Thirteen additional sportsbook operators can legally start taking bets in Ontario as early as Monday, the first day of the province’s competitive market for internet gambling.
Government agency iGaming Ontario (iGO) says it has now launched the new market for internet-based casino gambling and online sports betting in Ontario and that players 19 and older can begin placing wagers on authorized websites. Those websites will have iGO’s logo on them.
The sites that iGO says can start going live in the legal market on Monday belong to 13 different operators that have received all the necessary regulatory approvals. They are:
- 888
- bet365
- BetMGM
- BetRivers
- Caesars
- Coolbet
- FanDuel
- LeoVegas
- PointsBet
- Rivalry
- Royal Panda
- theScore Bet
- Unibet
Ontario’s new iGaming market is the first of its kind in Canada. It allows private-sector operators of online sportsbooks and casinos to legally take bets in the province, not just government-owned Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., which was previously the only legal provider of internet gambling in Ontario.
The launch of Ontario’s new regulatory framework also follows the legalization of single-game sports betting in Canada last summer by federal lawmakers. As a result, players will be able to make single-event wagers in the province’s iGaming market.
Both the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGO have a role in overseeing the new framework. The AGCO is the market's regulator and iGO is legally responsible for conducting and managing iGaming when it's being provided by private-sector operators in the province.
“This is a monumental day that establishes Ontario as an international leader in online gaming,” said Martha Otton, iGaming Ontario’s executive director, in a press release. “After years of anticipation culminating in historic legislation followed by months of hard work by all stakeholders, we have reached today’s launch of a legal internet gaming market out from under its previous grey market standing.”
Several bookmakers announced their official Ontario launches on Monday morning, including FanDuel, PointsBet, and theScore Bet. Ontario is expecting more operators will join the market in the days ahead, in addition to its first 13 entrants.
“While today is the first day of an igaming market expected to grow and thrive in Ontario, players will be able to find even more of the world-class online games they love in the weeks and months to come,” iGO said on Monday. “Ontario’s large and diverse adult population relative to the rest of North America make it a very high priority for any operator’s expansion strategy.”
