- Ontario will launch their regulated and competitive iGaming market on April 4.
- The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) is the oversight body for sports betting in the province.
- Ontario’s sports betting market should be one of the most competitive–and most lucrative–ecosystems found anywhere in the world.
Ontario’s regulated and competitive iGaming market will launch on Monday, April 4 and should quickly transform the province into one of the biggest–and best–gaming jurisdictions in North America. Ontario’s regulatory structure is one that every other jurisdiction should emulate–but they won’t since most either consider ‘competition’ a dirty word or else just want to give it lip service while juicing in the usual incumbents and political cronies.
Oddly enough, there haven’t been any updates about new licences issued on the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) website for a couple of weeks. My guess is that the website just hasn’t been updated since you have to think that something has happened in the past two weeks. At the bottom of this page, we’ll run down a list of the currently licensed companies. In this update, we’ll look at a list of ‘Coming Soon’ companies–these aren’t just ‘guesswork’ but a rundown of companies that have indicated one way or another that they’re targeting the Ontario market. Unless indicated, there’s not much known in terms of launch date but
COMING TO ONTARIO
PARTYPOKER–Another Entain Group brand that has applied for licensing based on comments from the company’s latest earnings call. In some markets, they offer sports betting as well.
SPORTSINTERACTION–Entain purchased Sports Interaction parent company Avid Gaming. Entain has already applied for an Ontario license. Sports Interaction has been the best known sports betting brand in Canada for years. Here’s some comments from Jette Nygaard-Andersen, CEO of Entain plc:
“Sports Interaction is the leading Canadian sports betting and gaming brand and is aligned perfectly with our own ambitions of great customer service and ambitious growth, coupled with an unwavering commitment to sustainability. It is highly complementary to our existing operations in Canada, and the combination of its local expertise and Entain’s powerful platform will provide customers with an unrivalled range of exciting and engaging products in this fast-growing market. We look forward to welcoming Will Golby and his team to Entain.”
MAXIMBET–Indicated an Ontario launch in a press release announcing new market access in the United States. In addition, Ontario launch plans were noted in a press release announcing a partnership between MaximBet and Kambi.
GOLDEN NUGGET(?)–indicated plans for their Ontario launch in a product roadmap in 2021 but that was before being acquired by FanDuel. Not sure what their plans are now. It’s not really clear if FanDuel is going to use Golden Nugget as an iGaming exclusive brand or continue their operations as before. They may not have figured this out themselves.
BETREGAL–Already serves the unregulated provinces in Canada. Signed a deal as official sportsbook of Canadian Football League (CFL) and hard to imagine them doing that if they weren’t looking to establish a presence in Ontario.
NORTHSTAR BETS–shares a corporate background with Toronto Star newspaper and was essentially launched specifically to serve the Ontario market.
CAESARS SPORTSBOOK–Ontario launch was discussed in February 22 earnings report.
DRAFTKINGS–Already offers DFS in Canada and recently launched their NFT marketplace north of the border. Here’s a quote from Jason Robins — Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of DraftKings in the Q4 2021 earnings call (February 18, 2022):
Ontario has announced that the province will launch the first competitive regulated and licensed online sports setting and iGaming market in Canada on April 4, 2022. We look forward to launching in Ontario and competing in that market, pending licensure and required approvals. For context, Ontario represents about 40% of Canada’s population and would be the fifth-largest U.S. state by population
CROSSBET–Australian bookmaker will establish its first international presence in Ontario. Already well established in their home country.
FANSUNITE–Vancouver based company is already licensed as a B2B supplier in Ontario. Owns the McBookie B2C brand and could set up a consumer facing presence in the province. Partnered with Ontario based Money Line Sports who have a B2C presence (moneylinesportsbook.com).
NOVIBET–Announced plans for a Q4 2022 launch in Ontario as part of their press release announcing the SPAC merger with Artemis Strategic Investment Corporation.
ALREADY LICENSED
LOTTOGO
COOLBET
FANDUEL
FITZDARES
LEOVEGAS
NSUS LIMITED (WSOP)
POINTSBET
VHL ONTARIO LIMITED (888 SPORTS)
UNIBET ONTARIO
THE SCORE BET
RIVALRY ONTARIO
ROYAL PANDA
RUSH STREET INTERACTIVE (BETRIVERS)
BET365
ONTARIO LOTTERY & GAMING (PROLINE+)
BETMGM
