Online Gambling Finally Makes Debut in Ontario

The government of Ontario in April 2019 announced its plans to end the lottery’s online gambling monopoly. Later in 2020, the provincial government introduced legislation to bring forth a licensing regime. Final standards for online betting and gaming in the state were published in September 2021 further cementing iGaming in Ontario’s future.

Now, the wait is finally over. On Monday, April 4, 2022, the Canadian province officially launched its legal and regulated iGaming market. The market will be under the oversight of iGaming Ontario which is a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). It will be responsible for issuing licenses as well as ensuring that all licensees are fit for operation in the territory.

Even before the market officially opened, iGaming Ontario had already issued several licenses. This was a pretty solid move, especially considering that many operators were looking to come into the market. By keeping the barriers to entry relatively low and allowing a variety of iGaming operators to set up shop in the province, the regulator has contributed to fostering competition.

That will be very beneficial to both the province’s coffers as well as the consumers themselves. Players can therefore expect to be treated to nothing short of the best iGaming products and services going forward.

The Brands

As expected, the launch of the new iGaming market presented a unique opportunity for many operators. These included both platform providers as well as developers.

Evolution Gaming, one of the most popular gaming development brands, is among the companies that made their debut in Ontario on April 4. The company is now powering iGaming services for several operators including the likes of 888, LeoVegas, Rush Street Interactive, the Score Bet and BetMGM. Ontario gamers using these sites will therefore get access to the full Evolution portfolio of online live casino games, games shows, Evolution First Person table games and game shows as well as NetEnt and Red Tiger online slots.

BetRivers’ amazing online casino and sportsbook are also live in Ontario. Eligible players aged 19 and older across the province can sign-up now and begin wagering. This can be done through the BetRivers.ca site or on any of the BetRivers mobile applications.

Another notable entrant into the Ontario iGaming market is FanDuel. The operator’s sportsbook and online casino are already available for all eligible players. It began its launch with a digital campaign for responsible gambling which is certainly a great way to start. It is great to know that these businesses are looking at both sustainability as well as the safety of their users.

Tomas Medon

Tomas is quite the poker enthusiast having played and watched the game for over a decade now. His passion for writing has been well-combined with his insight into the industry's latest developments. Tomas is a vigorous and unflagging member of our team, always ready to discuss the latest improvements in the sector, from Virtual Reality (VR) to using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to teach people poker, you will be in no shortage of talking points when you meet Tomas. Incidentally, Tomas is quite passionate about teaching people poker, so he will be bringing the occasional in-depth strategy piece.