Regulators in Ontario said they would not report revenue from individual operators. Still, they added that they “may” offer statistics that weren’t included in the first quarterly report of the casino gaming, sports betting, and real money Ontario online poker markets.
By not providing revenue data by operator, iGaming Ontario (iGO) has approached revenue reporting like its European counterparts — especially France, Portugal, and Spain — rather than jurisdictions in the US, most of which offer a picture of how individual operators are doing.
In an exclusive, iGO told Canada Gaming Review on Monday that the agency “will only be reporting aggregated operator data to protect the confidentiality of each individual regulated operator’s data.”
iGO Answers Questions on Data It Plans to Provide
Questions about how much data iGO would release in its initial report for Q2 2022 started to build as soon as the quarter ended on June 30. But hopes that the regulator would present a robust data set were dashed on August 30, when iGO released its report.
The report was so thin on details that many derided it as a graphic. At the time, iGO told Canada Gaming Review in a separate exclusive that the Ontario online casino and sports betting markets were “both performing well.” The regulator added, “peer-to-peer poker is growing as more operators with poker offerings come into the legal market.
“iGO continues to analyze the legal market and may provide specific breakdowns in future reporting.” When asked if future reports would include Excel files or have data presented in a cross-tab format, the agency said, “There is not presently an intention to provide an Excel file for market data.”
In response to a series of follow-up questions on September 6, the iGO said it would “only be reporting aggregated operator data.” The regulator clarified that the “specific breakdowns” it referred to on August 30 would include “metrics related to gaming product segments.
“In addition, it intends to release a market report, at minimum, on a quarterly basis. However, we do not have the timing for the release of further reporting at this time.”
The agency also plans to “publish an annual report, which will include financial statements. Tax revenues will be included in those financial statements.”
What the Report Said
News that the iGO will not provide revenue figures broken down by operator is disappointing, especially considering the size of the province’s markets for online poker, casino gaming, and sports betting. All three verticals launched on April 4.
Ontario has about 14.6 million residents, making it more significant than any of the six US states with legal online casino gaming. Pennsylvania comes closest with about 13 million people, Michigan is a distant second (10.1 million), and New Jersey is in third (9.3 million).
In terms of population, the province dwarfs online casino states Connecticut (3.6 million), West Virginia (1.8 million), and Delaware (1 million).
According to iGO, the province’s iGaming market grossed $162 million CDN in Q2 2022, equating to about $123.4 million USD.
The regulator also reported nearly $4.1 billion CDN ($3.1 billion USD) in total wagers during the quarter. Ontarians used 31 gaming websites run by 18 operators to place bets, creating about 492,000 player accounts. The average monthly spend per active player account totaled $113 CDN ($85 USD), the iGO said.
With those numbers, Ontario actually fared better in its opening quarter than New Jersey and Pennsylvania by specific metrics.
Learn more in our complete guides to Ontario Online Casino Apps, Ontario Sports Betting Apps, and Ontario Online Poker Apps.
