Gambling Industry in Ontario Shows First-Quarter Strength

The legal regulated Ontario gambling market is strong. This past Wednesday the iGaming Ontario report for the first quarter of 2023 revealed betting growth in Canada's only legal online gambling province year-over-year, which included the best betting sites in Canada. The numbers revealed also remained fairly steady for the period ranging from April 1 to June 30 compared to the previous quarter. 

There wasn't much of a dip or a spike from the fourth quarter despite the lack of NFL, March Madness, and pared-down playoff schedules in both the NHL and NBA. 

However, the dramatic year-over-year wagering spike for the first quarter was one of the real stories of the iGO report.

While sports betting has gotten a ton of attention in Ontario, online casinos were responsible for the bulk of the betting action. Sports wagering was still an integral part of the legal gambling revenues for the province, but it lagged behind casino games, which dwarfed sports betting in terms of total wagers and gaming revenue.

First, the total Q1 numbers

A total of $14.0 billion was wagered with Ontario legal gambling betting sites during the first quarter of 2023, according to the iGO report. That number doesn't include free bets or any promotional wagers.

The report also showed that $545 million in gaming revenues was produced from 24 operators in the Ontario legal gambling scene and 71 gaming websites. There were 920,000 active player accounts in Ontario for the period ranging from April 1-June 30, and the average monthly spend with Ontario sports betting apps, mobile casinos, and online poker rooms was $197 per user.

Comparison to other quarters

The numbers remained fairly static from the fourth quarter of 2022 when the NFL was in full swing, and Ontario sports bettors were wagering on the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors.

$13.9 billion in the total iGaming handle was reported for the fourth quarter of 2022, along with $526 million in revenue, as opposed to the $14 billion wagered and $545 million in revenues last quarter. 

However, there was a drop in accounts for Ontario betting sites from quarter-to-quarter. The fourth quarter of last year boasted 1.01 million accounts with 75 sites, as opposed to the 920,000 users using 71 Ontario sports betting sites this past quarter.

Year-over-year comparisons of the figures for legal gambling in Ontario revealed a huge surge in handle and revenues. Remember, legal online gambling only began in Ontario on April 4, 2022. 

Bettors placed $4.1 billion in bets during the first period for legal gambling in the province, as opposed to the $14 billion this past quarter. Revenues from April 4-June 30, 2022, were just $162 million, as opposed to the $545 million reported for the period that ended this past June 30.

Online casinos dominate sports betting

Sports betting wasn't the biggest generator of gambling activity or revenues in the Ontario scene, according to the figures released last Wednesday. The iGO report gave the public a comprehensive breakdown of where the bulk of the revenues came from for the first time.

Online casinos including slots, live and computer-based table games, and peer-to-peer bingo made up 83% of the total wagers in Ontario, or $11.6 billion of the total $14 billion Q1 handle. $2 billion, or 14% of the overall Q1 handle came from sports, and peer-to-peer poker made up the other 3% with about $350 million in Q1 wagers.

As far as revenues, online casinos again dominated. Online casinos were responsible for $392 million in gaming revenues for Ontario during the first quarter, or 72%. Sports wagering with the best Ontario sports betting apps made up 25% of the overall revenues, or $138 million. Poker generated $15 million in revenues, or about 3% of the total.

Catching up on the lifetime Ontario gambling numbers

As of June 30, the Ontario legal gambling market had logged five full quarters. By all accounts, the online casinos and Ontario sports betting apps business has been strong through 15 months of operation.

$35.6 billion has been legally wagered in the Ontario market so far, according to the iGO, with $1.4 billion in total gaming revenue.

Unsurprisingly, online casinos made up the bulk of the activity. $27.6 billion in wagers have come from Ontario's online casinos (78%), along with $940 million in revenues (67%).

Sports has generated $7 billion in lifetime bets in the Ontario market (20% of the total) and $433 million in revenues (31%). Poker is responsible for $992 in total bets in 15 months (3%) with $40 million in revenues (3%).