On Wednesday, October 12, 2022, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario’s subsidiary, iGaming Ontario, issued its second-quarter results on the province’s legal online gambling sector. For the period of July 1 through September 30, 2022, the local market generated a total wagering handle of CA$6.04 billion and over CA$267 million in gaming revenue.
Ontario’s market officially for private gambling companies went online on April 4 this year, and it is operated by AGCO and its subsidiary iGaming Ontario. It was introduced after the country decriminalized single-event wagering, which paved the way for the country’s first market of this kind. Prior to it, the only legal option in the province was OLG’s PROLINE brand.
Q2 in Numbers
According to iGaming Ontario for the second quarter of online operations the new market accumulated over CA$6.04 billion in total betting handle for all of its offerings. This includes online casino games, online sports betting, and digital poker. The handle translated to CA$267 million in revenue, and at the time 24 operators and 42 gaming websites were up and running in the province.
In addition to that, the provincial regulator also informed that for the second quarter there were 628,000 active user accounts. They had an average monthly spend of CA$142 per customer. However, it should be noted that these numbers do not include revenue from OLG’s PROLINE+, as the latter is a separately run provincial website.
Results from the second quarter are a notable improvement on the market’s first financial report, which was issued in August and applied to the period of April 4 through June 30, 2022. Then, the province accumulated a handle of CA$4 billion and revenue of CA$162 million. However, at that time the sector had 18 operators and 31 websites up and running.
As the number of licensed operators grows higher, it is expected that the province will be able to generate even more revenue in the upcoming months. The NFL, NHL, and NBA are now back in full swing, and bettors will have the FIFA World Cup in November. The province’s 2022 spring budget estimated that iGaming Ontario would make net proceeds of $18 million in 2022-23, CA$26 million in 2023-24, and CA$31 million in 2024-25.
Transition Period Ends
Meanwhile, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has decided to take measures against the grey market operators in the province. Just recently, the regulator announced that October 31, 2022, will be the deadline for non-registered operators to transition to the province’s regulated market. The commission accepts applications since September 2021, meaning that operators had more than a year to prepare.
Once the deadline comes, the AGCO warned that companies that have failed to abide by the new standard will jeopardize having their application for registration rejected. In addition to that, the regulator vowed to take appropriate regulatory action against any registrant that does not meet this Standard. Licensed operators were also advised not to collaborate with grey-market ones.
