It’s confirmed: Ontarians gambled a record-setting amount in the fourth quarter of the province’s regulated market for operators of online sports betting sites and casinos.
Government agency iGaming Ontario (iGO) reported on Thursday figures for the three months that ended March 31, which showed total wagering with private-sector sites offering legal sports betting, casino gaming, and poker was $13.9 billion (in Canadian currency).
The handle, which doesn’t include free bets and other promotions, was a new quarterly record for the province and was up from $11.5 billion in the previous quarter.
Total gaming revenue from the Ontario sports betting and iGaming offered in the province's regulated market, which does not include the government-owned Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG), was $526 million during its fourth quarter. That increased from the $463 million reported for the previous quarter and was another new high for the market.
“Since its launch on April 4, 2022, the new legal igaming market in Ontario has, on average, grown by more than 50% in total wagers and gaming revenue each quarter,” iGO noted in its latest report.
This chart from @iGamingOntario highlights the growth seen by Ontario's regulated market for online sports betting and casino sites. Wagering has more than doubled since the market's first quarter, and revenue has more than tripled. None of this includes OLG's iGaming site. pic.twitter.com/SZc8FSq4Q3
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) April 20, 2023
The release from the agency finalizes the figures for the first year of wagering in Ontario’s iGaming market, which remains the only one of its kind in Canada.
IGo previously reported full-year figures about the market to mark its first anniversary, although the latest handle number looks slightly lower than the earlier one. With the most recent data included, iGO says there was $35.5 billion in wagering and $1.4 billion in revenue generated by the iGaming market in its first year. Approximately 20% of that revenue is supposed to go to the province.
At any rate, the province’s iGaming market is being watched by other provinces and regulators. Dozens of companies have taken Ontario up on its invitation and joined the regulatory framework, with the latest numbers suggesting provincial punters have welcomed the initiative as well.
There were 44 operators and 75 iGaming websites active in Ontario's competitive market from January 1 to March 31. There were also 1.01 million active player accounts and $174 in average monthly spending in the market per active player account, according to iGO's numbers.
Growing pains
However, the growth in gambling in Ontario has prompted pushback from those concerned about the potential for growth in gambling addiction. There has also been anxiety about the advertising associated with the iGaming market, which recently spurred the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, which regulates iGaming in the province, to propose a ban on athletes in marketing for gambling sites.
The recent numbers released by iGO also show that basketball was the most popular sport by handle in the first year of the province's iGaming market, drawing 29% of all wagering. Soccer finished second with 15% of handle and football third with 13%. Hockey, interestingly, placed fourth with 9% of the annual handle.
Meanwhile, on the casino side, iGO reported that slots drew 48% of all wagering, while live table games attracted 32% of the handle and computer-based table games 19%.
