Rush Street Interactive has officially debuted into the Canadian gaming industry. The company has launched a free-to-play online social gaming platform through its subsidiary BetRivers. Now, the platform CASINO4FUN will offer online casino and sportsbook games to the residents of Ontario and it is available for access from all kinds of devices.

Currently, online casino wagering is legal in the province of Ontario, but it is limited to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation’s platform PROLINE+. That is why BetRivers will be offering social gaming while waiting for the privatization of the province’s iGaming markets when the local government will issue gaming licenses for private operators.

Free-to-Play Platform Now Live

Rush Street Interactive will certainly face some serious competition in Canada due to the upcoming opening of the iGaming market of Ontario, and many operators eagerly awaiting the launch. Now the corporation debuts in the country with social gaming, but that could be subject to a change if it is awarded a gaming license later this year.

The country is the third one to which the company and its subsidiary BetRivers offer social gaming services. The recently debuted CASINO4FUN is currently available only to Ontario residents and it is playable on mobile devices, tablets, desktop computers, and laptops, via the BetRivers.net online portal. Users must be at least 19 years old to play on the platform.

Canada recently made some major changes to its gaming regulations making the market even more appealing for big-name casino operators and brands. On August 27, 2021, the federal government enacted Bill C-218 as a law thus legalizing single-event wagering, which was a long-awaited change for gamblers and stakeholders. Now provinces have the opportunity to determine their own regulation of the product and offer it legally.

BetRivers has already applied for a gaming license in the province. The company expects to receive its casino license for real-money wagering in the upcoming months from the regulatory entities of Ontario. And with the early launch, the platform allows users to sign up early for the portal and give CASINO4FUN a try while waiting for the real-money betting license.

First-Week Results

The launch of single-event sports wagering has been quite successful for the country, and only a week after the legalization of the product Ontario reported the first results from it. The OLG launched its PROLINE+ on August 27, 2021, and for the first week of operations, the platform accumulated more than CA$1 million in revenue, with 74% of total placed wagers coming from betting on single sports events.

New Government Entity

In order to prepare for the opening of the new iGaming market and the expansion of sports betting, Ontario introduced iGaming Ontario. This new state-run entity will be overseeing and regulating all online gaming offerings in the province. It has its own board of directors and it will also conduct the license review of candidates that to be part of the province’s iGaming framework.

Source: “BetRivers To Launch Social Gaming in Canada”, Toronto Sports Media, October 19, 2021