Ontario Legalizes Professional Muay Thai: What the New Rules Mean for Gyms, Fighters and Promoters

Since 1 October 2026, professional Muay Thai has been legal in Ontario when the Ontario Athletics Commission (OAC) sanctions it. The province amended its Rules for Combative Sports regulation to add a professional Muay Thai ruleset, which allows punches, kicks, elbows and knees. Promoters, fighters, seconds, managers, matchmakers and officials now need OAC licences. Fighters must pass a physician’s exam, an ECG, a brain MRI or CT scan, a dilated eye exam and bloodwork. Promoters need a $300 event permit, $5 million in liability insurance and a security deposit.

The change was first reported by Erik Magraken’s Combat Sports Law blog. We checked every detail below against Ontario government sources.

This article is news reporting, not legal advice. Before you promote, corner or license a fighter, confirm the requirements with the Ontario Athletics Commission or a lawyer.

What exactly changed on 1 October 2026?

Ontario’s combat sports law is the Combative Sports Act, 2019. It replaced the old Athletics Control Act and took effect on 1 January 2025. The sports themselves are governed by O. Reg. 565/24, Rules for Combative Sports, which lists the professional rulesets by name. The current version of that regulation applies from 1 October 2026. It shows a new fifth paragraph in section 1, “For muay thai, also known as Thai boxing, version 1 of the document titled ‘Muay Thai Professional Combative Sport Rules'”, added by amending regulation O. Reg. 324/26.

The ruleset is published as Professional combative sport rules: Muay Thai – Thai boxing, dated 1 October 2026. The OAC’s list of professional rulesets now has five entries: boxing, kickboxing, low-kick kickboxing, MMA and Muay Thai.

What did Ontario allow before?

Amateur Muay Thai was already legal. A 2017 Order in Council named Muay Thai as a designated amateur combative sport. The current amateur Muay Thai ruleset took effect on 1 January 2025. Amateur events can be sanctioned by the OAC or by Muay Thai Ontario, one of ten provincial sport organizations the ministry recognizes for combat sports.

Professional fighters, though, could only compete under the kickboxing rules. The difference is elbows. Ontario’s professional kickboxing ruleset allows knees but lists “striking with the elbow” as a foul. The low-kick ruleset also bans knee strikes. The Muay Thai ruleset lists “punches, kicks, elbows, knees” as legal strikes.

Who needs a licence, and what does it cost?

The fees come from Schedule 1 of the General regulation, O. Reg. 507/24, and match the OAC’s licensing page:

• Contestant: $50. The licence is valid for one year and covers one sport.
• Manager: $75.
• Matchmaker: $50, for one sport per licence.
• Second (corner): $50, for one sport per licence.
• Promoter: no fee. Applicants must provide a credit report and a criminal record and judicial matters check.
• Official: no fee. Applicants must show evidence of experience.

All licences other than contestant licences expire on 31 December. Because each licence covers only one sport, a coach who already holds an Ontario kickboxing second’s licence needs a separate licence to corner a professional Muay Thai bout (O. Reg. 507/24, s. 11). No contestant licence can be issued to anyone under 18 (s. 15).

What medical tests do professional Muay Thai fighters need?

Section 13 of O. Reg. 507/24 requires a contestant to submit:

• a physician’s exam within 90 days of applying;
• an ECG within 90 days;
• a brain CT or MRI within 24 months;
• a dilated eye exam by an ophthalmologist or optometrist within 90 days, with set minimum visual acuity standards;
• blood tests for HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis antibodies and hepatitis B surface antigen, within 90 days.

Fighters aged 40 or older, or with a pre-existing brain condition, need extra angiography and imaging. The Commissioner can also label a fighter “high-risk” for reasons that include four straight losses, repeated knockouts, more than two years out of professional competition, or ten or more professional losses (s. 14). A contestant licence cannot be used within 60 days of any knockout or TKO, or after two head-blow knockouts in six months or three in a year (s. 16). Professional contestants also fall under the Commissioner’s anti-doping policy and can be randomly tested.

What do promoters have to do to run an event?

According to the OAC’s event permit page, only a licensed promoter can apply. The timeline is:

• 30 days out: apply for the permit, pay the non-refundable $300 fee and confirm the venue.
• 14 days out: post a security deposit, provide proof of $5,000,000 in general liability insurance and submit the bout list. The deposit covers officials’ fees, an event administration fee of $250 per bout (minimum $1,500) and a medical deposit for any fighter without health insurance.
• 7 days out: file all fighter contracts and lodge the purses by certified cheque, money order, surety bond or letter of credit. Also confirm licensed security and an ambulance with two paramedics (O. Reg. 507/24, s. 33).

A promoter who wants a modified ruleset must file an exemption request at least 120 days before the event (rulesets page).

What are the key rules inside the ring?

The technical rules set out the following:

• Bouts are three or five rounds of up to three minutes, with one minute of rest between rounds.
• Legal targets are the front and sides of the head, the torso above the belt and the legs, except the knee joint.
• The clinch is allowed only to launch knees. The referee breaks it after five seconds, or sooner if the knee exchange stops being effective.
• Sweeps are legal only when done with a kick. Hip, shoulder and leg throws are fouls.
• Catching a kick is legal, but pushing the opponent more than two steps without attacking is a foul.
• No headgear. Fighters wear 8 oz gloves at 147 lb or under and 10 oz above.
• Bouts are held in a ring 18 to 24 feet square (Part I; Part II).

When does an amateur bout become a professional one?

This matters most for gyms that run interclub cards. Under O. Reg. 507/24, s. 3, a contestant counts as professional if any of these apply:

• the purse, prize or share of ticket sales is or could be worth $300 or more (belts, trophies and medals don’t count);
• the contestant has ever held a professional licence for that sport anywhere;
• the contestant is matched against someone who has.

A contest becomes professional if it includes a professional contestant and has spectators, officials, paid streaming or full contact. Fighters with three or fewer professional bouts can apply to be reinstated as amateurs (s. 4).

How does Ontario compare with other provinces?

Alberta is still the outlier. In December 2024 the province described itself as “the only province where combative sports are sanctioned by municipal governments” and said it would look at setting up a provincial commission (Alberta government release). We could not confirm whether that commission has been created.

What about the Criminal Code?

Section 83 of the Criminal Code makes taking part in a “prize fight” an offence, with exceptions. Since a 2013 amendment, those exceptions include amateur contests a province designates or permits, and “a boxing contest or mixed martial arts contest” held under a provincial commission. Muay Thai is not named in that exception. Ontario’s rulesets describe kickboxing as “boxing with hands and feet” and Muay Thai as “Thai boxing”. We found no official statement explaining how professional Muay Thai fits within section 83(2)(d), and we do not offer one here.

What gym owners should do now

• Make sure every coach who will corner a professional Muay Thai bout holds a Muay Thai second’s licence. A kickboxing licence does not cover it.
• Budget for fighters’ medicals before they are matched. A brain scan, ECG, eye exam and bloodwork take time to book.
• Check your interclub and “smoker” cards against the $300 purse test and the professional-contestant rules, so an amateur card doesn’t turn into an unlicensed professional event.
• If you promote, plan around the 30-day permit deadline and the 14-day insurance and deposit deadline, and get a $5 million liability quote now.
• Give fighters the concussion awareness and anti-doping resources they must confirm they have reviewed.
• Send questions to the OAC at AthleticsComm@ontario.ca or 416-326-0416.

Related: Manitoba’s amateur combative sports licensing, New South Wales’ combat sports overhaul, the Ali Act and MMA governance, Ontario membership contract law, Reddit Ads for Muay Thai gyms and the Legislation & Regulation section.

Sources

• Combative Sports Act, 2019, S.O. 2019, c. 7, Sched. 9
• O. Reg. 565/24, Rules for Combative Sports (version applying from 1 Oct 2026; amended by O. Reg. 324/26)
• O. Reg. 507/24, General (licensing, medicals, fees, event permits)
• Professional combative sport rules: Muay Thai – Thai boxing (Ontario.ca, published 1 Oct 2026)
• Ontario.ca: Rulesets, Licensing, Event permit, Amateur combative sports, Combative sports
• Ontario Order in Council 1087/2017
• Criminal Code, s. 83
• BC Athletic Commissioner, Event Rules
• Quebec, Mémoire au Conseil des ministres, June 2026
• Alberta, “Athlete safety in combative sports,” December 2024
• Secondary: Combat Sports Law, 1 Oct 2026

Not confirmed at press time: the filing date of O. Reg. 324/26; whether Ontario issued a formal news release; how professional Muay Thai fits within Criminal Code s. 83(2)(d); the current status of Alberta’s provincial commission review; and the professional Muay Thai position in Alberta’s municipal commissions.