Ontario's iGaming Market Thrives in First Quarter Analysis

Canada's Ontario online casino and sports betting revenues reported a 34% year-over-year increase in total first-quarter revenue to over $524.5 million as total handle increased by a similarly impressive 31% to reach almost $13.3 billion.

Ontario ratified legislation in June of 2021 to legalize the provision of commercial online casino and sports betting. The first services went live in April 2022, with punters in Canada’s fourth largest territory now able to enjoy 80 legal online casinos in Canada run by a collection of 50 operators. 

Successive Surge

The iGaming Ontario regulator revealed the province’s online casino and sports betting revenues for the first three months of the year represented a boost of 5.2% when compared with the previous quarter’s finishing tally of about $498.6 million, while handle was 3.4% beyond the around $12.8 billion recorded for the previous period.

A subordinate of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the authority explained that the first-quarter revenue figure represented all cash wagers placed via Ontario’s many iGaming sites between January 1 and March 31 minus any wins derived from cash bets. 

It went on to assert this tally encompassed ‘rake fees, tournament fees and other fees’ but did not include ‘operating costs or other liabilities’.

Solid Scene

The Executive Director for iGaming Ontario, Martha Otton, disclosed nearly 1.9 million online casino and sports betting player accounts had been active in the province during the first quarter, with punters having a monthly average spend of something like $205. 

The regulator also emphasized that this former figure equated to ‘accounts with cash and/or promotional wagering activity during the time period’ and did not represent the total number of iGaming aficionados in the whole of Ontario, ‘as individuals may have accounts with multiple operators’.

“With 50 regulated operators and a one-third increase in wagering and revenue figures over the first quarter of last year, Ontarians who choose to gamble are finding many enjoyable options in our open regulated iGaming market,” Otton said. 

"The revenue from Ontario's fiercely competitive iGaming market directly supports provincial priorities like infrastructure, healthcare, and education."

Popular Pastimes 

As to the activities punters were enjoying most during the first quarter, iGaming Ontario disclosed online casino entertainment embracing online slot games, table and peer-to-peer bingo games had accounted for roughly 73% of all revenues at around $382.3 million and approximately 84% of the total handle at about $10.8 billion.

The regulator additionally clarified that aggregated first-quarter revenues from sports betting, eSports, and exchange wagering in Ontario had reached something like $130.8 million off of more than $1.8 billion in handle. 

These were followed by peer-to-peer poker sites, which accounted for a healthy 2.2% of all gaming revenues at roughly $11.5 million and 2.2% of handle at nearly $290.7 million.