The Ontario iGaming scene is booming. It’s been a record quarter for the industry with 243% increase in revenues as compared to the same quarter last year. Since the industry launch on April 4 of 2022, the sector has grown significantly, making for a thriving new market for online gambling providers – as well as Ontarian players.
Online slots with no deposit bonuses, specifically those offering the ones listed on NoDepositHero, are known to be the most sought-after casino game by Ontarians. What’s more, they make up around 48% of the wagers, as confirmed by iGaming Ontario.
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A Blossoming New Industry
Since its launch last year, the Ontario iGaming space has gone from strength to strength. April last year saw the regulation of both online casinos and sports betting to combat the exploding growth of the worldwide online gambling grey market.
For countries and territories that are newly legalizing and regulating their own online casino and sports betting industries, the benefits are starting to show. When taxes and levies are made on the companies that run these operations, the taxpayers can directly benefit from the results.
The Results Of Q1 2023 Are In
Q1 of 2023 has been massive for the industry. The quarter, measured from April 1 to June 30 of this year, showed results that outstripped even expert projections. With over $14B of total wagers, the revenues stood at just over half a billion dollars, or $545M. This is compared to just over $4B in the same period last year.
From these figures, the casino betting wagers total $11.6B, with sports betting coming in a $2B and $350M for P2P poker, and $392M, $138M, and $15M in revenues respectively. The proportion of incomes attributed to casino betting over sports betting was an unexpected figure arising from the results.
In the same time period in 2022, there were just 18 online gambling operators with 31 websites, which have now expanded to 46 online gambling operators with 71 websites. This new competition in the market is certainly contributing to boosting those figures.
The number of active player accounts stood at 920,000 with each player spending on average $197 per month on the pastime.
A Financial Boost for Ontarians
While it may seem like players are spending slightly on the higher side each month, plenty of that spend is going back into the piggy bank of Ontario itself. iGaming operators are currently taxed at 20% of revenues which works out to around $109M that is returned to Ontario and its people.
As the industry grows to grow and transform, we are likely to see more and more initiatives from the government that can be attributed to the incoming monies from iGaming taxation.
Where to From Here?
After such a bumper quarter, it indicates that iGaming is headed on the up and up in Ontario. More recently, both Quebec and British Columbia have also eased into the market. This follows worldwide trends, too. The industry has been significantly buoyed by the expanding regulations of online sports betting and iGaming more broadly across many of the US states, after a federal law banning the practice was overturned just a few short years ago.
Other regions are following suit too, with opening and regulating their own markets. In Latin America, Columbia and Peru have passed new legislation regarding the online gambling industry.
According to Grand View Research, the online gambling market was valued at $63.53B USD in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.7% out to 2023. With skyrocketing smartphone adoption and use in markets such as Africa, new fortunes are to be made in the space.
While operators who register with the relevant authorities in legislated markets flourish, still more operating in the global grey space continue to gain traction. These gambling operators register their operations in known regions of the world where licensing is cheaper and conditions of operation are more lax.
These grey space operators may or may not be banned from operating in certain jurisdictions, but thanks to the power of the internet, it can be almost impossible to stop them from reaching players. While some countries set up IP blocks for certain websites, it can be relatively easy for players to skirt these IP blocks through the use of VPNs and other IP redirection services. Because the companies do not operate within the bounds of the country, there is no legal justification to be able to fine them or chase them. For players, it means more choices of providers. For legal operators within a jurisdiction, it provides a point of difference for their sales approaches.
No matter what happens next in iGaming, we’ll be here watching.
