Canada’s most populous province is slowly but surely dragging more and more online sports bettors and casino gamblers out of the black and grey markets and into the light.
Thursday marked the second anniversary of Ontario launching a competitive market for online sports betting and internet casino gambling that has allowed an army of private-sector operators to set up shop in the province.
Billions of dollars have been wagered in the Ontario iGaming market, and tens of millions of dollars in new revenue provided to the province, which remains the only one in Canada to implement such a regulatory framework. As of Thursday, nearly 50 licensed operators and 77 authorized iGaming sites were available in the province.
One of the reasons why Ontario launched its competitive iGaming market was to pull online gamblers onto locally regulated platforms and away from websites that may only be overseen offshore, if at all.
And on that front, the province says it has and continues to make progress, even if there is still more work to do.
Today is the second anniversary of Ontario's launch of a competitive iGaming market.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) April 4, 2024
To mark the milestone, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario published findings from a new study that suggests 86.4% of online gamblers choose regulated sites:https://t.co/ZiNYF9nHZ2 pic.twitter.com/UDS4yP9KSV
On Thursday, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) released the findings of a new study by polling firm Ipsos, which suggested 86.4% of Ontario-based online gamblers play on regulated sites. This was up slightly from a similar survey done last year, which found 85.3% of online gamblers were wagering via regulated channels.
The regulated rate is also much improved compared to the pre-iGaming market days, when the Ontario government estimated that 70% of online gambling in the province took place on unregulated sites.
“Since its launch in April 2022, Ontario’s igaming model has been recognized internationally for championing work to displace the unregulated online gaming market,” Attorney General Doug Downey said in a press release. “This made-in-Ontario, regulated market will continue to inspire global innovation, while ensuring a safer landscape for players and businesses alike.”
That's a lot of sites
Even so, Ontario is not declaring it is “mission accomplished” or anything like that. Rather, the AGCO noted that the survey found 13.6% of respondents were still doing all their betting on unregulated sites, and that 20.1% used a combination of regulated and unregulated.
“Participants named over 350 unregulated websites they have used, which highlights how many illicit betting options can be accessed by Ontarians and the importance of continued efforts to shift players to Ontario’s safer and legal gaming options,” the press release stated.
iGaming Ontario (iGO), the government agency through which private-sector companies can offer online gambling in the province, said Thursday, citing research firm Vixio, that Ontario's iGaming market is the sixth-largest in the world by gross gaming revenue.
Basketball was the most heavily wagered upon sport in Ontario over the past year, according to government agency iGaming Ontario.
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) April 4, 2024
Ontarians are also wagering more on cricket than they are on UFC and other combat sports, iGO's numbers show:https://t.co/bhpFMMqTKa pic.twitter.com/q2xhUWsivR
Numbers for the market's second full year of operation are not yet available, but $17.2 billion was wagered in the iGaming market and $658 million in revenue was generated during the last three months of 2023.
iGO said online casino games, such as slots and blackjack, accounted for 82% of wagering in the market's second year. Blackjack was the biggest table game for 2023-24, iGO said, accounting for 27% of internet casino gaming. Roulette was a distant second at 9%.
On the sports betting side of the market, basketball was the most popular sport in Ontario by handle during the 2023-24 fiscal year, as it attracted 24% of wagering. Football was second at 15%, and hockey and baseball were tied for third at 11%.
“When talking about Ontario’s igaming market, the numbers tell us a lot,” said Heidi Reinhart, iGaming Ontario’s board chair, in a release. “[B]ut what I’m most proud of are the countless ways that our government partners, operators, responsible gambling experts, players and employees have worked together to help us create a world-class market that is Ontario-made for Ontarians.”
