Ontario to open private sports betting market on April 4

iGaming Ontario, a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), says private gaming operators that have registered and executed an operating agreement with the agency can begin offering their games to players in Ontario beginning April 4.

“Consumers can be assured that companies who successfully enter the new Ontario market will have met rigorous standards of game and operator integrity, fairness, player protections and social responsibility, allowing all players to play with confidence,” iGaming Ontario executive director Martha Otton stated in a news release on Friday.

Canadian provinces gained the legal authority to allow bets on single sporting events on Aug. 27, 2021, the date when legislation amending Canada's criminal code took effect. Prior to the legal change prompted by the passage of Bill C-218 last summer, Canadians were restricted to parlay-style bets spanning multiple games or events. The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) estimates billions in wagers from Canadian sports fans have flowed to offshore and unregulated online sportsbooks.

Ontario's plan to expand legal sports betting options allows an unlimited number of private sportsbooks to seek a licence to operate in the province. It's a departure from most other provinces, which have mainly appointed their lottery corporations to oversee new forms of betting. Alberta has signalled that it will allow private sportsbooks, but in a more limited way than Ontario.

Ontario's online gambling market is expected to generate $989 million in gross revenue in its first year, hitting $1.86 billion by 2026. Those figures, from research firm Vixio GamblingCompliance, assumed a launch in late-2021 or early 2022, a full range of products, and an effective tax rate of 20 per cent.