Ten wishes for the Canadian gambling industry in 2026
As we welcome a new year with boundless energy and optimism, here are 10 items Gaming News Canada would love to see across the nation’s gambling industry in 2026. And, a shakeup at PENN Entertainment.
When filling out our wish list for the Canadian gambling industry for 2026, the first one was obvious:
Alberta launches open market. It’s important that the provincial government and regulators get the details right before launching, but we would still like to see this happen as soon as possible to better protect Alberta gamblers and keep tax revenue in the province. The latest projections call for a launch sometime this year.
More provinces launching open, regulated markets. Of course, it would be a longshot for any other province to actually launch in 2026, but we’ll take an announcement this year of the intention to launch soon. B.C. seems the most likely next bet.
Launch of a centralized self-exclusion system in Ontario. Long promised, long delayed. We know it’s a heavy lift tech-wise, but let’s hope we see this launched by mid-year at the latest, as suggested by iGaming Ontario’s CEO Joseph Hillier to Canadian Gaming Business writer Tom Nightingale. It’s a critical part of responsible gambling initiatives key to the industry’s sustainability.
A resolution to the Ontario court case on pooled liquidity. In November of 2025, Ontario won its case allowing for common pool wagering. Now that the case has been appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, we hope there’s a final resolution in 2026. Should the Supreme Court allow international pool liquidity, it would be a boon for online poker and Daily Fantasy Sports.
Canada remains (essentially) out of the prediction market game. Yes, we know minor prediction markets – election betting, whether there will be a wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl halftime show, etc. – are already legal in Canada. But, it would be wonderful to avoid what sure looks like a mess in U.S. gambling circles, with prediction markets looking to upend traditional legal gambling markets (there’s a plethora of PM fodder in the Reading and Reflection section).
Resolution to the federal sports betting ad restriction issue. To be honest, the continued talk of federal legislation to severely curtail sports betting ads seems unnecessary since those ads are declining anyway, but if there is going to be national rules on what can and can’t be advertised, it would be great to get those rules in place in 2026. But, that would require Parliament to address the bill the Senate has passed twice now, and there are much bigger fish to fry.
Stronger AML enforcement. Cracking down on money laundering in the gambling industry is key to the sector’s sustainability and it appears FINTRAC is moving toward bigger fines, at least. So long as there is proper communication of any changes to the rules and fair adjudication of alleged violations, it’s a good start.
iGO releases monthly operator performance data. This has long been on our wish list, as operator data is a common tool in the U.S. to assess the health of the sector. Yes, we know it’s unlikely, but increased transparency is often the best policy.
Better government transparency about investment in responsible gambling programs. This has also been on our wish list for a long time. It’s important to know exactly how much of gambling revenue is being directed toward responsible and problem gambling programs.
Horse racing lands on more gambling platforms. The Ontario horse racing industry alone supports 15 racetracks and some 23,000 full-time equivalent jobs. Betting on the sport is key to its sustainability, which is more important than ever given the loss of both Hastings Racecourse and Fraser Downs in British Columbia in 2025. Yet, wagering on horse racing in Canada is only available on the legacy platform, HPIbet, operated by the Woodbine Entertainment Group and two other operators: bet365 and the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG). Also, the burgeoning regulated sports betting market is clearly cutting into wagering on horse racing. Here’s hoping we’ll see horse racing on operator platforms in 2026. Horse racing – which is the perfect (and original) gambling sport and could be a great wagering product if races were scheduled between innings, periods and quarters of major sporting events – would benefit from the increased gambling exposure.
Failing all that, let’s go with a few thoughts from the one and only Steve Martin:
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Changes at the top with the owners of theScore Bet
For PENN Entertainment, the proprietors of theScore, the first week of the new year began Monday with some goings and imminent comings in the operator’s executive suite.
In a news release, PENN announced the departures of executive VP, 0perations Todd George and VP/chief information officer Rich Primus. Those positions won’t be filled and the company will begin the search for a digital chief operating officer to “help oversee the day-to-day operations of the interactive segment and enable (CTO and head of interactive Aaron) Mr. LaBerge to spend more time with the combined technology teams.
“As we turn the calendar to 2026, we are restructuring our corporate organization in order to achieve greater operational efficiencies, deepen customer engagement across channels, maximize free cash flow, and drive shareholder value,” said PENN CEO and president Jay Snowden in the communique.
PENN’s 2025 wasn’t the company’s finest hour with the end of its relationship with ESPN and shelving ESPN Bet. John Levy, the former owner of theScore, which was acquired by PENN in 2021, didn’t mince words when speaking about the company’s digital gaming strategy when he appeared on the Gaming News Canada Show last November. Levy reacted to Monday’s announcement with a succinct post on the LinkedIn.
“Once again. . . too little, too late. . . And in this case. . . yes, heads need to roll, but it needs to be the right ones!!,” typed Levy.
Following the ESPN/PENN split in November, Snowden said the company will invest more in theScore Bet’s Canadian business – including the anticipated open market in Alberta - and hinted it could invest in land-based casinos here in the true north, strong and free. PENN operates 42 retail casinos in the U.S. of A, heavily leaning into the Hollywood Casino brand.
“There would be synergies from an omnichannel perspective similar to what we’ve seen in the U.S.,” Snowden said then when asked about getting back into the bricks-and-mortar casino business north of the border. “I would say it’s not really ratcheting up on the priority list, but we would be opportunistic if the opportunity presented itself.”
Monday’s announcement seems to suggest that the immediate focus is on PENN’s digital business.
Phill Gray on the latest GNC show
Speaking of the year ahead, Phill Gray, the former trading lead at Sports Interaction, joined host Steve McAllister for the latest Gaming News Canada Show podcast to make some predictions about the next 12 months in the online gambling world.
Topics included: Prediction markets, what’s next for Ontario’s legal sector, a big year on tap for sports, advice for Alberta, the pros and cons of prop betting and much more.
You can listen to the show here or watch it here:
Ontario set gambling record in November
From the “in case you missed it during the holidays” file. . . iGaming Ontario dropped Ontario gambling revenue numbers for November just after we published our last December newsletter before taking a break for the said holidays.
Here’s a brief recap:
Ontario smashed the all-time record for gross gambling revenue with $406.2 million. It was the first time the numbers have topped $400 million in a month.
For the first 11 months of 2025, the total gross revenue was $3.61 billion.
Since the sector launched in April of 2022, gross revenue has been $9.78 billion, which means it should reach the $10 billion mark when December numbers are released later this month.
Sports betting revenue was $102 million in November. It was the first time it has exceeded $100 million in a month.
Online casino revenue of $298 million in November was the second-best month, ever, following the $303.9 million reached in October of 2025.
People on the Move
OLG promotes Amanda Marshall to Chief Lottery Officer and Andrew Darley to Vice President, Lottery Product. Also, the Corp moves Sumit Bhalla up the ladder in its digital division to Director, Product Owner.
Playnetic names former Swintt CEO David Mann its new Chief Executive Officer.
Entain elevates Hugo Gonzalez from his former Group Finance Director role to Chief Operating Officer.
Current CFO Richard Harris will be interim CEO at Rank Group while a search is undertaken to replace John O’Reilly, who will call it a career at the end of January.
Frank Krile is out as Chief Financial Officer at Star Entertainment Group and group Chief Operating Officer Jeannie Mok is leaving the company at the end of the month. Bruce Mathieson is appointed group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director subject to approvals.
Jason Sukhraj, who left SportsGrid last month as GM – Audience & Canada, is named Chief Executive Officer at Plexus Media.
DraftKings names Andrew Bishop as Vice President of Procurement.
Guy Bavaro comes on board at Electronic Arts as Global Head of Agency Development and Advertising Technology Partnerships.
After 18 years, most recently as Chief Commercial Officer – Sky Betting & Gaming, tombola, Trading, Steve Birch has left Flutter Entertainment and Sky Betting & Gaming.
Sanjay Bhandari replaces Mark Fuller as Chair of the Board at EPIC Global Solutions.
DraftKings co-founder Matt Kalish, who announced in November he’ll be leaving the company at the end of March, is launching a new creator platform called HardScope.
Norwegian gaming operator Norsk Tipping names Trond Bentestuen as its new Chief Executive Officer.
Brian Joseph is now Vice President, The Americas at Sportradar, and Zach Langford moves into the role of Director, Sales – Streaming. Nicole Masterson is promoted to Senior Director, Client Success.
Manal Naffah gives up his Director of Group Finance & Sustainability gig with Better Collective to become Chief Financial Officer at GUBI.
Push Gaming elevates Chris Arriola to Chief Operations Officer.
Carolina Estrada Duque, ex of Wicked Games, Evolution and PressEnter Group, joins NEXT.io as Head of Operations.
Carolyn Kidd is stepping down as Chief Risk Officer of SkyCity Entertainment Group at the end of the month.
After more than three years, Sam Talbot bids adieu LiveScore Group as Chief Product Officer.
Game Lounge introduces Vlad Jankovic as Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer.
Andrew Cochrane is leaving Gaming Innovation Group after serving as Chief Business Officer the past two-plus years.
Anthony Abou-Jaoude is named Chief Transformation Officer at Continent 8 Technologies.
Flutter International appoints former Games Global product lead Michael Hogan as Head of Product.
Aviram Alroy is named Head of iGaming at SCCG Management.
Stephanie Agius Lia joins Paytently as Head of Compliance, AML & Risk.
Evan Kory, formerly of Audible, is named Vice President of Media and Growth Marketing at BetMGM. And the operator promotes Ryan Burke to Director, Business Development.
Karl Gambin is named Vice President of Operations at Novig.
Mike Willemse exits GeoComply and his Vice President of Business Development role.
Ciaran Henry joins BetBlocker as Vice President, Customer Service.
IGT elevates Jamie Knight to Senior Vice President of Game Studios – U.S. and Scott Charby moves into the role of Senior Manager, Bespoke Content.
Francesca Burnett-Hall joins Bragg Gaming as Head of Licensing.
Altenar promotes Vagelis Bairlis to Head of Sales Operations.
Marcieli Pelizzaro departs RubyPlay and joins Push Gaming as Head of Region LATAM.
Rebecca Goodwin is elevated to Senior Legal Counsel at Entain, which also promotes Karina Zenciks to Head of Design.
Ian Jay has a new role at Aristocrat Interactive: Assistant General Counsel – Interactive.
LeoVegas Group promotes Anthea Formosa to Senior Legal Counsel.
Playtech promotes Nereida Rosado to Head of Digital Marketing.
Jonathan Baxandall, ex of Sports Broadcast Media, Sporting Solutions and PA Betting Services, launches Bettortainment.
Johan Vermeulen will become the General Manager for FDJ United’s business in Belgium.
Santa Monica-based esports business Gen.G appoints Zack Miller as Associate Director, U.S. Partnership Sales & Strategy.
Fiona Power is leaving FanDuel after a run of seven-plus years, the past three and half years as Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships.
Lorena Lima is promoted by EstrelaBet to Head of Customer Experience & Operations.
Gurpriya K S departs PointsBet Canada as Director, Marketing (Sportsbook & Casino IGaming).
Brandon Tortora departs NRG Esports and his position as Head of Sales & Brand Partnerships.
Lucy Kajda, ex of Nuvei, is named Sales Director at Valyuz.
Esko Rissanen, formerly of Traffic Lab and Gaming Innovation Group, is named Director of Revenue at Gentoo Media.
Legal beagle Stein Langberget joins Hartz Law as a Partner.
Martin Dimitrov is appointed Corporate Lawyer at Betty.
Mads Mollegaard (our favourite POTM name of the week) has a new title at Better Collective: Director, Media Services.
BetMGM promotes Victoria Biegel to Senior Art Director and Sam Broth is elevated to Senior BI Analyst.
Lauren Alcock has a new position at bet365 as Senior Marketing Analyst.
Matthias Folkmann has a new title at Tipico: Director of Corporate Communications.
Superbet appoints Anastasis Karamanis as Commercial Sports Lead.
Dan Michalski is promoted to Executive Editor at Casinos.com.
Alex Zubizarreta Susperregi leaves Interwetten Group after seven-plus years as Country Manager – Spain.
Alessandra Rosati is named Country Manager – Italy at Booming
Games.James Bisson is named Head of Content, Betting at Legend.
Johnny Francetti is named Director of Media Sales - U.S. at Better Collective/Playmaker.
Speaking of Playmaker, Mia Castiglione is promoted to Director of Ad Sales Strategy and Operations.
Arista Swanepoel, ex of Betsson Group, is the new Human Resources Business Partner for Betway Africa.
Jane Anyabolu, formerly of FDJ United, joins Better Collective as Paid Social Team Lead ROW.
Joakim Eklund has a new gig at ibet Group: Affiliate Team Lead, and Aisling McClenaghan is promoted to CRM Manager.
Amy Robinson departs mkodo to become Senior Marketing Manager at Bally’s Interactive in London.
Kevin Tressel has a new role with FanDuel: Payment Strategy Senior Manager.
Hristiana Karaivanova comes on board at Enjoy Gaming as a Marketing Brand Manager.
Jiri Klusacek comes on board at Allwyn as Group iGaming Partnership Manager.
Relax Gaming promotes Beppe De Gabriele to Marketing Manager.
Jean Blondell joins Wildz Group as Digital Acquisition Specialist.
Lauren Gaskill, ex of bet365, is the new Games Portfolio & Content Manager at NeoPollard Interactive.
Cheri Bailey moves up to Senior Casino Special Events Coordinator at BetMGM. Also, Ross Berman is promoted to Senior Manager, CRM Gaming.
Abigail Chandler has a new role with DraftKings: Onboarding Program Associate.
Marcus DiNitto, formerly of Catena Media, USA Sports Gaming and Sports Business, is appointed Managing Editor at Gambling Insider.
Karolis Matulis is promoted to Senior Editor at Gambling.com Group.
Alison Safir will need a new business card as she moves into the Director of Partnership Strategy and Client Success role at Playmaker.
Svetlozara Koleva, ex of Bally’s Interactive and Gamesys, is named Compliance Manager at SpinCore Group.
Betsson Group promotes Sebastian Joseph Rasmussen Bracken to Marketing Manager.
Zach Connor departs Comcast and joins Fanatics as Senior Manager, CX Learning.
Katherine Allsop Leigh is promoted to Content Manager at Casino.org.
Wishing the very best to FOGNC Philippe Guay, who is bidding adieu to Minute Media as Senior VP, Distribution. Up next for Guay: building a new company called Kyber1.
Sportico names Tom Lowry as Executive Director.
The NBA promotes Barney Carleton to Vice President, Broadcast Planning & Strategy. Henry Morrissette also receives a promotion to Manager, Partner Activation, Global Partnership Solutions and Jordan Nelson’s new title is Director, Marketing & Fan Engagement – Digital & Social and Jen Murphy is promoted to Senior Director, Marketing Partnerships & Media. Also, Tatiana Charlot is promoted to Associate Vice President & Senior Associate Counsel.
Emma Gunn, one of the several departures from the CEBL front office in November/December, is appointed Director, Hockey Operations for the PWHL.
Kaitlyn Keon leaves her Senior Manager, Global Sponsorship Marketing – Partnerships post with Scotiabank to join the WNBA Toronto Tempo.
Golf Canada promotes O’Neal Taylor to Senior Information Technology Manager and Evan Jeffrey is elevated to Senior Coordinator, Partnership Marketing.
ESPN promotes Derek Volner to Vice President/Communications, Andy Hall of Senior Director/Communications, Rachel Siegal to Director/Communications, Lily Blum to Associate Director, Communications and Katie Callahan to Communications Manager.
Julia Wall-Clarke is named Vice President, PR & Corporate Communications at the WTA.
TSN Cameraperson Marc Malette, one of the really good guys in the Canadian sports industry, is calling it a career after 40 years.
Valerie Cross leaves Prediction News to become Prediction Markets Reporter & Editor at DeFi Rate.
Callum Fraser is joining the Ottawa Citizen and Ottawa Sun as a beat writer for the NHL Ottawa Senators.
Bill Bradley is named Sports Editor at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, replacing the retired Allen Leiker.
Anthony Rieber is the new sports media beat writer at Newsday.
Kari Anderson departs her Sportswriter gig at Yahoo Sports.
Blake Duffy leaves his ticket sales and service director’s post at Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group to join the CEBL Brampton Honey Badgers as Director, Revenue Generation.
Nicole Artuso moves into an Operations Manager role at Tennis Canada.
Finally, our condolences to the family and friends of Canadian junior hockey uber leader David Branch, who died Sunday. Branch was the Commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League for 45 years and served as President of the Canadian Hockey League – the umbrella organization for the OHL, Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League for 23 years.
Classified (Jobs) Information
On the Home Front
DraftKings has a remote opportunity in our home and native land for a Senior Product Manager, Consumer Data Science.
Betting Hero has a position available in Windsor, ON, for a Sports Betting Analyst.
Bet99 is on the lookout for a Bilingual Customer Support Associate, a Back End Developer and a Lead Quality Assurance Engineer.
OLG has a posting for a Senior Commercial Contract Manager.
Atlantic Lottery is searching for a Project Manager and a Lead UX Designer.
PopCap Games in Vancouver has need of a Senior Lead Game Product Manager.
Covers is in the market for a Social Media Specialist to work on a freelance basis.
The Vancouver Canucks are hiring a Senior Manager, Partnership Marketing.
Your Toronto Blue Jays are looking for a Senior Manager, Facility Operations and a Supervisor, Game Entertainment & Production.
The Vancouver Whitecaps FC are in the market for a Social Media Lead.
A Director, Marketing and Specialist, Data & Digital Marketing are among the jobs currently up for grabs at Rugby Canada.
South of the Border
Fanatics has a remote opportunity for a Senior Director, Data & Strategy.
Wanted at Hard Rock Digital: a Trader – Trading Overask, a Senior Designer – Engagement, Casino, a Senior Product Manager/Producer, a Manager, Product Design – iGaming, and a Manager – Corporate Communications.
Skillz is seeking an Event Marketing Lead in Las Vegas.
LA-based Team Liquid requires a Head of Strategy.
Blizzard Entertainment is hiring a Senior Director, Product Marketing for its Irvine, CA, location.
Radar is seeking a Fraud Analyst, Gaming to join its New York team.
Microsoft HQ in California is seeking a Senior Communications Manager.
ESPN has a newly created position available for a Senior Publicist.
Front Office Sports has an opening in New York for a Director, Video.
Across the Ponds
LeoVegas Group is looking for a Head of Casino.
Hard Rock Digital has a remote opening in the UK/Ireland for a Team Lead – Trading Player Profiling.
ComeOn Group has a cornucopia of employment opportunities.
SoftConstruct also has a whole lotta job openings.
And, PressEnter Group has a trio of opportunities.
Relax Gaming has a couple of openings for a Partner Commercial Manager.
North Star Network is in the market for a Product Manager – Casino.
NEXT.io has a hybrid opportunity for a Community Manager.
SBC has an opening in London for a Business Journalist (Affiliate Marketing).
ESPN is on the search for a soccer-savvy Associate Editor in the UK.
MLB HQ is looking for a Director, Product – MLB Ballpark App.
Reading and Reflection
Geez, even the Pope is weighing in on the current state of gambling.
Joseph Hillier told Tom Nightingale of Canadian Gaming Business before the holidays that iGaming Ontario has a launch date in mind for its long, long, long-awaited centralized self-exclusion program.
Sen. Percy Downe made his case for a ban on sports betting advertisement in the true north, strong and free.
Toronto-based OverActive Media had some financing news to announce before the clock struck midnight on 2025.
The U.S. military action in Venezuela last weekend sparked some curious trading activity on Polymarket. And it also sparked more questions about integrity and regulation around PMs.
ICYMI over the holiday season, Great Canadian Entertainment sold another land-based casino. Derrick Penner of the Financial Post provides some thoughts around the selling spree.
There’s a sports betting thread to Michael McCann’s sports law stories to watch column for Sportico.
Kalshi is creating its own version of a VIP program that’s used by sportsbooks/igaming operators.
James Hansen of The Athletic has the deets on the Chinese tennis player who’s been banned from the sport for 12 years after being found guilty of fixing or attempting to fix matches.
You’ll need a subscription but we want to flag this piece in The Economist on how sportsbooks are trying to block the best bettors.
According to Daniel O’Boyle of InGame, 2026 may be a better year for sports betting stocks.
A sports betting tax against operators doing business in the Windy City has begun. Not surprisingly, said operators aren’t happy.
Good reading from the keyboard of Front Office Sports’ Ben Horney on the relaunch of Polymarket in the U.S. of A.
Meg Brennan reported for Bethesda Magazine on the connection and controversy between teenagers and sports betting apps such as Fliff.
There’s a contribution to a recent Journal of Athletic Training – Education and Practice on a knowledge gap among trainers when it comes to sports betting.
In case you missed it during the holiday party, vacation and turkey season, DraftKings launched its prediction market platform in 38 U.S. states. Meanwhile, FanDuel Predicts went live in five states.
From the keyboard of Brett Smiley for InGame, nope, exchange-based platforms aren’t going to mean the death of sportsbooks.
Erik Gibbs of NEXT.io reported last week that the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office has shut down many online sweepstakes casinos doing business in the state.
According to the UK Betting and Gaming Council, $184 million was wagered with black market operators in Britain on Boxing Day alone.
Long-time Cleveland baseball writer Terry Pluto wonders about the long-term effect of sports betting partnerships in Major League Baseball.
Kalshi has no plans to back off its affiliates strategy despite holders of it badges posting phony sports news on social media.
Poland’s president has put the kibosh on a proposed gambling tax hike.
Drake and Stake are facing legal problems once again. Lawyers, start those billable hours. . . .
A Finnish media personality could be lighter in his digital wallet because of his gambling ties.
The New Zealand government would like to ban credit card deposits in the gambling industry this year.
For Sale: London-based esports organization Fnatic, which is looking for a buyer.
Bucharest-based Superbet has a new handle.
Finally, we enjoyed this read from the editorial types at Front Office Sports on its predictions for the business side of sports over the next 12 months.Stay up to date on the news of the gaming industry by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
To discuss our coverage of your company’s news and announcements and to become an advertiser on Gaming News Canada, please contact steve@gamingnewscanada.ca.
