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Ontario is Canada’s oldest regulated iGaming market. As its success booms, others are looking to emulate its model.
In April 2022, Ontario was the first Canadian province to launch a fully regulated iGaming market. You can imagine the furore: people saying that it would be a disaster and create numerous social problems. Yet if you play casino games in the province, and enjoy the thrill of reel spinning or the fall of the cards in poker, 70+ operators now serve you using their open licensing system successfully.
Attracting Global Operators to Canadian Licenses
The range of Canada casino sites is a testament to how popular the country has become for online casino operators. You can now choose from some of the biggest brands in the world. Having worked under many European legislations, they know the value of fairness, safety and transparency. When combined with bonus offers, they’re perfectly set to grow the Canadian market even further.
It is not just provinces looking at Ontario. The global focus has now shifted to Canada. The USA decides its gambling laws on a state level, but it looks likely that few of these will change anytime soon. Yet Canada’s provinces are still evolving, and Ontario, as the oldest and most regulated market, is the benchmark.
The Explosive Growth of Ontario’s iGaming Sector
In September alone, Ontario shattered its previous records. $8.55 billion was made in wagers, a 30% leap year on year. In the first quarter of the year, Gross gaming revenue hit $3.2 billion. This was a 32% year-over-year rise and far outstripped any of the predictions that had been made.
This is having a marked impact on the province’s economy. A Deloitte study found that $1.24 billion in government revenue was created in the market’s second year of operation. In this same year, job roles in the sector grew to 14,935. All of this has a huge economic impact, which other provinces are taking notice of.
The Possible Changes Across Canada
Ontario is different as it operates an open license system. It is overseen by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario. Private brands can compete under their system, meaning global brands like Fanduel and BetMGM work there and compete in an open market. This is very different from how most states work, using a provincial monopoly. Loto-Québec or ALC are prime examples of this.
In 2025, Alberta seems the most likely province to follow suit. It would allow online sports betting and online casino play, and many big-name brands have started to prepare for a 2026 arrival. Bill 48, the iGaming Alberta Act, passed its second reading in May.
As a leading figure, Ontario has constantly refined and fine-tuned its approach. Using its example, and those taken from the US and Europe, other provinces should be able to create safe, secure environments. These can benefit the country, providing much-needed revenue in a cooling global economy.
