Ontario-licensed iGaming operator (2018–2022)
- Speaks regularly on responsible-gambling design at Canadian iGaming events
Recent Articles by Sarah
Editorial Standards & Contact
Sarah adheres to our full editorial standards and contributes under the cross-review process used across the site. Tips, corrections, or media enquiries: please use our contact page.