Prior to the LLBO, the LCBO was the temporary agency responsible for issuing individual and vendor alcohol permits in the province following the end of prohibition in 1927.
Established in 1947 under the Liquor Licence Act (Ontario), which permitted alcohol to be sold and consumed in public taverns for the first time since World War I, the agency is not to be mistaken with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, an alcohol retailer.