Ontario one year review: Province expected to enjoy exciting future
BonusFinder managing director Fintan Costello provides his key takeaway’s following the first anniversary of legalized sports betting and igaming in the Canadian province
As we’ve passed one year since Ontario’s sports betting and gaming market launched, we look at how it has performed and what the key takeaways are from the last 12 months.
Since the start of the year, the big news in the US has been dominated by state launches of Ohio and Massachusetts, opening up to sports betting in the first few months of 2023, but north of the border Ontario has been kicking into gear, 12 months after it was initially launched.
After a mixed start, in which Ontario was believed to have been performing below expectations, the province has shown to be a real powerhouse in North America and looks to continue its trend of taking on some of the major states in the US.
The themes seen in Ontario continue to give off a positive impression of where it will reach in the coming years. Our own research through the Bonus Index data placed the province well ahead of the competition in terms of potential and now we’ve seen that faith being justified, with an analysis of Ontario suggesting even greater results are yet to come.
Igaming going from strength to strength
North America was always going to be a hotbed for sports betting with the culture engrossed in all aspects of the sporting world but Ontario’s interest in both verticals has stood it in great stead.
Figures from the third quarter of 2022-23 show a powerful message from the market with the numbers continuing to improve. The latest iGaming Ontario (iGO) numbers show an increase of total wagers up to $11.53bn, up from $6.04bn in Q2, representing a 91% rise. The increase in total gaming revenue also jumped to $457m from $267m in the previous quarter, with active player accounts up 282,000 to 910,000 in Q3.
Of course, those numbers are incredibly impressive on their own and it shows that the appetite for igaming is on an upward trend but what is also encouraging is seeing that operators have further solidified their offering in Ontario with the province jumping from 24 to 36 operators from Q2 to Q3. That sort of buy-in from both sides suggests a really rich environment across the market which will only see the province go from strength to strength.
Results impressive considering restrictions
After multiple years hampered by Covid-19, the industry has become familiar with restrictions, but not all of them have been due to the pandemic in Ontario.
Following the introduction of strict new rules in the regulated province, set by iGO, a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), these prevent affiliate sites and others from promoting bonuses and only allow bonuses to appear on licensed operator websites.
The changes meant that Ontarians cannot compare or ‘shop’ from a selection of offers to determine which is the best for their budget, playing style, or personal preferences.
Naturally this has made the experience less fruitful for the consumer. However, there are encouraging signs to suggest that it hasn’t dampened the appetite for igaming, with Ontarians still willing to spend on their experience. The figures from the iGO Q3 report show that monthly spend per active player account between July and September jumped 18% to $167.
More opportunities for growth
With a population of more than 15 million, the latest results from the iGO revealed that 910,000 active player accounts suggests that there is still plenty of room for growth in Ontario.
Canada’s most populated province puts it ahead of major US players like Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Ohio in terms of population. Using Pennsylvania as a comparison, with its smaller population but more established market, having secured $19.6bn since 2018, Ontario is already on course to match and exceed the Keystone State’s financial results.
With such positive signals already on display and state launches in the US for the rest of 2023 likely to be minimal, we expect to see even more effort going into Ontario to snap up an even greater slice of the action. With Ontario looking well set to continue its first-year trajectory, the province looks to be in prime position to do something special in the long term.
Fintan Costello is the managing director of BonusFinder.com and is a gambling industry veteran. He has held senior leadership positions in numerous gambling companies including PokerStars and Paddy Power. For a number of years Costello also led the gambling vertical at Google.