Just past midnight on Monday, April 4, sports betting became legal in Ontario, Canada. According to Ontariobets.com, 16 licensed operators started taking bets, with more registered and anticipating deals with iGaming Ontario, which oversees them industry.
The list of operators includes Annexio (LottoGo), BetMGM, Coolbet, FanDuel, Fitzdares, bet365, LeoVegas, WSOP, PointsBet, Rivalry, Royal Panda, Rush Street Interactive (BetRivers), theScore, Unibet and 888. DraftKings has said its sportsbook and casino will be available this month. Eventually, as many as 30 operators are anticipated and there is no upper cap. There’s no deadline for bookmakers to join the market.
Operators need not be connected to a casino, racetrack or retail footprint.
Also legal in the province are iGaming, online casino games and mobile platforms. Operators in that category include theScore, DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars.
The province offers a path to legal operations for those who have been operating illegally or in the “gray market,” which is estimated to be valued at $700 million per year.
Last year, parliament amended the Canadian Criminal Code to allow single-event wagering.
The resulting competitive market is a quantum shift from the government-owned Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG), which was the province’s only legal provider of online gaming. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), which regulates gaming in the province, stated: ”Starting today, Ontarians can play on world-class iGaming sites within a safer, fully regulated framework. Today’s milestone achievement helps realize the government of Ontario’s objectives of proving consumer choice, ensuring player protection and supporting the crown of the legal iGaming market.”
It added, “Though not every operator will be ready to launch their services today, more and more will come online as they become ready. Players will soon be able to play on their preferred sites with the assurance that those sites are being closely monitored for game integrity, player protections and responsible gaming.”
The excitement leading up to the opening has been palpable, as Ontario is considered a major market, along with New Jersey, New York and Las Vegas. Thirty or so states that have legalized sports bets since 2018, plus the District of Columbia. The Ontario regulated sports market could give them all a run for their money.
Ontario is the largest of Canada’s provinces, and is home to 40 percent of its total population. “Without question, Ontario is the big prize for now,” said Aubrey Levy, senior vice president of marketing and content and head of esports at theScore, in an interview with Forbes. Its population of 14.2 million would make it the fifth largest U.S. state—if it were a state. It’s expected to generate about $800 million in gross revenue in 2022. Deloitte Canada believes that number could reach $28 billion in five years.
TheScore Bet is competing in its own backyard. A subsidiary of Penn National Gaming Inc., its headquarters is in Toronto. It looks with favor on the province’s decision to limit the promotional marketing campaigns that bombard U.S. consumers. Instead, it will lean on an integration between media, wagering and in-house technology rather than the U.S. model of back-to-back promotions. Moreover, operators are not allowed to partner with celebrity “ambassadors” who have a following among minors.
theScore launched in 1994 as a digital sports media company and was purchased by Penn National last year for $2 billion. It has 4 million daily active app users, with 1.4 million in Ontario. Levy told Bloomberg News, “It’s an entirely different scenario for us launching in Ontario. That’s where we’re headquartered, that’s where we’re set up. We have a large user base across North America but it’s unparalleled in Canada. Our brand just means something more there. There’s kind of a cultural connective tissue we have to that market that we just don’t have in the U.S.”
Jay Snowden, president and CEO of Penn National, told the Penticton Herald, “We’re proud to enter this market behind a trusted and authentic Canadian brand that resonates deeply with Ontarians. From the outset, the Levy family and theScore team played a meaningful role in championing the legalization of single-event sports betting and the creation of Ontario’s framework. With its large user base, superior technology and mobile gaming expertise, theScore Bet is in a strong position and I’m highly encouraged about the opportunity ahead.”
PointsBet Canada CEO Scott Vanderwel greeted the new market by saying, “Today is a great day for Ontario sports fans.” He added, “I’d like to share how thrilled we are to see the province’s sports wagering market officially open.” PointsBet is partnering with the Canadian Football League’s Ottawa Redblacks.”
BetMGM’s entry into Ontario is its first international market, although it operates in 23 U.S. states. CEO Adam Greenblatt declared, “Today marks a significant milestone for BetMGM and a momentous occasion for sports fans and online players in Ontario.” He added, “We’re confident that customers in Canada will enjoy the unique, interactive and world-class experience that only BetMGM can provide.”
The BetMGM sportsbook app offers mobile gaming, with pre-game, live in-play, futures and parlay wagers. Its casino app offers slots, progressive jackpots, blackjack and roulette. BetMGM has partnered with Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid to do marketing campaigns.
There are some sour notes in the opening of the new market. So far there’s no way for a bettor to walk into a brick-and-mortar casino and place a sports wager. The province has 70 casinos and the AGCO updated its gaming standards to include sports betting. However the private-sector operators who run the casinos under the aegis of state-owned Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG), have announced any sportsbooks yet. That could always change.
OLG Chief Digital and Strategy Officer Dave Pridmore told Covers in December, “The best way I could put it is that we want casinos to have sportsbooks as well. So the service providers and OLG are now working through that dialogue to figure out the best way to bring that to market.”
Brick-and-mortar casinos are not thrilled with the new competition. Great Canadian Gaming Corp., which operates about a dozen casinos in Ontario, sponsored research that concluded the province could lose 2,600 casino jobs and $2.8 billion in tax revenues over five years. This is based on the 55 percent tax rate of land based casinos compared to the 20 percent tax on online operators.
Jim Lawson, chief executive officer at Woodbine Entertainment, the largest betting company in Canada worries about the effects on horse racing. So far, Woodbine, has been unable to integrate parimutuel horse racing onto legal sportsbooks. Lawson told the British Columbian Penticton Herald. “We’re not looking for exclusivity, we not looking for protection. We just want to be part of it . . . all we’re asking for is to let operators host our product.”
He added, “We’ve understood almost from the beginning they (sports betting platforms) were all very interested in horse racing and if they wanted it they would have to buy it from Woodbine. That was the premise, which we’ve been advancing. I think it hurts us that we’re not out of the starting gate with everyone else.”
Also vehemently protesting the new competitive market are several of the province’s First Nations, which operate their own casinos. The loudest protest came from the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation (MSIFN), which is threatening to take the province to court over the perceived threat to their Great Blue Heron Casino on Scugog Island—and on what they consider a violation of the constitution. The Mississaugas claim the province did not fulfill its legal obligation to consult with the First Nations.
MSIFN Chief Kelly LaRocca told Covers, “The government has not taken the time that it needs to address the effect that iGaming will have on First Nations’ ability to provide clean drinking water, healthcare, education, and housing to their members. While I will not speak to the specifics of legal matters, I believe that the government should be reminded that their failure to consult and accommodate impacted indigenous governments is a serious matter which must be addressed immediately.”
At Great Blue Heron, he continued, “operators provide multiple services ensuring responsible gaming like in-person age verification, self-exclusion, and PlaySmart facilities. Rushed policy puts us at risk.”
Citing the Great Canadian Study, MSKFN declared “job loss in inevitable” and estimates its profits will drop by 30 percent. It adds, “It’s hard to see how governments can talk about reconciliation then take away our community’s main source of economic activity.”
