Ontario’s regulated gambling market eats into offshore wagering
Ontario’s regulated online gambling market has tightened its grip on the province’s betting activity, with new research showing more than 91 per cent of online gamblers are now using licensed operators instead of offshore sites.
The study, commissioned by iGaming Ontario and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), found channelisation to regulated sites climbed to 91.1 per cent this year, up sharply from 83.7 per cent previously.
At the same time, the proportion of players using only unregulated gambling sites dropped from 16.3 per cent to 8.9 per cent.
Ontario Tourism, Culture and Gaming Minister Stan Cho said the migration toward regulated platforms showed “strong oversight” and consumer safeguards were working as intended.
“Our government is proud to support a modern, regulated igaming market that puts player safety first,” he said.
“As more Ontarians move to regulated platforms, it’s clear that strong oversight, enhanced consumer protections, and responsible gaming measures are helping build greater trust and confidence in Ontario’s online gaming sector.”
The figures arrive four years after Ontario launched its open commercial igaming market in April 2022, a model that broke away from Canada’s traditional government-run monopoly system.
iGaming Ontario said the results reflected growing trust in licensed operators, which are required to implement responsible gambling tools, player verification systems and consumer protection measures unavailable on many offshore casino sites.
The province’s regulated market generated more than C$4.2 billion in gaming revenue during its fourth year from over C$103 billion in wagers.
Ontario became the first province to regulate sports betting and online casinos, with Alberta in the throes of following suit, with their regulated market expected to launch later this year.
