OLG becomes second Ontario sportsbook to offer betting on horse racing
This week, in the run-up to Saturday’s King’s Plate at Woodbine Racetrack, the OLG began taking bets on horse racing on its Proline platform, joining only bet365 in the endeavour.
Just in time for Saturday’s $1 million King’s Plate at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG)’s Proline sportsbook is now taking bets on horse racing.
It’s just the second Ontario sportsbook to offer wagering on horse racing in Canada. Two years ago, also on the week leading up to the King’s Plate, bet365 became the first Ontario sportsbook to offer betting on horse racing.
On both Proline and bet365, horse racing wagers will be routed through Woodbine’s tote system and remain exclusively pari-mutuel.
Prior to single-event sports betting being approved federally in 2021, Woodbine fought and won the right to exclude operators from offering pari-mutuel wagering in Canada. That meant Ontario online gambling operators could not add horse racing to their gambling mix.
“Horse racing remains pari-mutuel and with us being the only current pari-mutuel license holder in the province of Ontario, if they want our product, they have to come and get it from us,” said Woodbine’s former CEO and current chair Jim Lawson in 2022.
Pari-mutuel wagering is a system in which bets are pooled. The house take is deducted and the payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets. The system is critical to supporting the costly exercise of owning and campaigning racehorses and putting on the horse racing product.
Current Woodbine CEO Michael Copeland said the ban on other operators being able to offer pari-mutuel wagering directly was “specifically to allow the profits from racing to remain within the industry and not to leave through an expat entity.”
The concern is that offering fixed-odds wagering on horse racing may not offer margins large enough to support the high cost of racing horses.
Woodbine has long had its own nationwide pari-mutuel betting platform, HPIbet, for taking wagers on horse racing. Earlier this year, HPIbet launched its own app after a long existence as a website-only platform.
HPIbet is still the most feature-rich platform for seasoned horseplayers. Woodbine’s expansion to other platforms is an attempt to get horse racing in front of more sports bettors.
The OLG is, “the first Canadian provincial lottery and gaming agency to provide access to a horse racing wagering product to its digital players,” said a press release.
Copeland said in the release, “This launch brings the excitement of horse racing to even more people across the province in a convenient and modern way — enhancing the experience for bettors while driving new interest in our sport. It's another step forward for the growth of horse racing in Ontario, and we're grateful to OLG for their continued support and willingness to collaborate and innovate alongside us."
Yours truly briefly tried out the Proline / OLG system the other day by placing a $5 bet on a steeplechase race from Ireland (given that it was morning hours and live Canadian horse racing isn’t offered until the afternoon at the earliest). The betting was slick and easy and, once you place a wager, the OLG — via Woodbine, of course — allows you to watch a stream of the race on which you wagered.
Woodbine’s hope is that other Ontario sportsbook platforms will follow the lead of bet365 and the OLG and offer horse racing on their platforms, too, despite some technological challenges of integration.
The province is home to more than 50 operators offering more than 80 separate gambling platforms. More than 20 operators currently offer sports betting, meaning there is a lot of room for growth for the Ontario horse racing industry that relies on handle to sustain a sector that supports 23,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the province.
Sports betting personality Jo Madden on the GNC Show
Despite SportsGrid’s unfortunate decision to part way with Jo Madden and several other of its sports wagering personalities, Madden continues to churn out excellent content on her Instagram and X accounts as we close in on the start of another NFL season.
The Australian-born, long-time Albertan (and former member of the province’s netball team) was Steve McAllister’s guest on the latest episode of the Gaming News Canada Show. Madden talked about her departure from SportsGrid and what’s next for her. As is the case for all of our GNCS guests, Madden’s path to the gaming industry is of the more-than-interesting sort as she discussed her transition from the worlds of accounting and liquor imports to provide sports betting advice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can listen to the show on your favourite podcasting app or watch it here:
People on the Move
Former BCLC director Garth Piper is named General Manager of Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis.
Former Macy’s senior executive Justin Hergianto is the new Vice President of Marketing at Penn Entertainment. Hergianto has previously been a VP at Caesars Entertainment, PointsBet and DAZN.
Caesars Entertainment promotes Sean McBurney to Chief Commercial Officer and Regional President, Las Vegas.
Per Jaldung is named Managing Director of Casinos Austria International.
Ryan Gutzler, formerly the Director of Organic Growth for Better Collective, is named Director of Casino Content at Hard Rock Digital.
Antti Koivula is the new Chief Compliance Officer at Hippos ATG Oy.
Margaret Dunn is appointed Portfolio Director for Clarion Gaming’s ICE leadership team.
Laura Liehu joins Finnish law firm Legal Gaming Attorneys at Law.
Alex Magli has a new role at OLG: Senior Retail Sports Analyst.
Ben Slingerland, ex of OnBalance, is the new Head of Sales – North America for PlayerData.
Kayleigh Thompson is the new Chief of Staff at Pavilion Payments, Brad Simpson joins the Las Vegas company as a Senior Implementation Engineer and Kristine Legaspi-Oliver comes on board as Learning and Development Manager.
Lindsey Bombardier returns to Borden Ladner Gervais LLP as Executive Director, Brand and Market Strategy.
WPP Media promotes Scott Ring to Associate Director, Sponsorship Marketing, Sport and Entertainment.
Shane Beharry, formerly with the Vancouver Whitecaps, is the new Director, Corporate Partnerships for the Seattle Sounders.
There’s been some shuffling of roles at Sports Business Journal. Austin Karp becomes SBJ’s Media Reporter on a full-time basis, Josh Carpenter will be a full-time Reporter come November, and former WIVB Buffalo Digital Executive Producer Nick Veronica is named Director of Engagement/Home Page Editor.
Jamie Henry is appointed Chief Operating Officer at hockey company The Coaches Site.
Grant Afseth joins Newsweek as a Sportswriter, focusing on the NBA and WNBA.
Classified (Jobs) Information
Hard Rock Digital is in the market for a Vice President – Sportsbook Operations.
New York-based Affinity Gaming has an opportunity for a Head of Business Development.
Atlantic Lottery has an opening for a Senior Accountant.
PointsBet Canada is seeking to hire a Community Manager and a Motion Graphics & Visual Designer.
There’s a gig in Toronto for a Revenue Generation Marketing Manager.
And in the city above Toronto, Blazesoft is hiring a Social Media Manager.
FairPlay Sports Media has an opportunity in Ontario-ari-ari-o for a Junior Machine Learning Engineer.
Better Collective wants to bring on board an Associate Editor of Sports Content.
Eilers & Krejick Gaming’s product analysis teams is looking for sports betting app testers. These are paid contract roles.
FanDuel has an opportunity in New York for a Senior Vice President, Software Engineering, and in Atlanta for a UX Research Senior Manager. FD also wants to bring on board a Financial Crimes Senior Associate.
DraftKings is on the lookout for an Employee Relations Specialist, and for an Analyst II, Sportsbook Market Strategy.
There’s a Director, Business Insights and Analytics post up for grabs with Delaware North in Buffalo.
SIS is in hiring mode for a U.S. Sports Trading Manager.
Penn Interactive is seeking a Sports Trader for its Gibraltar offices.
Kaizen Gaming is looking to hire a Social Media Specialist for its Sofia, Bulgaria, location.
There’s an opening in Prague for an Engineering Manager with esports business Oddin.gg.
TonyBet is seeking a Dutch Managing Compliance Officer in Malta.
SharpStakes is searching for a UGC Content Editor to work out of its Toronto office.
Underdog is looking for a Trading Assistant.
U.S.-based GamesBeat is hiring a Contract IT, Product & Web Leader.
Mkodo has an opportunity in the UK for a Technical Pre-Sales Consultant.
Glitnor Group is in the market for a Casino Country Manager – Spain.
Good gig alert in the Canadian sports industry: the Ottawa Senators have an opening for a Vice President of Marketing.
Wanted by the LPGA: a Chief Sales and Partnerships Officer.
There’s an opening in The Big Apple for a Senior VP, Sales – FIFA World Cup 26.
IMG is looking for its next Vice President, Digital.
There’s an opportunity for a Head of Sport with a London-based sports and entertainment agency.
Speaking of jolly old England, the Manchester United football club is seeking a Head of Corporate Communications.
And speaking of the Premiership, Newcastle United needs a Web and App Editor.
The WNBA Toronto Tempo are hiring an Accountant.
Wanted by the Detroit Lions: a Senior Manager, Partnership Marketing – Naming Rights.
The Canadian Football League is on the lookout for a Coordinator, Digital Marketing, and is also hiring an Executive Assistant to Chief Revenue Officer Tyler Keenan. And, oh yes, there’s also a Manager, Global Partnerships gig up for grabs.
The MLB Miami Marlins are looking for a Director of Baseball Data.
Roku has a position to fill in the city below Schomberg for a Senior Content Acquisition Manager.
A Data Editor is being sought by the editorial department at The Globe and Mail.
There’s a full-time opportunity for an Assignment Editor at CHCH News in Hamilton, ON.
Global News in Toronto has an opening for a Video Editor/Videographer.
BDO Canada is seeking a Manager, Events & Sponsorship.
From the Department of It’s Still a Pretty Good Gig, a Sports Editor is required at USA Today.
A Director, Communications (Digital & Marketing) post is up for grabs with the City of Toronto.
The AHL Belleville Senators are seeking a Coordinator, Business Operations and an Account Executive, Ticket Sales & Service.
Golf Canada is looking for a Coach, Team Canada – NextGen Boys.
Wanted by the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL): a Digital Media Specialist.
SBC brings together the entire gaming industry in the beautiful city of Lisbon for the annual SBC Summit, September 16-18.
More than 30,000 delegates will gather to explore a show floor packed with some of the greatest (and newest) products on the market and listen in to what the greatest conference program in tech and gaming has to offer, all set in one of the world’s greatest cities.
Click here to register now and use the code PARLEHPARTNERVIP for a 50% discount.
Reading and reflection
OK, we’re not 100% sold on the title either (any suggestions welcome). For now, however, it’ll have to do.
We’re introducing a new section this week with reading that’ll spark a thought, an emotion and/or make our loyal subscribers a little wiser.
1. On the heels of last week’s newsletter and the section around the continued online abuse of professional athletes, ESPN’s Doug Greenberg digs deeper into the topic including Venmo requests and death threats.
2. Our former Yahoo Sports colleague – and now ESPN columnist – Dan Wetzel tells the sombre story of the FBI-labelled “financial sextortion” and its heartbreaking impact on American youth and their families/friends. It’s a must read for any parent and leaders of sports teams/leagues/organizations.
3. Covers senior correspondent Geoff Zochodne reports on the preparation taking place by sportsbook and igaming operators in anticipation of Alberta’s open market launching next year.
4. Jeff Edelstein has his own take on the potential positive impact of the NFL/ESPN deal on ESPN Bet.
5. Global Gaming Business Magazine published last week an excerpt from gaming lawyer Anthony Cabot’s book Casino Redux: Unveiling the Global Network of Chinese Organized Crime.
6. Just in case you’re trying to keep score on the sale of PointsBet down under, Tom Nightingale of Canadian Gaming Business has the latest.
7. Last but not least, good schtuff from Dustin Gouker last week in The Closing Line on a swing and a big miss by Polymarket and offshore sportsbooks offering betting on sex toys being tossed at WNBA games.
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