C$ 545 Million Ontario Q1 2023 Results – iGaming leads the way!

Canadian provincial gambling in Ontario reaches C$ 10.6 billion in wagers – online casinos account for 83% of wagers and 72% of revenue. (Photo by Rachael Annabelle on Unsplash)

Canada’s Ontario internet gambling market must raise a few eyebrows in the country’s other provinces yet to install a similar regulatory authority.

Why? The numbers are mouthwatering when you look at the latest revenue figures for online gambling. And if you are a provincial or territorial government leader, you are probably thinking – tax, tax, tax, and more tax revenue for that fiscal budget.

Q1 2023 reports a massive C$ 545 million for the financial year 2023 to 2024, an increase of 3.6% versus Q4.

Is that not a big enough number for you? With a population approaching 15 million, the province placed total bets worth – wait for it – C$ 13.995 billion (That’s with a ‘B’) compared to the previous quarter’s $13.86 billion.

It puts Ontario on a similar pedestal to state iGaming and sports betting zones in the US – the big three there are Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, all with slightly smaller populations than Ontario. At the same time, you have to consider that unlike in the USA, Ontario’s AGCO does not ban players in the province from joining up online casinos operating under Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), Curacao Master Licensing (CeG), or Kahnawake Gaming Commission (KGC) licensing. Therefore, taking all factors into account, these are some impressive numbers we’re looking at here.

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Revenue and Wagers Overview

The Ontario iGaming market witnessed a 3.6% increase in revenue during Q1 of 2023-24, with total wagers surpassing the previous quarterly record by C$ 0.135 billion. It is a marginal rise and shows the market could not start to plateau as it begins to consolidate with marginal growth for the future.

At least nothing like the rise in revenue we have seen since the Ontario iGaming industry came into action in April 2022. This is likely because the buzz has worn off, and those that have made a move from casinos operating under the Curacao, MGA, and KGC frameworks. Of course, this is me just purely speculating.

Online Gambling Verticals Breakdown for Q1 2023-24

Online casino games dominated Canada’s Ontario iGaming market. 83% of all wagers for the entire market revenue were for online slots, virtual table games, peer-to-peer games, bingo and live casino. This comes to $ 8.8 billion in total wagers generating C$296.6 million in revenue (72%) of the market’s total. That’s a huge number compared to sports betting, which is nowhere near as popular. Just speculating, but my feeling is that Curacao and MGA casinos offer better spreads and bonuses as the rules aren’t quite so strict.

Hence sports betting accounted for a mere 14% of bets accounting for C$ 1.5 billion in bets generating $ 104.4 million in revenue (14%). Although I am surprised poker’s contribution is so low at just 3%, with C$ 264.8 million in bets and creating just C$ 11.4 million in revenue (3%).

Operator and Player Activity

Going back to my previous comment speculating that the Canadian province’s online gambling entertainment market may start to plateau, one stat backs it up. The number of websites in Q$ was 75, which has fallen by 4 to 71. Some operators dropped out of the market, likely due to a lack of market share.

Of course, with giants like LeoVegas Canada, 888Casino, DraftKings, Caesars, and Wheelz to contend with and a smaller target market compared to having an MGA, KGC, or Curacao licensing cert, some brands were bound to fail.

I am also surprised that in Q1, only 2 new software providers joined the Ontario iGaming market. There are now 46. Compared to casinos under the MGA, KGC, and Curacao licensing cert, casinos can host anything between 100 and 200 software providers. There’s still much catching up to do here.