Ontario's regulated gambling biz delivers record results

A busy fall sports calendar and a large appetite for igaming is reflected in iGaming Ontario's latest Market Performance Report. Also, Shane Pinto is ready to return from his 41-game suspension.

Jan 18, 2024

A record report from iGaming Ontario
Like the mailman, igaming delivers
Pinto returns to the NHL
Much to discuss on Gaming News Canada Show

A record quarter in Ontari-ari-ari-o

A busy fall sports calendar with NFL, U.S. college and CFL football, the start of the NHL and NBA regular seasons, an all-Texas MLB World Series, and a bidding war for Shohei Ohtani. And, oh yeah, a vibrant online gaming marketplace that keeps growing.

Add them all up, and the result is most successful quarter yet for Ontario’s competitive sports betting and igaming industry.

iGaming Ontario released yesterday its fiscal year 2023-24 Q3 Market Performance Report with record results across the board:

“Another impressive quarter for the Ontario market, especially with continued growth in the number of active player accounts,” Canadian Gaming Association boss Paul Burns emailed GNC yesterday afternoon. “It was a strong quarter for sports wagering and we welcome the continued interest of operators in joining the market.”

There’s more in the next section of this dispatch on the popularity of online games and why that’s more than relevant in Ontario. At a high level, both wagers and gaming revenue have climbed in the three quarters of Year 2 for the province’s regulated/legal industry - and that doesn’t include the numbers from OLG and operators who aren’t licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario/iGO.

Some other highlights:

The fiscal year to date has delivered an estimated $353 million to the coffers overseen by the Douglas Ford government. The federal government has also benefited handsomely from Ontario’s bull gambling market through HST payments.
Total wagers of $17.2 billion, a 21-per-cent increase over Q2, does not include promotional wagers (bonuses).
Total gaming revenue of $658 million shows a 22-per-cent increase over Q2. This figure represents total cash wagers, including rake fees, tournament fees, and other fees, across all operators, player winnings derived from cash wagers and does not take into account operating costs or other liabilities.
Casino games, including slots, live and computer-based table games and peer-to-peer bingo, accounted for nearly $13.7 billion (79%) of total wagers and $471 million (71%) of gaming revenue.
Betting, including on sports, esports, proposition, and novelty bets, as well as exchange betting, accounted for nearly $3.1 billion (18%) of total wagers and $171 million (25%) of gaming revenue.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) poker accounted for $431 million (2.5%) of total wagers and $17 million (2.5%) of gaming revenue.

Play Canada’s Dave Briggs delivered a comprehensive breakdown of the Ontario industry since it opened in April 2022.

The province’s conduct and manage agency for private operators have also released its financial statement as of March 31, 2023 and 2022. From the document:

Mitch Davidson, the chief of staff for iGO, will be with us on the Gaming News Canada Show this afternoon (1 p.m. ET, LinkedIn Audio) to answer our questions about the latest quarterly report and the financial report.

Like the mailman and courier, igaming delivers

As admitted before, your committed chronicler has been guilty of too often focusing on sports betting when it comes to writing and talking about the gambling industry in the Great White North and beyond (hey, we’re getting better!).

The data delivered in iGO’s latest market performance report punctuates the importance of igaming in Ontario, and why operators (and legislators seeking tax dollars) are pushing hard to have online casino/poker/slots join sports betting in the regulated markets across the U.S.

New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, West Virginia and Delaware are currently the only states to offer legal online gaming while New York, Illinois and others offering sports betting continue to try and find a path to legal gaming.

The adoption of igaming in Ontario’s new market almost two years ago was hugely attractive to operators. During a financials presentation last month, BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt referenced being able to offer a diverse gambling menu to customers in Canada’s largest province by population.

“We see Ontario as a multi-product jurisdiction really benefiting from the strength of our offering, of our go-to-market offering in igaming as well as the ever-improving strength of our OSB product. Of course, in our multi-product states and Ontario, players often engage in both sports betting and casino gaming. Cross-sell is an important driver of revenue in those markets. And in Q3 this year, around 65 per cent of our sports players in the multi-product states engaged with either casino or poker or both.”

Justin Park, the co-founder and CEO of Betty, did the Q and A thing for Houlihan Lokey’s CEO Spotlight Series recently and made a pointed reference to the young online gaming company’s foray into Ontario a year ago.

“. . . Betty was granted an operator licence by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario in January 2023, and the first wager was taken the following month.

“We ended 2023 on a nearly eight-figure net revenue run rate, and our return on ad spend, on a gross profit basis, is less than 60 days. All that is to say, we are going to invest against our extremely favourable unit economics.

“We have also decided to focus on the Canadian market because Betty is resonating so strongly with the audience, the TAM (total addressable market) is large, and the market is fragmented and ripe for consolidation. Finally, operators focusing on a single market and achieving significant market share have commanded higher multiples.”

There’s been more activity on the igaming front in the first couple of weeks of 2024, including the news this week that Glitnor Group-operated Lucky Casino is now live in the province. Also this week, Rootz expanded its igaming menu for Ontario customers through a new partnership agreement with Stakelogic. And, games developer Octoplay announced it has received a supplier ‘s licence from the AGCO.

“(They) all point to the growing importance of iCasino in the Ontario market and the massive opportunity that iCasino presents, independent of and/or in addition to the sports betting piece, which tends to gain more accolades,” said industry advisor/investor Benjie Cherniak, via email.

Ottawa Senators’ Pinto set to return from 41-game suspension

“That’s what I’m there for. Just learn from my experience. I talked to a lot of players. It’s good that I can help.” - Ottawa Senators forward Shane Pinto, Jan. 12/24

So. . . . why again did the National Hockey League and the NHL Players’ Association negotiate a confidential agreement for the 41-game suspension of Pinto for “activities related to sports wagering”.

Pinto can make his NHL return with the leaky ship Senators on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. He rejoined his teammates last week and spoke with reporters/broadcasters/bloggers, etc. about his time away from the club. Pinto took full responsibility for the actions that led to the half-season suspension, although no one knows what those actions were - except, we guess, the players he’s spoken with during his suspension.

“I got to be more cautious, more mature in what I’m doing. I got to realize what position I’m in,” Pinto said. “There is always going to be a microscope on professional athletes. I took that for granted and I got to be better about it.”

Pinto was also asked if the presence of sports betting advertising and marketing campaigns on both sides of the border (sigh) persuaded him to do whatever he did to become the first NHLer to be suspended for betting activity in the new era of regulated sports wagering.

“You see it on the commercials now, but that’s not (an) excuse,” Pinto said.

As your humble correspondent and others have suggested, Pinto’s fellow NHL players and others in the hockey world could benefit from knowing what happened. And we expect the truth will eventually come out.

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A full menu for today’s Gaming News Canada Show

The weekly gathering on LinkedIn Audio this afternoon for the Gaming News Canada Show promises to be plentiful on topics, and opinions.

The latest iGO market performance report, the latest enhancements on the igaming front in Ontario, what’s news with the AGCO ad and marketing standards, and Erika Ayers’ departure from Barstool Sports will be among the items up for discussion. Regular contributors Amanda Brewer, Kris Abbott and Phill Gray are scheduled to join us, along with Sebastian Jedrzejewski of U.S. Integrity.

As always, there’s an open invitation to lend us your ears and voices. The first bon mots drop shortly after 1 p.m. ET.

Classified (Jobs) Information

Wanted by Las Vegas-based PokerAtlas: a Chief Operating Officer.
Bally’s Interactive has an opening at its Toronto office for a Compliance Manager.
Hard Rock Digital has a Toronto-based opportunity for a Slots Mathematician.
Also in Toronto, Pinnacle is in the market for a Business Intelligence Analyst - Marketing Specialist. The company also has the same position to fill in Malta.
Wanted by theScore for its offices on the shores of Lake Ontario in the 416: an iOS Developer - Mobile Platform.
Ontario market igaming operator Rootz is hiring a Payments and Fraud Specialist.
BV Group is hiring a Senior Acquisition Executive - Canada, and is also searching for a Senior PPC Executive.
FanDuel’s team in Jersey City has the need for a Fraud and Risk Supervisor, Support. And in New York, the FD communications team is seeking a Designer. Also, there’s a hybrid gig out of Atlanta for a Payments and Fraud Operations Analyst.
Bede Gaming is looking to fill a Project Manager position.
Wanted by DraftKings: a Manager, iGaming Marketing & Operations.
TalentBet is in the market for a Brand Experience Product Manager, and is also hiring a Senior Business Analyst. Also needed is a Greek Marketing Manager, and a Senior Product Manager, too.
Everi is looking for a Developer SW Lead III to work out of its Winnipeg office. The company also has an opening at its Las Vegas headquarters for a Business Intelligence Developer III.
Kitchener-based OwnersBox is searching for a Head of Marketing.
SIS wants a Sports Betting Product Manager for its office in West End, England.
Sharp Gaming has a vacancy to fill for a Lead.Net Developer in Manchester, England.
Wanted by the American Gaming Association: a Director, Media Relations.
The International Tennis Integrity is looking to fill vacancies for a Legal Counsel and Case Manager, and an Intelligence Analyst.
Epic Games has an opportunity at its location in Cary, N.C., for a Director, Product Management, Fortnite Creator Economy.
Cyprus-based Quantum Gaming is seeking a Technical Project Manager.
Rennsport has a full-time gig for an Event Manager in either Sweden or Germany.
The National Hockey League wants a Manager, Marketing Operations to lend a hand with its fan engagement division.
NASCAR is hiring a Director, Hospitality & Events.
NBA 2K has an opening for a Manager, Global Product Marketing.
There’s an opening at TSN/Bell Media for a Senior Marketing Director and a Marketing Coordinator.
The Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 is looking to hire a Merchandise & Ticketing Manager.
Red Bull’s Aussie operation has an opening for a Finance Director. And here in Canada, the same company is seeking a Field Marketing Specialist - Event & Activation for its Vancouver operation.
The Premier Lacrosse League is looking for a Producer/Editor.

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