Ontario report

When the Ontario market opened in April this year, it wasn’t quite brand new ground.

Anyone in the industry could tell you that the grey market in Canada’s largest province had been thriving for quite some time.

Still, bringing the province from grey to white offers certainty and new opportunities for many.

Six months on, we have a sense of the spoils available. Operators – excluding the lottery – brought in a combined CA$267m in the three months ended 30 September.

The biggest challenge in the province, however, may be marketing rules. Operators can offer bonuses, but may not promote them. As Marese O’Hagan writes in our progress report, that’s been difficult, but it hasn’t seriously dampened excitement about the jurisdiction.

And for now, those complying with the rules still need to compete with some unlicensed brands, which continue to do business in Ontario. How will that change going forward, as the province moves out of its transition period? We have a piece from Segev LLP examining that exact question.

Finally, Ontario represents the first Canadian province or territory to open up a licensing system for igaming. Could others follow suit? So far, there’s been little progress in that area, but if Ontario proves to be a success, that could change.