Soft2Bet, a casino and sportsbook operator, is one step closer to launching its tooniebet.com iGaming brand in Canada’s largest province.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission (AGCO) granted Soft2Bet its certificate of registration which will enable the operator to continue its expansion into one of the world’s largest regulated jurisdictions.
"Being registered with the AGCO in Ontario is a testament to the work our compliance and regulatory teams are doing daily to enable our continued expansion in the world’s largest regulated markets," said Elisabeth Isaksson, Soft2Bet’s head of regulatory compliance. "We’re immensely excited about taking our first steps in North America and look forward to licensing and launching in more jurisdictions in the region."
Soft2Bet offers an extensive iGaming product suite and is a holder of more than 10 remote gambling licenses including in Italy, Greece, and Romania. The company is also actively working to obtain a license in New Jersey to continue its expansion in the Americas.
Competitive Ontario sports betting market
The company’s press release announcing its Ontario Certificate called the Ontario sports betting market “a major success story for regulated online sports betting and casino in North America in the past two years.”
Bettors can access 30 legal Ontario sports betting sites today, with single-game online sports betting launching in August 2021 and the province’s iGaming market launching in April 2022.
The province booked a total handle of $59.3 billion in 2023, a sizable increase from the $21.64 wagered in 2022. This activity drove $2.26 billion in revenue last year, up from 2022’s $886 million.
The province projects that iGaming Ontario will generate $87 million in income for the government in 2022-23 and $162 million in profit in 2023-24.
Soft2Bet’s press release also pointed out that the online sports betting sites in Ontario recorded a 21% rise in wagers to $17.2 billion Canadian and a 22% increase in gross gaming revenues to $658 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, the highest ever revenue total in Ontario’s wagering history.
More legal, regulated options in the marketplace is good for Ontario bettors, but it will be interesting to see how Soft2Bet competes with the likes of bet365, FanDuel, DraftKings, and the other major players in the Ontario iGaming space.
