Ontario legalized sports betting and online gambling on April 4, 2022. It has been two years, and the market keeps growing while maintaining a safe competitive distance with Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corp., also known as OLG. It was first the only body functioning to provide the said kind of entertainment. The province now has over 50 operators and more than 70 sites for casinos, sports betting, and poker.
The growth is evident from the fact that Ontario has quickly climbed the ladder to become one of the biggest players in North America. The government has earned its fair share of tax revenue, and operators have fetched billions in wagers. Ontario was last seen following the ranks of Italy, the United Kingdom, Pennsylvania, Australia, and New Jersey—not necessarily in the sequence.
iGaming Ontario, also known as iGO, compiled the numbers to better support the province and its standings.
iGO said approximately $17.2 billion was wagered from October 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023. That generated a revenue of $658 million. The fourth quarter has indeed set an optimistic stage for the following phases. It has further broken down the numbers into those belonging to online casino gambling, peer-to-peer poker, and sports and event betting. The numbers for these categories are $13.7 billion, $431 million, and $3.1 billion, respectively.
The monthly average came to $157 million, $57 million, and $5.7 million for online casinos, sports betting, and poker, in the same order.
Regions like New York and Illinois presented a healthy competition. New York, for one, quoted US$2 billion in handle in the concluding quarter of 2023. Illinois posted slightly more than US$1 billion in October, November, and December. Some of the best sports betting sites in the USA have heavily contributed to the growth story here. These include the likes of 1xBit.com, CoinPlay, and BC.Game, among others.
A comparison with Ohio has gained some attention, for they share almost a similar size. Ohio legalized the segment in 2023 but has since then ventured out faster to the path of bagging US$747.7 million, US$865.5 million, and US$831.1 million in the last three months of the year—in the same order.
Some regions could emerge stronger later in the year or in the years to come. New Jersey, for instance, does not house legal online casino gambling or sports betting at the moment. Their entrance would change the dynamics for a higher spot on the list. The state has almost 9.3 million. While it is less than what Ontario has, New Jersey can still ride high on the entertainment.
It was last seen reporting US$166.8 million in GGR, that is, gross gaming revenue, from iGaming in October. The following months registered US$171.6 million and US$180.3 million, respectively.
