Daily fantasy sports is likely dead in Alberta once the regulated market opens
Once the online gambling sector launches on July 13, DFS play will only happen within the province's borders, making it less attractive to players and operators. News from the RGC, and more.
Albertans who currently participate in daily fantasy sports (DFS) should anticipate it will cease to be offered as of July 13 when the province launches its open online gambling sector.
So wrote Geoff Zochodne for Covers on Friday.
Currently, Alberta DFS players are participating in large, global pools in the grey market. Once the legal market opens, less than a month from now, DFS will fall under the rules and regulations of the licensed market, which limits play to the borders of the province. That sharply reduces the number of DFS players and, subsequently, the prize money that can be offered to attract them, making it not worth it for operators to offer DFS.
That’s exactly what happened in Ontario when it launched an open market in April of 2022. DFS essentially disappeared overnight. It’s important to note that if Ontario, which has a population of more than 16 million people, isn’t big enough to offer viable DFS products, Alberta sure won’t be able to do it with a population of some 5 million.
“I’m pretty certain we have to give [DFS] up in [Alberta],” Zochodne reported DraftKings chief compliance officer Jennifer Aguiar saying last month during the SBC Summit Canada conference in Toronto.
There is hope on two fronts, however, that DFS could return to both Alberta and Ontario. First, Zochodne reported that Alberta and Ontario are working on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to launch pool liquidity between the two provinces that would make both DFS and online poker more attractive to players.
Second, Ontario has launched a court challenge to determine whether it’s legal to offer common-pool liquidity for DFS and poker beyond the province’s borders. That case is currently before the Supreme Court, and Alberta has joined Ontario’s side in it, presumably because it also wants to be able to offer larger pools for DFS and poker.
Ontario is essentially arguing that such a provision would be legal because Ontario-based players would be gambling under the province’s regulatory umbrella, while those abroad would operate under their own regulatory rules.
There’s no publicly released date yet for when the case will be heard. Though there was a small bit of news on Monday (June 15), when the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke advised the court that it will not be participating in the appeal as an intervener as originally stated.
Should Ontario win that Supreme Court case, look for DFS to return to both provinces and for online poker to grow.
In the meantime, Albertans can expect DFS to be one of the casualties of an open market.
Also:
As of last Friday, 47 operators have registered with the Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission. As Tom Nightingale noted in his Canadian Gaming Business article, evoke’s 888 product is now on the list and PENN Entertainment’s online games will include Hollywood Casino along with theScore Bet. The number of registered critical gaming systems providers is also at 47, including Bragg Gaming’s Toronto business and IGT’s shop in Moncton.
TheScore Bet has a new partnership with the Canadian Football League connected to the CFL app and the league’s fantasy game. FanDuel is the league’s other sports betting/igaming partner and as is the case with theScore Bet, is tied to Ontario and Alberta.
Ready for expansion into Alberta? Set a solid foundation for your provincial growth with a SOC2 compliant full-service iGaming platform partner. Learn more at bedegaming.com.
RGC releases study around World Cup betting habits; McDougall, Couperus join GNCS
The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) not only appears on the latest Gaming News Canada Show, presented by Bede Gaming, it also released a new study about FIFA World Cup betting habits.
A day after RGC VP of Strategy and Programs Elaine McDougall and Lisa Couperus, the council’s Director of Education and Programs, were interviewed by Steve McAllister on the GNC show, the council released a study that shows, “that more than half of soccer bettors (52.7 per cent) say their betting during major sporting events is not typical of their regular routine.”
In conjunction with those findings, the RGC launched its “You vs. You” multi-channel prevention awareness campaign aimed to educate fans in their communities, at key transit hubs, and across the Greater Toronto Area during World Cup tournament play.
“Our research tells us that major sporting events change how people bet,” RGC CEO Sarah McCarthy said in a release. “More than half of soccer bettors say their betting during these events doesn’t look like their regular routine. The World Cup is going to be an incredible experience for fans, and we want to make sure people have the tools and moments of pause to make decisions they feel good about. That’s why we’re showing up in the places where fans actually are: the bars, the streets, the transit stops.”
The latest findings come from the RGC Sports Betting Study, a five-year longitudinal study on sports betting in Canada.
“Among soccer bettors specifically, the data paints a picture of fast-paced, high-engagement betting activity during live matches,” the release said. “Young adults under 25 represent a particularly high-risk group for these fast-paced mechanics; 91.8 per cent of all soccer bettors engage in live, in-play betting, 83.1 per cent report micro-betting, and 89.3 percent use parlay bets.”
On the GNC Show, Couperus and McDougall spoke about the early takeaways from the RGC’s Beyond the Game campaign, launched late last year to educate Grade 11 and 12 student-athletes and coaches in Ontario secondary schools about the risks of gambling. There was an additional discussion on the ongoing need for education for everyone involved in children’s lives around online gaming and also the federal government’s introduction last week of the Safe Social Media Act to limit kids’ exposure to social media.
You can listen to the podcast here or watch it here:
Alberta’s move to a regulated iGaming model on the 13th July of this year represents a significant step forward for Canada’s digital gaming market, setting clear expectations for robust identity verification, fraud prevention and compliance from day one.
As the market takes shape, you can be confident you’re working with a proven partner. We already support more than 65% of licensed operators in Ontario, helping them meet FINTRAC‑compliant KYC requirements at scale, without compromising speed or player experience.
For more on GBG Plc, visit our website.
World Cup of Soccer roundup, betting style
A perusing of the internets from the first six days of the men’s World Cup of Footy produced these nuggets of information and entertainment.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario posted on the platform formerly known as Twitter some words of warning to licensed gambling operators about advertising and marketing.
Gambling Insider scribe Robyn McNeil reported on the opportunities for the gaming industry to exploit the World Cup for greater awareness around gambling responsibly.
Our former Globe and Mail colleague John Doyle, in an opinion piece for The Toronto Star, recommends footy fans avoid laying down a loonie on a World Cup winner.
Veteran New York Times sportswriter Joe Drape did his own bit of reporting on the overwhelming interest by bettors in this soccer tournament.
In a LinkedIn post, Friend of GNC Chris Grove teased a report from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming examining the attraction of the World Cup with U.S. bettors and collectibles folks. According to E&KG, as much as $4.3 billion (Amarican bucks) will be generated in sports wagering handle.
Tonybet raised the curtain last week on a World Cup-focused “card collection” campaign for customers outside of Ontario.
What do you get when you bring together a sportsbook, a barber shop and a major sporting event?
On the tournament’s opening day, Kalshi users had traded 123 million contracts on the winner, according to Alex Weldon at Gaming America.
Finally, there’s already been more than a fair bit of rancour over the refreshment/advertising breaks.
Betty supports safer play
Player well-being is at the heart of everything Betty does. That’s why the iGaming provider is encouraging all players to learn more about BetGuard, Ontario’s new centralized self-exclusion service provided by iGaming Ontario.
BetGuard allows Ontarians aged 19 and older to voluntarily self-exclude from all regulated online gambling sites in the province through one simple and secure enrollment process.
No player account is required, and enrollment is separate from any self-exclusion
arrangements players may have made directly with Betty.ca.
As Ontario’s regulated gaming market continues to evolve, tools like BetGuard help
provide players with greater control and access to support when they need it.
To read more about Betty’s commitment to responsible gaming, visit
Betty.ca/responsible-gaming.
To learn more about BetGuard, visit the program website or call 1-833-776-7171 (toll free).
The Canadian gaming industry fight that won’t go away
At first blush, it’d be a batting practice fastball to make light with the ongoing tension involving some provincial lottery and gaming corporations across our home and native land, and sportsbook/igaming operators currently doing regulated business in Ontario – and some with plans to also bring their products to Alberta’s incoming regulated market.
You know, come up with a catchy “The tiff that keeps on tiffing” headline. Or, speaking of light, this:
But it is a serious situation given the dollars invested across many sectors, tax revenues being generated (or not), and the issues being faced by the Canadian gaming industry these days around advertising, problem gambling and the aforementioned Supreme Court of Canada case pitting Atlantic Lottery, Loto-Québec, British Columbia Lottery Corporation and Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation against the Attorney General in the main event of an appeal around liquidity.
In last week’s dispatch, we reported on the estimates from the B.C. government’s finance ministry that BCLC is capturing about 51 percent of the online gaming market.
Our coverage included an Ipsos study commissioned last year by the Canadian Gaming Association that showed 60 percent of the online betting population in British Columbia were using unregulated sites.
An email sent by an industry veteran – who raised a Spockian eyebrow about the provincial government’s estimate - pointed out the Ipsos research also reported less than 24 percent of British Columbians wagering exclusively on BCLC’s PlayNow product.
In our coverage of Loto-Québec’s latest annual report, we referenced a quote from president/CEO Jean-Francois that the lottery and gaming corp in La Belle Province needed to improve its online gaming products. The Quebec Online Gaming Coalition, which included Betway, Bet99, DraftKings, Flutter, Entain, Games Global and Rush Street Interactive as member when it was founded three years ago, pointed out a flat line for profits over the past three years.
From the coalition’s news release:
“Loto-Québec has been trying to make its place in online gaming for 15 years now, without success, as evidenced by the financial results unveiled today,” said coalition spokesperson Ariane Gauthier. “To impose the monopoly of Loto-Québec on the Internet, the government loses all over the line. He is not able to dictate the rules to regulate the private offer and he deprives himself of income of the order of $300 million per year.”
At last month’s SBC Summit Canada, TRM Public Affairs lead Troy Ross delivered research estimating Loto-Québec sees 27 percent of online gambling business. The same research reported a gap of $2.3 billion in loss gross gaming revenue and a little more than $563 million in potential tax revenue to the province.
In a response to a LinkedIn post about Loto-Québec’s latest reported financials, Ross said “it’s fascinating that this result ($3 billion in total revenue) is being spun as a “record” in earnings. The truth is the profits delivered by Loto-Québec to the provincial treasury have shrunk year over year. Yes, the top line was higher, but the dividend to the taxpayers is down”.
In case you missed last week’s newsletter, GNC asked the corp why online gaming revenues weren’t listed as a separate item in the annual report. Spokesperson Renaud Dugas emailed us this statement:
“We don’t report specific revenues for online activities since we are in competition with illegal operators, and they don’t reveal their numbers. This commercial information is strategic and confidential. Online revenues are included in the “Loteries” and “Casinos et salons de jeux” sectors.”
In this saga, the end appears not to be near.
The Meta mess with fake gaming ads continues
Since reporting in our June 3 newsletter on the tsunami of phony online gaming ads popping up on our Instagram feed, three things have happened.
Make that two things. We’ve twice reached out to the communications folks at Meta for comment and are still awaiting a response.
The ads just keep on coming.
Finally, while perusing the LinkedIn to start the week we came across a post by Alex Wood, the once “hyper-prolific fraudster” who now lends a helping hand to police, banks and people through BBC Radio 4’s Scam Secrets show.
In Wood’s post, he points out the fraudulent use on Instagram of soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo’s image and a Sky News bulletin to show a 15-year-old girl hitting the jackpot on an online slots game.
From Wood: “Unfortunately I’m seeing more and more of this – it’s incredible. To gamble with a regulated operator you have to be 18+ and there are strict checks. Yet on social media platforms it’s the Wild West as illegal operators duke it out for vulnerable customers.”
We will continue to follow this story.
People on the Move
Anna Romboli, ex of Svenska Spel, is appointed Chief Executive Officer at Swedish gambling operator ATG.
Brightstar Lottery names Marco Tasso as Executive VP and Chief Operating Officer of Global Lottery, replacing Renato Ascoli.
Greg Canessa, ex of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft Xbox, GSN and Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, is appointed Chief Operating Officer at Artificial Agency, an Edmonton company using artificial intelligence to create a generative behaviour engine for gaming.
Caesars Windsor promotes Phyllis Seguin to Vice President, Gaming Operations.
Pavilion Payments promote Bill Schmidt to Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer.
Alex Scott is appointed Chief Product Officer at Tequity.
Catherine Lynch, ex of Underdog and DraftKings, is named Vice President, Global Partnerships at Soft2Bet.
Matjaz Cosic is leaving Bragg Gaming and his Head of Content Division position. Hristofor Hristov is named Commercial Director, Aggregation & Strategic Partnerships.
Max Chiabai, the former Director of Growth Marketing & Media Strategy at Entain’s Toronto offices, is named Head of Marketing at Madhaus.
Kristen Fulmer leaves FanDuel and her role as Director of Customer Marketing to join NFL HQ as Director of Global Fan Engagement.
Mike Suusisto steps down as CEO of Finnish company ENCE Esports.
Simona Ciudin, ex of the UK Gambling Commission, is named Head of Digital Compliance at Betfred.
Greg Blinn, FanDuel’s Senior Director of Business Development, was among the recent layoffs by the operator’s U.S. business. Meanwhile, Asaf Noifeld steps down as Managing Director of Casino.
Matt Proctor joins Atlantic Lottery as Director, Brand and Communications.
Britni Greninger says goodbye to Sportradar and joins Caesars Entertainment as Digital Product Support Director.
Matthew Boland, ex of GeoComply, joins PENN Entertainment as Staff Product Manager, Payments & Fraud.
After almost 12 years at Bede Gaming, Ashley Wressell comes on board at Opencast as Senior Product Manager.
Nikos Kritikos is appointed Group Product Manager, Kaizen Labs and Social.
Damyan Mihailov joins Legend as a Data Operations Executive.
Andrew Winchell, ex of Betr and FanDuel, is named Senior Government Affairs Manager at DraftKings.
Joel Jarvala leaves Sportradar and his Senior Program Manager position after a 12-year run.
Eren Guner has a new gig at Genius Sports as a Senior Product Manager.
George Hobbs, ex of Underdog and Genius Sports, joins Fanatics as a Staff Product Manager.
Stephanie McGuinness has a new gig at Flutter International as Financial Planning & Analysis Analyst.
Ex-FanDuel compliance manager Alexis Abramson joins StubHub as Senior Manager, Compliance & Investigations.
NEXT.io promotes Klara Schoonraad and Olga Shemunya to Senior Conference Producer.
Caroline Wright, ex of Tepper Sports & Entertainment and MLSE, is named Executive VP, Venue Management for Legends Global.
Alex Townsend-Mitchell has a new role at NHL HQ: Group VP, Club Ticketing & Venue Strategy.
Salvatore Di Mare, ex of TikTok, is named Head of Media Partnerships, Europe and Canada for Red Bull.
Shafiq Lalani has a new title at WPP Media: Director, Media Partnerships – Sports & Entertainment.
Classified (Jobs) Information
On the Home Front
The Alberta iGaming Corporation is on the lookout for a Director, Cybersecurity & Technology Services.
Among the current job postings with Hard Rock Digital is one for a Director – Ontario Revenue.
In Toronto, Fanatics has feelers out for a Senior Manager, Growth Cohort – Casino.
Niagara Casinos is searching for a Senior Manager, Cybersecurity.
FINTRAC Canada has a trio of openings for an Intelligence Case Analyst.
Electronic Sports has a contract position available in Vancouver for an Esports Social Media Specialist.
Slots provider Endorphina is looking for an Account Manager, Ontario .
Toronto-based Anthem Sports & Entertainment is hiring a Manager, Partnerships & Sponsorships.
Live Nation Entertainment has an opportunity in the city below Tottenham for an Associate Manager, Digital Content.
In Toronto, Blue Ant Media is looking for an Associate Editor and a Marketing Manager, Studios and Rights.
PWHL HQ is in hiring mode for a Communications Manager.
Tennis Canada is looking for Content Creators who want to strut their stuff at the National Bank Open men’s and women’s tournaments in Toronto and Montreal this summer.
Toronto tele-o-vision station CP24 has need of a Producer.
Bauer Hockey has an opportunity in Alberta for a PROSHARP Sales Advisor.
The Western University sports and recreation department in London, ON., is hiring a Manager, Business Development.
York University’s athletics and recreation department has need of a Digital Sports Media Coordinator.
Canadian Tire HQ is looking for a Senior Financial Analyst.
The 2029 Canada Games in New Brunswick have need of a
Director, Finance, People & Administration.
South of the Border
DraftKings has an opportunity in Boston for a Senior Accountant and a Compensation Operations Manager.
Hard Rock Digital has a quartet of openings with its Engineering team and another six-pack of positions available with the Trading team.
GamerSafer is in the market for a Chief of Staff.
In Las Vegas, IGT has an opening for a Director, Employee Relations, Health & Safety.
Aristocrat Gaming is seeking a Data Scientist and a Manager, Global Supply Chain Business Intelligence.
In Jacksonville, Fla., Paysafe is on the hunt for a Product Manager.
2K has an opening in Novato, CA., for a Product Marketing Manager.
The Worldwide Leader is hiring a Vice President, Brand & Sports Marketing.
Apple is hiring for its offices in Culver City, CA., a Sports Strategy Analyst.
Across the Ponds
Catena Media is looking for a Head of Social Media.
LeoVegas Group is in hiring mode for a Country Director – Finland to be based out of its headquarters in Stockholm. In Sliema, LVG needs an Italian-speaking Senior Technical Compliance Specialist.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland is seeking an Assistant Director of Compliance.
EPIC Global Solutions has an opportunity in the UK for a Senior Sports Commercial Partnerships Manager.
In Sliema, Kaizen Gaming is searching for a Senior Technical Compliance Analyst. In Bogota, there’s an opening for a Junior Sportsbook Integrity Analyst. And in Ceuta, Spain, there’s an opportunity for a Managing Director.
PokerStars has an opportunity for a French-speaking Content & Customer Experience Senior Specialist.
Oddin.gg requires some support in the area of product management.
PointsBet HQ in Melbourne is looking for a Senior Back End Software Engineer.
There’s a niner of employment opportunities at Casumo.
ComeOn Group is seeking a Marketing Analyst.
The International Olympic Committee is on a seek-and-employ mission for a Head of Media Rights.
Reading and Reflecting
News yesterday that Snuneymuxw’s PDG has completed the acquisition of River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, B.C.
TRM Public Affairs guy Troy Ross was Martin Lycka’s guest on The Safe Bet Show. The topic du jour? Alberta, of course. (We need to mention this interview was recorded several fortnights ago.)
Canadian Gaming Association veep Brandon Aboultaif also addressed Alberta on Paramount Commerce’s The iGaming Show.
Betway last week introduced Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as its new responsible gambling ambassador.
Delta Bingo & Gaming boss Leo Perri was among the speakers on a panel at SBC Summit Americas talking about the opportunities for online and retail gaming offerings to co-exist.
Canadian payments company Nuvei announced Monday morning the acquisition of Payoneer.
The Canadian Gaming Security Professionals of Canada have a new and improved website.
Months after closing the doors on its Halifax operation, Ubisoft is doing the same in Winnipeg and laying off 65 employees in the process.
La Fédération québécoise de sports électroniques (FQSE) and Esports Canada are getting together on a national project on privacy in competitive esports.
On a recent episode of the Gaming News Canada Show, James Sharman gave props to Paddy Power’s marketing folks. Sharms wasn’t putting extra pepper on the steak and kidney pie.
The Boston Globe’s Jason Schwartz did a deep dive into the much-debated legalization of online gaming in Maine.
The co-founder and CEO of Regen joined Steve Ruddock on the Straight to the Point podcast to discuss the startup’s commitment to responsible gaming.
Actor Timothee Chalamet absorbed a virtual derriere kicking from the folks on social media for taking Kalshi’s money to appear in ads.
Jeff Edelstein, writing for Casino Reports, provided a new twist on the research into gambling harm.
The Dutch government has a proposed package of reforms to regulated gambling that would include putting an end to online advertising and bonuses. Scott Longley had more in yesterday’s Compliance + More newsletter.
Vaughan Lewis has an insightful deep dive into the Intralot acquisition of Bally’s global interactive business.
Damn fine reading from the Sports Business Journal’s Bill King on the “rules of the road” that’s coming for prediction markets.
If you want/need to keep close tabs on the prediction markets brouhaha south of the border, Geoff Zochodne and the Covers folks now have a PM tracker.
And speaking of said brouhaha. . .
Shares of DraftKings and Flutter were propped up last week by the new rules around prediction markets being proposed by the CFTC.
There was news last week that American gaming businesses ProphetX and WagerWire are both taking the Nestea plunge into prediction markets.
Long-time U.S. college/NBA coach Rick Pitino blames sportsbooks for the gambling scandals involving NCAA athletes.
GeoComply and DraftKings have agreed to an extension of their . . . er. . . agreement.
The U.S. Tax Policy Center took a gander at the potential impact of prediction markets on state budgets.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board has submitted a request for Kalshi to be held in contempt of court.
Daniel O’Boyle tapped the keyboard for InGame on FanDuel’s decision to begin offering Crypto.com contracts.
There’s a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper on the connection between the legalization of sports betting and food sufficiency.
The president of Texas Tech University asked the NCAA to update its gambling policy while the school was investigating football player Brendan Sorsby’s struggles with sports betting.
Speaking of Texas, a reminder that the state - which doesn’t have a regulated gaming market - shut off funding for gambling addiction a long time ago.
Colorado football coach Deion Sanders had some thoughts on the Sorsby saga.
Finally, the end has come for Hockey Night in Canada on the CBC. Also, the Corp’s plans for filling the Saturday night programming slot.
Keep informed with the latest news across the gaming industry by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter. To discuss our coverage of your company’s news and announcements or to advertise in the Gaming News Canada newsletter and/or on the Gaming News Canada Show, please contact steve@gamingnewscanada.ca.
