It’s official — Ontario, Canada has launched legal online casino sites and online single-game sports betting.
Legal in Canada since Summer 2021, online betting wasn’t available to Ontario residents until 12:01 on Monday, April 4, 2022.
What was the first ‘big’ wager made in the province? A $500 two-leg parlay bet on North Carolina winning against Kansas, and a Toronto Maple Leafs’ win against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Currently, there are 16 legal igaming operators available in the province. Before these operators were allowed to due business in the province, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario held a monopoly on this business. The current online gaming initiative is a result of the partnership between the Ontario Government and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
The operators legally able to do business are:
- 888 Casino (LON: 888)
- Bet365
- BetMGM (For casino, sports, and poker) (NYSE: MGM)
- Caesars Sportsbook (CZR: NASDAQ)
- BetRivers (NYSE: RSI)
- CoolBet (NASDAQ: GAN)
- FanDuel (LON: FLTR)
- LeoVegas (STO: LEO)
- PointsBet (PBH: ASX)
- Rivalry (CVE: RVLY)
- Royal Panda (NYSE: RSI)
- theScore (CVE: RVLY)
- Unibet (STO: KIND-SDB)
CEO of Kings Entertainment, one of the new gaming companies, Steve Budin says, “This is an exciting development for the Ontario iGaming market…Jurisdictions around the globe are increasingly implementing regulatory frameworks that support legal private-sector gambling, to provide a safe gaming environments, create tourism, offer employment opportunities and keep revenue within legal, regulated entities. We’re fully supportive of these objectives and are exploring opportunities to expand into these emerging markets.”
Ontario is home to Canada’s capital, Ottawa, and is significant due to its large adult population compared to the rest of North America. To put this in perspective, the average age in Ontario is 40.7, compared to California’s average age of 36.5.
The province is expected to add more operators, games, and options for players looking for online options in the coming months.
