Wall Street analysts expect the start of Ontario’s newly-expanded legal betting industry will be dominated by internet bookies that employed offshore servers and foreign gaming licences to skirt the law since the early 2000s.
Looking to redirect the flow of billions of dollars following the federal legalization of bets on single games and events, Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government has offered a penalty-free, “business-like transition” to internet sportsbooks and gambling platforms that for years have handled the betting action of Ontarians from beyond the law’s reach.
Once approved by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and its subsidiary iGaming Ontario (iGO), these firms are free to compete with companies that resisted the lucrative online legal grey zone.
