In the dynamic world of online gambling, where regulations often dictate the flow of the industry, Ontario’s recent regulatory adjustments have created ripples worth noting. The shift in regulations has not only reshaped the iGaming landscape within the province but also presents a compelling case for owners/operators eyeing expansion opportunities.
iGO (iGaming Ontario) published market performance for its first operating year, disclosing remarkable results. In its first operating year, Ontarians delivered almost $26.5B in total wagers, resulting in just over $1B in revenue. Ontario has quickly risen to a top-five market within North America.
With tons of market share to go around iGO has agreements with 40-plus operators that are servicing over 1.6 million MAUs. The current reported monthly spend per MAU is around $52.
The ACGO (Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario) also conducted a survey which indicated 85% of participants gambling in the past three months, had placed wagers through a regulated private operator. This is exciting news proving that the market in Ontario was looking for a safe and controlled environment to place wagers.
Looking into some insights on what Ontarians are betting on, there are some interesting takeaways as to where the volume of wagers lies. The most popular sports attracting wagers are basketball, soccer, football, hockey, and baseball, in that order.
Basketball is sitting on top accumulating around 28% of sports wagers. Soccer follows with 15%, then football with 14%, hockey at 9% and baseball at 8%.
The online casino segment was broken down into 48% of wagers on slots, 32% on live tables, and 20% on computer-based table games.
It’s also worth noting that in the first quarter, 80% of total wagers were coming through the online casino vertical.
There is great signaling for Ontario to continue growing and become one of the best markets for iGaming. Since the changes Deloitte estimates that the iGaming industry has created 12,000+ full-time jobs and multiple local start-ups, building innovative products for consumers in a safe environment.
The province currently takes 20% of profits through iGO as its share, allowing for an economic benefit along with giving people a safe way to play. Other provinces such as Alberta are closely eyeing these results as a proxy to open themselves up to similar revenue streams. As regulation is still at the forefront, Ontario is a successful case study for other jurisdictions to observe.
