The most recent report from iGaming Ontario showed that the province’s regulated gaming market hit a key milestone in the past quarter. November and December became the first months in which there were more than 1 million active player accounts in Canada’s most populous province.
The 1.024 million users active in December was a 26.5% increase from the 809,000 unique accounts active in December 2023, and the December 2023 figure was a 29.6% improvement from the 624,000 active in December 2022.
Similarly, the $7.82 billion wagered in December through the online casino, sports betting and poker sites approved for use in Ontario is up nearly 29% from the $6.07 billion bet in December 2023. That handle was up more than 36% from the $4.47 billion total from December 2022.
Across all types of approved gaming, Ontario’s operators reported revenues of $269.3 million in December. Thanks to the province’s 20% tax, gambling in Ontario generated nearly $54 million last month. Since April 2022, when iGaming launched in Ontario, the regulated market has delivered $1.23 billion in taxes.
Despite Ontario’s overwhelming success, no other province has yet to step up and offer residents the same type of regulated market.
Will that change, finally, in 2025, or will it continue to be a missed opportunity everywhere except Ontario?
Is 2025 The Year For Alberta?
Alberta has been the odds-on favorite to be the next to implement a similar type of market. However, leaders in the Prairie province have taken a methodical approach. Alberta’s gaming market is a little different than Ontario’s. The province will likely take First Nations communities that offer gaming in Alberta into consideration.
While Alberta is just the fourth most populated province, its per capita GDP of more than $96,500 is the highest of all provinces and 32% higher than the national per capita GDP of $73,192.
Alberta is most likely to join Ontario later this year, but when will the others follow suit?
Lottery Monopolies In Control
While players in Ontario can choose from BetMGM, the Score Bet, DraftKings and FanDuel, players elsewhere are limited to lottery-run sportsbooks and gray market operators. Alberta officials last year estimated their lottery had a 45% market share.
Yet, while there is a great desire for choice across Canada, many provinces are failing to take that into consideration. Earlier this month, Quebec officials announced that Loto-Quebec provided more than $1.5 billion to the government during the 2023-24 fiscal year. Aside from the previous fiscal year, the last time the lottery produced those kinds of results was 2005-06.
However, as a spokesperson for the Quebec Online Gaming Coalition noted in Le Journal de Montreal, $1.5 billion in 2006 is now equivalent to $2.4 billion.
“Would you be excited about making the same salary you did in 2006? Probably not,” Ariane Gauthier wrote in an op-ed. “In fact, considering inflation, you would be significantly worse off.”
Gaming in Ontario is thriving. However, if leaders in other provinces aren’t swayed by Ontario's results, you have to wonder what it will take for them to get with modern times and provide the products Canadians want.
As online gambling continues to make legislative strides in Canada, bookmark BetCanada for all your Canada sports betting inquiries.
