How well is Ontario provincial gambling performing? Tune in for the Canada Ontario Q2 2022 Online Gambling Revenue breakdown! (Image from Rusanthan Harish)
Although it is Q3 in the world of finances, it is just Q2 2022 for the Ontario iGaming market since it began on 4 April 2022.
In the latest financial review of the casino and sports betting arms operating in the country’s most populated province has recently been made public. The report, therefore, covers 1 July to 30 September this year.
Financials included in the report are as follows:
(1) average monthly spending per player
(2) number of active accounts over Q2
(3) total iGaming and sports betting revenue
(4) total wagers placed in CAD
Commission of Ontario (AGCO) does not break down figures per operator or online casino.
It also does not show the total amounts won by players, but most financial reports for other markets also leave this stat out. However, we can reasonably figure this out by subtracting ‘total revenue’ from ‘total wagers’, which we have done for you below to give a few extra stats.
Let’s get stuck in and see the official figures reported by the AGCO…
Official Canada Ontario Q2 2022 Online Gambling Revenue Financials…
C$ 142 PM – Average Monthly Spend: Average monthly bets across casinos and sports came to $142 per player on gambling in the Ontario iGaming and sports betting markets has created a new buzz in the province. It’s high enough to show operators they are offering the right services and attracting players. Meanwhile, it is low enough to keep associations that advocate the prevention of problem gambling reasonably happy.
628k – Active Accounts: Over the Q2 2022 three-month period, there were 628,000 active member accounts on gambling platforms online. That’s just over 4% of the province’s population. Ontario boasts a large population of 15 million.
C$ 267 Million in Revenue: Overall, revenue for online gambling sites in Ontario was C$ 267 Million. This is obviously before taxes and other expenses.
C$ 6 Billion in Wagers: Ontario casino and sports book players/bettors wagered C$ 6 billion in wagers across all online gambling websites.
Dissecting the figures: If we take the C$ 142 PM spent over the 3-month period, that’s C$ 426 in total per player over Q2. Overall, across 628,000 accounts, that’s C$ 268 million spent. With $ 6 billion in wagers, players won back C$ 5,999,732,000. Per account, that amounts to C$ 9,553. Now obviously the overall market trend shows casinos made revenues of C$ 267 million. Not everyone won, but there were some huge winners somewhere taking the majority of C$ 9,553 per account into single accounts.
Regulated Ontario online gambling is showing signs of success – but how did it come about?
Canada is a hotbed for online gambling activity. Most players seek out Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) casinos accepting Canadian players, the Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC), and/or the Curacao eGaming frameworks.
The issue for the legislative assembly of Ontario is that with a population so large, that’s millions (possibly billions) in Canadian Dollars landing in the laps of companies not situated in Canada. And the entire process is legal. I.e., there are no laws preventing provincial citizens from choosing to gamble with online gambling platforms overseas, while the companies accepting these bets are also doing nothing illegal by offering these services.
Adding fuel to fire was another valid parliamentary argument that continued to poke its head above the water. Canadian players have little legal protection should the casino go rogue or worst still cannot claim their casino balances back in the case of casino bankruptcy.
Although that is not strictly true. Members of online gambling websites licenced under the MGA framework do have protection and support directly from the licensing authorities themselves. The authority offers legal mediation services and EU consumer protection laws apply to non-EU members. Plus, there are restrictions in place to guarantee player balances are paid back in case of casino bankruptcy.
With all this in mind, the pressure was still on. Especially as there are so many rouge online casinos out there operating with no licence or with untrustworthy or non-government regulated licensing authorities.
Meanwhile over in the US, the state-by-state licencing model was showing immense success. Especially the clear tax benefits revealed in their monthly and quarterly iGaming and sports betting financial reports. Then when considering Ontario’s population of 15 million people, it outweighs all seven US states’ individual populations that give their citizens access to legal online iGaming and sports betting. New Jersey (NJ) has the highest revenues, and its population is just 9 million, while Pennsylvania’s (PA) revenue is close to NJ, and the PA state population is 13 million.
As a result, Ontario bigwigs came up with a solution. That was to create a provincial iGaming and sports betting market in which operators and suppliers must register with an Ontario-based licencing authority. In the end, the benefits of a domestic provincial licensing authority were just too good to turn down.
Ontario Licensing: All operators, sports tech providers and casino game suppliers must register with the iGaming Ontario (iGO) to gain a licence to operate in the province. This licensing authority operates under the AGCO responsible for governing all gambling, land-based and online, in the province.
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