How Ontario Has Emerged as One of The Largest iGaming Markets in North America
By
On April 4th, 2022, Ontario finally launched its open and regulated iGaming market. The goal was simple. The objective was to eradicate the unregulated market that had existed in Ontario in order to become one of the leaders in an already fiercely competitive industry. While many were optimistic, few could have predicted the success that followed. Moreover, the fact that it has come in such a short period of time is testament to everyone involved in Ontario's iGaming industry.
In just one year, it
has already cemented itself as one of the top five iGaming jurisdictions in
North America, an undeniably successful feat. In order to celebrate this
success. and the incredible selection of online casinos in Ontario, we decided to put this article together as a means to
better understand just how all of this was achieved. So, without further ado,
let’s get started…
A New Dawn in
Ontario
To put this in context, this means that in Ontario’s very first year of legal,
regulated iGaming, Canada’s most populated province witnessed CA$35.6bn
(US$26.4bn) wagered and nearly $1.4bn in total gaming revenue. While many were
hopeful that this move would prove to be a success, these numbers would have
surprised even the most optimistic of interested parties.
In just one year,
Ontario has firmly announced itself to the iGaming industry and become one of
the top five North American iGaming authorities. For all those involved, they
should be incredibly proud of this strong, responsible, safe and competitive
online gaming model, which is likely to be the starting point for Canada’s
iGaming journey as the whole.
The Modern Way Considering this, and
the fact that Ontario’s tech ecosystem is thriving, it makes sense that it was
the first Canadian province to enter the regulated iGaming market. The New
York Times once referred to Toronto, the capital city of Ontario, as a “quietly booming tech town,” a fair statement
based on the fact that “thanks to years of investment from local
universities, government agencies and business leaders and Canada’s liberal
immigration policies, Toronto is now the third-largest tech hub in North
America.”
Just as Ontario has
been paving the way in Canada in terms of embracing the digital age, it appears that it has now triggered the Canadian iGaming
revolution. While the statement ‘watch this space’ may already be too
late, keeping an eye on Canada’s next moves into the iGaming market will surely
prove to be a fascinating watch.
How Ontario Went All
In
Ontario, as a
jurisdiction, should be praised for adopting an open licence approach when it
comes to new entrants into the market. Where a large proportion of states in
America have only opened their iGaming market to sportsbooks, Ontario opted for
a low barrier entry by allowing online casinos, including those who are without
ties to a local casino, to apply to be an official operator.
As a brief throwback to
establish the full context, single-event sports betting was first legalized in
Canada in 2021, following an amendment to the Criminal Code by the federal
government. Despite this, it was Ontario that was the only Canadian
jurisdiction to welcome the iGaming industry by allowing private operators to
enter the market. For any jurisdiction to be the first to do this is a brave
move and one for which Ontario should be highly praised for.
Reaping the Rewards
As a result of the success experienced in Ontario, the province has seen
a hike in new investment, job creation, and has been able to retain revenue
that used to leave the province in search of greater prospects.
In terms of the future, it is hard to predict anything but success based
on the aforementioned infrastructure of Ontarios’s capital city of Toronto. The
exponential growth of technology and Ontario’s committent to the technological
revolution is sure to allow the province to continue its goal in becoming home
to the top iGaming jurisdiction in North America. The Bottom Line If you are asking our
opinion, this is only the first step in what will be a long and fruitful
relationship between the provinces of Canada and the iGaming industry
As the first Canadian province to establish a legal, regulated iGaming market,
there was a severe amount of interest in how the new venture would play out
amongst Canadians. After one year, an official report released by iGaming
Ontario (iGO) made it clear that it had been a resounding success. Over the
course of just one year, there were over 1.6 million active playing accounts
registered with legitimate websites. These websites were operated by 40
operators working in association with iGaming Ontario.
For those familiar with the iGaming industry and online casinos, the fact that
this new dawn in Ontario has proved to be successful will not be a total
surprise. Since the very first online casino went live in 1995, providing users
with a simple way to access and play their favourite casino games on any device
they wanted, it was clear that there was a demand for this type of service. It
wasn’t long before both players realised how enjoyable it was and operators
realised how profitable this new form of gambling had the potential to be.
The government’s committent to creating a framework for a fully regulated
industry has been admiral. Moreover, in the long-term, this is the only way to
ensure that the industry can grow in safe and secure manner. The plans are in
place to focus on the user experience as opposed to short-term gains, which is
another aspect of the grand plan that is likely to see the Ontario market go
from strength to strength.
Whatever the future holds, the launch of Ontario’s open and regulated iGaming
market has achieved something that the rest of Canada will be looking at with
awe.
