Loto-Québec says non to coalition's call for regulated online gambling market
Loto-Québec says non to coalition's call for regulated online gambling market
The lottery corporation in La Belle Province, not surprisingly, isn't on board with the new group promoting regulated and responsible gaming. Also, 'twas quite a quarter for Rivalry.
In this issue:
“We need to get with the times” in Quebec
No LinkedIn Audio this week, but we have a pod
Rivalry (almost) ready to launch mobile app in Ontario
Panel set for What’s Next for Canada webinar
Coalition says it’s time for regulated gaming in La Belle Province
The official spokesperson for the raison d'être of the newly formed Quebec Online Gaming Coalition is trés facile.
“We need to get with the times,” Nathalie Bergeron, the principal of Montreal-based Nota Bene Strategie, told us during a Google Meet call Tuesday afternoon.
Bergeron will be doing the talking on behalf of the seven operators - Betway, Bet99, DraftKings, Entain, Flutter (owners of PokerStars and FanDuel), Games Global and Rush Street Interactive - and Apricot Investments which make up the coalition. The mandate, in case you missed it Tuesday is also tres facile: work with the provincial government, Loto-Québec and other stakeholders to create an open market similar to what’s been happening in Ontario since April 4, 2022.
“Our members are trying to do the right thing, and raise awareness for the options that the government has (for a regulated and responsible gambling industry)” Bergeron said. “They’re hoping the government is willing to modernize a system that is outdated. ”
The OLG’s Andrew Darley may have gotten a little excited when he anointed Ontario as the number one gambling jurisdiction from a revenue standpoint at the recent SBC Summit North America. That said, the $1.6 billion in revenue from 45 licensed operators in the province along with estimated revenue of north of $600 million by the lottery corporation over the past 12 months is more than noteworthy.
The OLG, aside from slow walking a strategy to allow sportsbooks into retail casinos in the province, has for the most part played nicely with the incoming operators - and admitted that having competition in a new regulatory environment shed the complacency within the organization to become better at what the lottery corp was doing with its online sports betting and gaming offerings.
For now, that’s not likely to happen in La Belle Province, where Loto-Québec has taken a digging-in-of-heels approach to any and all competition. And that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon.
“Some members of the coalition that was formed to promote responsible gaming and a new regulatory framework in Québec are already violating Canada’s Criminal Code by illegally offering games to Québec residents, which raises serious doubts and questions about their actual intentions,” said Loto-Québec spokesperson Renaud Dugas in an email sent to us yesterday. “In Québec, the rules could not be clearer: if it’s not Loto-Québec, it’s not legal.
“Loto-Québec is the only organization that can offer a 100% legal online casino and sports betting website in the province.”
Bergeron said the coalition has requested to meet with Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard, and is “waiting for those meetings to take place.” Gaming News Canada contacted the minister’s office by email on Tuesday and received this statement from spokesperson Claudia Loupret:
“We have taken note of the Coalition's requests. Remember that in Quebec, Loto-Québec is the only legal operator of gambling, both online and land-based. We will not comment further on this subject for now.”
The provincial government back in 2014 received recommendations from a task force made up of academic experts in online and responsible gambling that Quebec put in place a regulated industry. As mentioned in Tuesday’s newsletter, the coalition commissioned Leger Marketing to execute a survey in recent months with 66 per cent of respondents giving their support for the creation of a licensing and tax system to regulate online gaming.
“Loto-Québec can continue to keep their heads in the sand. We want to help the government offer a more secure industry for customers, and it’s looking for new sources of revenue,” Bergeron said.
While the coalition is being led by large operators with long-time experience operating in regulated markets, Bergeron added that the door is open for other operators to join.
As the old saying goes, we’ll stay on top of this story.
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LinkedIn Audio on hiatus this week, but we have a podcast
As mentioned in Tuesday’s dispatch, we’re taking a one-week break from LinkedIn Audio, so we’re giving back an hour to our loyal listeners today.
That doesn’t mean time off for the Gaming News Canada Show podcast presented by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, which will be released Friday. We recorded yesterday our conversation with integrity in sport lord - and Officer of the Order of Canada - Richard McLaren who spoke about his experiences in exposing corruption, some thoughts on the current challenges with regards to match-fixing in sport around the world, and he also teed up next week’s Symposium on Competition Manipulation and Gambling in Sport at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto (there are still tickets available for the May 30-31 conference).
And, if you missed last week’s pod. . . voila:
Rivalry ready to launch mobile app in Ontari-ari-ari-o
To borrow from its news release rather early yesterday morning, the folks at Rivalry are quite bullish with what occurred on the balance sheet for the first quarter of 2023, touting record revenue, and an all-time high betting handle and gross profit.
While the Toronto-based sports and esports betting operator didn’t get deep into the details with regards to the company’s performance in Ontario for the first three months of the year, Rivalry CEO Steven Salz provided Gaming News Canada with these thoughts:
“Ontario continues to trend positively for us and showed material growth in the first quarter. As we see in other markets, digital content and proprietary products targeting next generation users are driving organic interest and activity around Rivalry, which has brought our acquisition costs down by nearly 70% since we launched in the region. As we noted on our earnings call, these are significant competitive advantages for our business and strategic focal points for us in 2023.
Our mobile app launch in Ontario is set to build on this momentum in the region by dramatically increasing the accessibility of our product, which we anticipate will lead to further enhancement of player acquisition costs and engagement. This is also an opportunity for us to further grow the esports betting category in Ontario. There is still a motivating amount of runway and potential for this segment in regulated markets and we’re well positioned to capture and own this slice of the market.”
Some highlights from the company’s quarterly report:
Betting handle for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023 was $120.2 million, representing an all-time high in any quarter for the Company. Betting handle increased year-over year by $80.0 million or 199% from $40.2 million in Q1 2022, and sequentially by $36.2 million or 43% from the previous quarterly record of $83.9 million in Q4 2022.
Revenue for Q1 2023 was $12.0 million, the Company’s highest-ever revenue in any quarter. Revenue increased by $7.2 million or 151% from $4.8 million in Q1 2022, and by $2.5 million or 27% over Q4 2022 revenue of $9.4 million.
Gross profit was $5.4 million in Q1 2023, a record high for the Company representing an increase of $4.8 million from $0.7 million of gross profit in Q1 2022, and up $0.4 million or 9% from Q4 2022 gross profit of $5.0 million.
Net loss was $3.3 million for Q1 2023, a 50% reduction from the net loss of $6.6 million in Q1 2022, and the fifth consecutive sequential decrease in net loss, highlighting a continued focus on operational efficiency.
User registrations reached 1.5 million at the end of Q1, up 114% year-over-year, with Millennial and Gen Z consumers representing 97% of active users.
During a call with investors, Salz said Rivalry will continue to expand its esports betting offering this year, and evolve its igaming product including the development of new casino games in-house.
Asked about the mobile app for Ontario customers, Salz expects it to launch “very soon”.
Panel confirmed for What’s Next for iGaming Regulation in Canada? webinar
We have some more details about the What’s Next for Regulated iGaming in Canada? webinar which will be presented by GBG Plc.
Confirmed as panelists for the webinar, which will be released for public consumption on Wednesday, June 7, are GBG Director of Gaming Rebekah Jackson, Kindred Group’s Canadian Country Manager Amanda Brewer, PointsBet Canada CEO Scott Vanderwel, and Canadian gaming law expert Jack Tadman. Your congenial correspondent will occupy the moderator’s chair.
What’s Next for iGaming in Canada? will be a one-hour discussion of how we arrived at the current state of regulated sports betting and gaming in our home and native land, the lay of said land, and where does the industry go from here. The hour will shine a light on the challenges and opportunities in opening up a regulated marketplace in Alberta, British Columbia, and other provinces. And, of course, the panel will analyze the first 14 months of Ontario’s open market, and the role that operators, suppliers and other stakeholders have played in what has been characterized in most corners as a successful launch in one of the world’s largest sports betting and igaming jurisdictions.
"With the success of the joint efforts of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and its iGaming Ontario subsidiary, the odds that other Canadian provinces will follow suit has never been greater,” said Jackson “Please join us as we reflect on the achievements of many stakeholders in Ontario so far, the key learnings we can take from this newly regulated market and predict where growth opportunities lie for savvy operators in the coming months.
“Sixty per cent of gaming brands legally operating in the province are working with GBG and we are excited to see where iGaming in Canada will go next.”
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