Provincial regulators reported that Ontarians wagered CAD $11.5 billion (USD $8.7 billion) on online poker, casino games, and sports betting during the last three months of 2022.
According to iGaming Ontario (iGO), operators made a combined CAD $457 million (USD $342.9 million) between October 1 and December 31, 2022. The regulator refers to the period as Q3 of the fiscal year (FY).
Wagers increased 90.9% from Q2 (CAD $6 billion, USD $4.3 billion at the time) and were nearly triple from Q1 (CAD $4.1 billion), according to a report iGO issued Thursday. Similarly, revenue in Q3 was up 71.2% from Q2 (CAD $267 million, USD $193.5 million at the time) and nearly triple that from Q1 (CAD $162 million).
The figure for wagers does not include promotional bets. iGO added that revenue figures include rake fees, tournament fees, and other fees minus player winnings derived from cash wagers. Operating costs and other expenses were not included in the revenue figures.
The number of Operators Doubled in Six Months
iGO reported that the number of operators grew to 36 in Q3, up from 24 in the preceding quarter, and twice the 18 operators active in Ontario in Q1. The number of gaming websites also increased, hitting 68 in Q3 — up from 42 in Q2 and 31 in Q1.
The regulator did not provide a precise list of gaming websites that launched in Q3, but a comparison between iGO’s list of regulated sites and a list of licensees by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) shows that the websites added by iGO in Q3 likely included:
- Casino Days
- High Flyer Casino
- LeoVegas
- Lucky Days
- Play-On Casino
- Play-On Mansion Casino
- SpinAway
AGCO has issued several operators licenses that still are not yet live in the province because they have not yet executed an operating agreement with the iGO — a prerequisite for launch.
The iGO also reported Thursday that the number of active player accounts continues to rise, hitting 910,000 in Q3. That’s an increase of about 45% from Q2, when there were 628,000 accounts, and is up 85% from the 492,000 accounts established in Q1.
The regulator defines an active player account as one with wagering activity but does not represent unique players because “individuals may have accounts with multiple operators,” according to iGO.
Average monthly spend per active player also increased to CAD $167 (USD $125) in Q3, up 17.6% quarter-over-quarter (CAD $142) and nearly 48% up from Q1 (CAD $113).
Data associated with PROLINE — a platform developed by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) that includes online sports betting and some online casino games — was not included in any of the regulator’s reports. iGO does not have regulatory authority over the OLG.
No Additional Data, Yet
The format of the iGO’s report for Q3 was identical to the one used for Q1 and Q2. In an exclusive interview with Canada Gaming Review in September 2022, the regulator said it would not report revenue for individual operators, citing confidentiality concerns.
That approach aligns Ontario more with European markets — especially France, Portugal, and Spain — rather than with jurisdictions in the US, which usually provide such information to provide a clearer picture of how an individual operator is performing.
But the iGO did say that it plans to sort data in future reports by gaming product segment and would publish an annual report that includes details on tax revenue.
