GAN to enter Ontario through "tier-one" operator partnership
B2B gaming supplier will provide technology platform services in regulating Canadian province
GAN has revealed it will be entering the newly legalized Canadian betting market through a partnership with a leading B2C operator of sports betting and igaming in the US.
The Nasdaq-listed supplier is keeping the identity of the operator under wraps for the time being, citing the operator’s desire to remain anonymous until it completes the requisite licensing process in Ontario. GAN did note, however, that it is a “tier-one” operator.
The supplier added it will be deploying its sports betting and igaming platform under the operator’s brand across web and mobile, pending licensure.
“We are very excited to sign our first B2B client in the newly regulated Ontario igaming market, which we have been working towards for some months,” said GAN CEO Dermot Smurfit.
“We expect the Ontario igaming and online sports betting market to be an important source of future growth due to the province’s population size and we are thrilled to have a trusted and proven-at-scale tier-one operator as a partner.”
Given the specific language – “proven-at-scale tier-one operator” – in GAN’s statements, it can be reasonably inferred that it’s referencing FanDuel, DraftKings or BetMGM, which comprise the three market leaders in the US online space.
There’s been further speculation that FanDuel is the odds-on favorite given its longstanding number one position in the market, as well as the fact that it has a prior working relationship with GAN, which supported FanDuel’s initial launch of online gambling.
Ontario, which legalised commercial online sports betting and igaming earlier this year, has the potential to rapidly grow into a booming market.
With a population of more than 13 million people – roughly the size of Pennsylvania – and a history of offshore operators doing business there, Ontario figures to be fertile ground for US operators.
That’s further evidenced by the moves some of them are already making in the province, highlighted by PointsBet, which has spent the past few months building out an entire Canadian executive team.
According to a report from research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, Ontario sports betting revenue could approach $450m in 2022.