- Betway has received an operators license in Ontario indicating that a launch in Canada’s largest province is forthcoming.
- Ontario will be Betway’s seventh jurisdictional presence in North America. They’re operational in six US states: Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, Iowa and Pennsylvania.
- Betway has indicated that these six states are among twelve where they have secured market access via their partnership with Digital Gaming Corporation (DGC).
Another day, another sportsbook with plans to launch in what is now North America’s top sports betting jurisdiction. Ontario launched their competitive online sports betting and iGaming market on April 4 and to no surprise that set off a flurry of activity with dozens of gaming companies now at some stage of setting up a presence there. And why wouldn’t they want to head ‘up north’? It’s still not clear if Ontario intentionally set out to create the most intelligent and dynamic sports betting marketplace in North America–if not the entire world–but that’s exactly what they’ve done. As of today, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)–the oversight body for sports betting and iGaming in the province–has 30 licensees listed on their website with even more in the process of licensing. Thirteen of these licensees are now live in Ontario and listed at iGaming Ontario. There are well over a dozen additional companies that are planning to enter Ontario but have yet to start the process.
The latest licensee to appear on the AGCO’s website is well known to US sport bettors. Super Group owned Betway has been approved to offer sports betting and iGaming in Ontario. They must now complete a few other regulatory requirements and execute an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Ontario’s regulators indicate a 90 day timeframe for the entire process of licensing and launch so by that metric you can expect to see Betway in Canada’s largest province within the next couple of months.
Betway has been one of the more interesting companies to gain traction during the brief post PASPA era in US sports betting. They’ve recently announced plans to purchase Digital Gaming Corporation (DGC) and parent company Super Group went public earlier this year (NYSE: SGHC). When Betway launched in Iowa late last year they had more to say about the company’s financial structure, the DGC acquisition and news of a licensing in Poland:
SGHC Limited (“SGHC”, “Super Group” or the “Company”), the parent company of global online sports betting and gaming businesses operating Betway, a premier online sports betting brand, and Spin, a multi-brand online casino offering, today continued its new market expansion with the addition of a fifth live market in the U.S. as well as a new license in Europe.
Super Group plans to bring its leading global online sports betting and gaming group to the U.S. public markets, listing on the New York Stock Exchange, via a previously announced business combination with Sports Entertainment Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: SEAH), a special purpose acquisition company led by Eric Grubman and John Collins.
The Betway brand now has gone live in Iowa, joining Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. These five states are part of a group of up to eleven states where Digital Gaming Corporation (“DGC”) has secured market access. Super Group and DGC have executed a definitive agreement under which Super Group will acquire DGC (subject to customary regulatory approvals).
Additionally, in Europe, Betway has been granted a license in Poland where, once launched, the brand is expected to leverage the global appeal of existing partnerships including their Bundesliga deals in neighboring Germany.
Super Group was listed on the NYSE in late January. Also from the Iowa press release, Richard Hasson, President and COO of Super Group talked about the company’s growing market footprint in the US and Europe:
“We are delighted to further Betway’s U.S. presence with the addition of another live market there, as well as to enhance our formidable competitive position in Europe with the new license in Poland. This progress illustrates our focus and execution as we bring Betway, the premier and unified global online sports betting brand, to customers across markets and around the world.”
“Heading into 2022, we expect the pipeline of new market expansion to be active and to continue both internationally and in the U.S., where the acquisition of DGC provides us access to a group of eleven states. In our core geographies, we continue to thrive with market leading positions, scale and financial flexibility, operating a proven, cash generative business.”
The Betway brand is now operational in six US states: Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, Iowa and Pennsylvania. In Canada, they’ll be operating under the Betway.ca domain name with a bunch of subdomains indicated on their AGCO record:
SuperGroup held their first earning call since going public on April 13, 2022. I’ll be listening to the recording of the call later this week and will report back if anything interesting comes out of it.
