Like many 18-month-olds, Canada’s first regulated igaming market is encountering growing pains.
On the plus side, iGaming Ontario Executive Director Martha Otton said the province now has “47ish” operators, citing a “fluid” number that almost doubles the 24 at this time last year. Seventy-one gaming sites are operating, up from 42. Gross gaming revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 30 was CAN$540 million, more than double the $267 million in the 2022 quarter. GGR is on pace to top the $1.4 billion posted in iGaming’s first year, she said.
Even with those increases, the province’s one-of-a-kind status means regulated operators run into conflicts with gray-market and non-Canadian sites over advertising rules and responsible-gaming provisions, said Chantal Cipriano, vice president of legal, compliance and government relations with PointsBet Canada.
Otton and Cipriano spoke Monday at a G2E panel discussion titled, “18 months in: Updates on the Canadian iGaming Market.” Also serving on the panel were Amanda Brewer, Country Manager in Canada for the Kindred Group, an online operator with nine brands, and Shelley White, CEO of the Responsible Gambling Council, a Toronto-based independent nonprofit that operates globally. Karin Schnarr, CEO and registrar of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, moderated.
“Marketing and advertising are a big challenge,” Cipriano said. “We need a level playing field in Ontario and across the country.” Ontario has approved advertising restrictions, such as not using athletes to advertise online gambling; they apply only in the province and are to take effect in February 2024.
Cipriano said some U.S.-based operators could skirt the rules and “do indirectly what they can’t do directly.” In addition, some gray-market operators registered in Ontario have ads that are broadcast nationwide. A bill that would impose Ontario-style rules nationwide is under consideration in Parliament. If it’s not approved, “that means there won’t be limitations in other parts of the country,” she said.
White suggested an updated RG strategy that addresses all types of available gambling and includes a nationwide set of core standards, with provinces free to apply additional measures individually. The “rich base” of online- player data being collected could be used for research, she said, with artificial intelligence and machine learning applied to improve consumer protections. “There needs to be greater investment in RG. That’s absolutely imperative.”
Cipriano said Ontario has “incredibly high” thresholds for accreditation in RG, but some gray-market operators not committed to that process target vulnerable players, triggering media reports that tar all operators as not doing their part for responsible gambling. “I would love to see a bit more uniformity across the country so we can avoid this type of narrative.”
Brewer described Ontario as “a special place” where alcohol sales and cannabis shops are common, but “a fair amount of what I would call ‘pearl clutching’” about gambling. She said consumers and broadcasters need more education about the RG controls that operators in Ontario must follow. Those include numerous checks and balances, the use of artificial intelligence to monitor for signs of problem gambling, and access to tools customers can use for help. “From a consumer-protection point of view, it’s paramount that some attention starts getting paid to this sooner than later,” Brewer said. “These are things that will come over time, and as we are able to tackle this next level of challenges, that will only strengthen the Ontario market and the resolve of operators to stay committed to the Ontario market.”
Brewer said other provinces are paying close attention to how Ontario applies its sports betting and igaming regulations. “All the rest of the provinces are dealing with unlicensed operators in their market. From a consumer-protection point of view, it’s paramount that some attention starts getting paid to this sooner than later.”
