Ontario’s regulated iGaming business has seen a spectacular transition, with online casinos emerging as the dominating force, accounting for more than 80% of wagers and more than 70% of revenue during the province’s fiscal year’s first quarter. The increase in activity is an important step forward for the region’s expanding online gaming industry.
Customers wagered a whopping CA$14.0 billion in the three months ending June 30, proving to be a game changer for Ontario’s iGaming industry. This constituted a massive increase from the CA$4.1bn staked in Q2 2022, illustrating the market’s tremendous growth since its start.
Operators celebrated their newfound success, raking $545 million in income after prizes, a 236% rise year on year.
A analysis of market income by vertical revealed internet casinos’ hegemony over the sector. Casino games, which include slots, live and computer-based table games, and peer-to-peer bingo, accounted for a hefty $11.6 billion in wagers, accounting for 83% of the quarterly total. Following the winnings, iCasino accounted for $392 million, or 72% of the market’s income.
Sports betting also saw high participation, with players gambling $2.0 billion and producing $138 million in license money. Peer-to-peer poker stakes totaled $350 million, generating $15 million in revenue.
Because of the market’s quick growth, the number of licensed operators increased to 46 in the first quarter. Despite this growth, the number of active sites has marginally decreased to 71.
With about 920,000 active player accounts in Q1, the average monthly spending per player was $197, demonstrating the market’s enormous popularity.
For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, the province’s first full-year report on internet gambling reported a total of $35.6 billion in stakes and $1.4 billion in revenue. Online casinos maintained their dominance, accounting for $27.6 billion (78%) of stakes and $940 million (67%) of income.
A detailed look at icasino products revealed that slots accounted for roughly 48% of total wagers, totaling $13.2 billion in the first year. Live table games accounted for around 32% of casino stakes, totaling $8.8 billion, with computerized tables contributing an additional $5.2 billion.
Sports fans in Ontario were passionate bettors, wagering a total of $7.0 billion and earning $433 million. Basketball was the most popular sport, accounting for 29% ($2.0 billion) of total handling, followed by soccer at $1.1 billion (15%) and football at $910 million (13%).
Poker also witnessed tremendous participation, with $992 million in wagers and $40 million in gaming income for fiscal year 2022-23.
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