The Ontario iGaming market triumph in its first year has operators like Flutter, bet365, Rush Street Interactive, and PENN Interactive celebrating as numerous reports highlight the region’s inaugural anniversary.
Impressive Revenue and Wager Figures
iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, unveiled that the province generated a staggering $46.5 billion in total wagers and approximately $1.4 billion in total gaming revenue during its first year.
Praise for a Competitive and Regulated Market
PENN Interactive’s Benjie Levy remarked that Ontario had “distinguished itself” and brought about “widespread benefits,” while a bet365 spokesperson expressed eagerness to raise the bar even higher as the market continues to evolve.
George Sweny, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Flutter, took pride in the establishment of “a regulated and competitive igaming market.” Bruce Caughill, MD of Canada at RSI, added that the operator “enjoyed a positive and receptive response from customers.”
Remarkable Player Engagement and Growth
As of the one-year anniversary on April 4th, over 1.6 million active player accounts have been registered with 45 operators currently live. Attorney General Doug Downey expressed pride in Ontario’s “strong, responsible, competitive online gaming model” which has displaced the pre-existing unregulated market and elevated the region to international prominence.
Key Player Trends and Market Insights
iGaming Ontario statistics revealed an average monthly spend of $70 per active player account over the past year. An Ipsos survey commissioned by the AGCO indicated that around 85% of respondents who gambled online in Ontario over the past three months used regulated sites. This is a significant shift from the estimated 70% of online gambling that took place on unregulated sites before the market’s launch.
Online casino slots emerged as the most popular segment (48%), followed by live casino offerings (32%) and computer-based table games (19%). Basketball dominated sports betting with 28%, trailed by soccer (15%), football (14%), hockey (9%), and baseball (8%).
Dave Forestell, Chair of iGaming Ontario, celebrated the region’s success, stating, “Since Ontario opened the market we have seen new investment, job creation, and captured revenue that used to leave the province. Ontario is well on its way to becoming the best gaming jurisdiction in the world.“
