The government agency legally responsible for Ontario’s competitive market for online sports betting and internet casino gambling says it is up to participating bookmakers to decide how they settle any pre-existing action from the province — but that it must be settled.
Ontario intends to launch its new iGaming market on April 4, which is when licensed online sportsbooks and casinos can legally start doing business in the province. Some of those bookmakers will be migrating over from the “grey market,” as they may be regulated offshore or otherwise outside the province, but already have Ontario sports betting customers.
However, operators that have previously taken bets in Ontario and now intend to transition into the new market must settle those wagers before they can join the fun. And iGaming Ontario, the government agency through which bookmakers will conduct their business, says it is not telling operators exactly how they should deal with their pre-existing bets before launching, just that they need to be voided or otherwise sorted out.
“Operator(s) must settle any bets by players located or otherwise placed in Ontario before that Operator can go live in the regulated market,” iGaming Ontario said in an email to Covers on Thursday. “It is up to the individual Operator to determine the process by which bets are resolved.”
We are 1 month away from the launch of Ontario’s new igaming market! #PlayWithConfidence knowing your money and data are safe when you play on a registered and fully authorized Operator website. Learn more at the link in our bio. pic.twitter.com/Ws9CqGMoaj
— iGaming Ontario (@iGamingOntario) March 4, 2022
The bet-settlement requirement will only apply to online sportsbooks that have previously taken action in Ontario and are transitioning into the province’s new iGaming market. It won’t affect users of Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp.'s online sportsbook (PROLINE+) or a site that isn’t planning to be regulated by the province.
A book-by-book basis for deciding how to settle wagers could cause some confusion for players. But, according to iGaming Ontario, operators were warned they should give customers a heads-up about the possible voiding of their bets.
“iGaming Ontario has previously recommended to prospective Operators currently operating in the grey market with players in Ontario that they should communicate player transition requirements to their existing players in a timely manner,” the agency told Covers.
An example of how books could deal with the settlement requirement was revealed on Friday, when Coolbet acknowledged all pending bets by Ontario users would have to be "resulted" or voided by April 4.
“This means that if you have a Stanley Cup, NBA, NFL, MLB, etc Futures bet that cannot be settled because the outcome is unknown, these tickets will be voided and the stake will be returned to your account,” the operator said. “Coolbet has no say in this matter, it is a condition of the license as set out by iGaming Ontario.”
However, Coolbet will apply a special procedure for futures bets on sports with seasons more than half-done, which can be found here.
The bookmaker intends to refund outstanding futures bets that can't be resulted, but to keep track of all affected users and wagers. Customers will then be provided with a "zero rollover balance credit" equal to what their winning payout would have been if the wagers ultimately hit.
"We won’t come looking for the lost tickets, you now are sitting on a freeroll!" says Coolbet, which intends to operate in Ontario's new iGaming market.
An exception to this would be a season-long prop ticket that "can reasonably be expected to win," Coolbet says. Those bets will just be graded as winners.
Why?
Yet the bet-settlement requirement has still come as a shock to at least some Ontario-based users of offshore or out-of-province sportsbooks.
The decision could also affect a decent-sized amount of futures bets that may now need to be voided, as Ontarians have been estimated to be spending around $700 million a year with operators in the grey market. Indeed, one of the drivers of the province's iGaming plan is a desire to move at least some of the wagering Ontarians are doing offshore into legal and regulated channels.
Ontario’s new iGaming framework has drawn significant interest from operators as well. It will be the first of its kind in Canada — where government-owned lottery and gaming corporations have traditionally been the main source of legal online gambling — and will be based in the country’s most populous province.
At least 30 companies have applied for an iGaming operator registration with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, and 15 non-OLG firms had received that approval as of Friday morning. Bookmakers still need to execute an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario before they can legally go live in the new iGaming market on or after April 4.
While iGaming Ontario declined to comment on whether voiding bets was a requirement of the operating agreement, the agency did expand on the rationale for settling pre-existing wagers.
“This requirement was determined based on iGO's assessment of relevant Canadian law and to ensure that players in Ontario are subject to the consumer protections of the regulated marketplace,” it said in its email to Covers.
