Ontario iGaming Market Celebrates One Year of Going Live

It’s been a year of mostly positives as an open, regulated Ontario iGaming market celebrates its first anniversary this Tuesday.

As of Monday, looking at the iGaming Ontario site, there are 45 legal entities doing business in the province, although that number will go down, since Coolbet (owned by Coolbear Ontario Ltd.), and it looks like Play-On Casino and Play-On Mansion Casino (owner is Mansion Ontario Holdings Ltd.), are closing down operations in the province.

Ontario wanted to create a regulatory regime that encouraged consumer protection and choice, pushing out the gray market operators, and they have achieved that. One of the downsides – depending on whom you talk to – has been the ubiquitousness of iGaming advertising across various media platforms.

Ask industry insiders the one thing that has surprised them so far about the market after Year 1, and the responses are quite varied:

Canadian Gaming Association president and CEO Paul Burns

“I think the level of interest in the market is larger than I thought it was going to be. We had an idea of what the grey market was through some of the legacy operators, the Betways, Bet365s, the Pinnacles.

"But what I think is quite remarkable is the interest from others who want to get their feet wet in the North American market. I think it’s been great to see the interest that has come from smaller players, people who had unique ideas, wanting to try some different types of product offerings, focusing on narrower segments of the marketplace. That’s the fantastic part about it. You’ve got a wide range of products. You’ve got a fair revenue share structure. You’ve got a strong regulatory regime that took and recognized some of the industry best practices being deployed across other jurisdictions in the world.”

Johnny Avello, DraftKings’ director of race and sportsbook operations

“Good, but we want it to get even better. We certainly weren’t the first in Ontario, but once bettors use the DK app, there’s no going back. Some surprises in betting in Ontario: The Chiefs were the most bet team in the NFL, ahead of the Bills. And in the NBA, the Warriors took more bets than the Raptors.”

Aly Lalani, head of marketing, BetRegal

“I think the most surprising thing for me about Year 1 of Ontario’s regulated market is the sheer number of brands that are live, seemingly without a real concern for operating in this market.

"As part of a competitive review process for both sports and casino, I often reference the IGO (iGaming Ontario) approved list and visit brands that I haven’t seen before to get a sense of their customer journeys, offers.

"In a lot of cases the experience isn’t a great one (in my opinion). There are times I (as an Ontario resident) am unable to complete the process of registration at an approved Ontario product. I find it a little surprising that there are not efforts in place by IGO and/or AGCO to ensure some baseline level of quality in customer experience for their approved products.”

Check out: Ontario's best sports betting sites

Amanda Brewer, country manager, Canada, Kindred Group

“My greatest surprise was the determination by several mainstream media outlets to write stories and air programs that suggested that Ontario’s iGaming industry was behaving unethically. We continue to have to push back against conjecture, misinformation, and half-truths, which is unfortunate, as the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario built its regulations with responsible gaming standards as the bedrock.

"The legalization of iGaming brought the activity into the light, and the iGaming Ontario logo means that operators have undergone due diligence, been awarded licenses, and are following the same regulations (which are publicly available).

"It’s a reminder that there is still a lot of work to do to educate people that our industry is legal and regulated, and that operators like Kindred, with its Player Safety-Early Detection System, are constantly monitoring player activity to detect at-risk behaviour. The vast majority of our customers are social gamblers who play for enjoyment, and we work hard to keep it that way.”

Nic Sulsky, chief commercial officer, PointsBet Canada

“Approaching launch we all assumed our biggest markets were going to revolve around local fan sentiment and the stereotypical big four North American sports, especially NBA, MLB and NHL based on the professional teams located in Ontario.

"What has surprised me is the amount of engagement tennis, golf and European soccer have had on PointsBet. It might be due to, in my admittedly biased opinion, having a market-leading product in relation to those three sports. But I’d be lying if I said that we were expecting those three sports to compete week on week with the perceived core local-focused markets.”

Tony Bitonti, spokesperson, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation

“One of OLG’s main advantages is who we are: OLG is one of the most trusted brands in the province and we work hard to maintain that trust by operating a socially responsible way and always offering a very competitive product. Plus, we are also proud to offer our customers our globally recognized responsible gambling program, PlaySmart, to support safe play and to keep the fun in the game.

"We know the Ontario market better than anybody – OLG is an Ontario company with all our offices and employees located in the province.  So, we remain hyper-local in many of our offerings especially in sports.

"OLG is the only online sportsbook and gaming site that delivers 100 per cent of profits back to Ontario. Through customer research, we know it is very important to our customers that our profits support local communities and key provincial priorities.”

Steven Salz, co-founder & CEO, Rivalry

“The experience in Ontario ended up feeling very similar to an online sports betting launch in a U.S. state. Operators have strategically positioned themselves to rapidly capture market share, resulting in a similar dynamic in Ontario as seen across the U.S. Most operators are now caught in competitive limbos, striving to attract fleeting customers with incentives in the absence of any meaningful consumer touchpoints.

"The importance of product differentiation, brand equity, and targeting specific demographics and communities is becoming increasingly evident. Limited operators will be able to compete on cash and market share, and the rest will need to incorporate these ingredients into their long-term strategies. We continue to be inspired by the growth in Ontario and Rivalry’s unique position in the market as a sports betting brand for a generation born on the internet.”