GGPoker continues to dominate the Ontario online poker market with nearly half the market share, with the likes BetMGM and Partypoker contributing to the province’s growing iGaming market.
The operator has emerged as the top dog in the Ontario online poker market, with as much as 43% of the cash game traffic coming from this singe site alone. The most recent data, reported by pokerfuse, shows how the WSOP brand has maintained steady growth over the 12-month period, going from an of 191 concurrent cash game players in January to as many as 296 in December 2023.
The growth of GGPoker/WSOP brand in Ontario solidified the operator’s dominance in the province, but also left a positive overall impact on its closest competitors and the industry as a whole. The surge in traffic has made GGPoker a key player in the Ontario gaming market and prompted many of the competing sites to adapt to the new reality, creating a competitive market and hopefully a lot of great new opportunities for the players in the coming months.
Market Dynamics: The Ebb and Flow of Competing Operators
When looking at the health of an online poker market, cash game traffic is generally considered as the most meaningful metric to keep an eye on — GGPoker Ontario has done an amazing job of increasing its cash game traffic nearly twofold in 2023.
Its closest competitor, PokerStars ON, managed to maintain a healthy presence and continue to compete on level terms, registering only a slight dip from 265 to 255 concurrent cash game players at the end of 2023.
The BetMGM Ontario Network, which is made up for Partypoker and Bwin Poker brands, on the other hands, experienced a sharp dip to just 117 concurrent cash game players from as many as 194 a year earlier.
Looking at the Ontario online poker market as a whole, a slight increase was registered in 2023, but it amounted to only 3% growth year-over-year.
The 696 concurrent cash game players across the four major online poker operators in Ontario shows a healthy trend of growth since August last year, and sets a great foundation for the coming year in which further market growth can be expected.
GGPoker’s Ascension Continues: December Trend Shows Promising Future
As we go into a new year and another winter season, typically one of the best periods for online poker, GGPoker is looking good, with December 2023 being its fourth-best month for cash game traffic since launch.
GGPoker came the closest in a long time to breaking its own records set in September and November 2022, when peak traffic of 365 concurrent cash game players was achieved.
The numbers clearly reflect the operator’s continued dominance of the Ontario online poker market, as it has maintained a grip over 40% or more of the market share since July 2023. On the other hand, the BetMGM Ontario Network has seen a sharp decline in traffic, holding only 8.3% of the market share in November and slightly more in December.
Just a short year earlier, it was PokerStars Ontario that held nearly 40% of the market share, with 265 concurrent cash game players recorded in December 2022. Yet, GGPoker’s aggressive ascent has led them to the very top since July 2023, a position they have not relinquished since.
As GGPoker continues extending its market dominance, it will be interesting to see what changes PokerStars Ontario and BetMGM Ontario Network can introduce to battle its dominance and regain some of the traffic and market share in the process.
