iGaming Ontario (iGO) reported Wednesday that total iGaming wagers hit nearly $8.14 billion in August, a new all-time monthly record and a rise of 34.6% from August 2024. Last month was only the second time in the regulated’s market history that total wagering activity broke the $8 billion barrier, after it first did so in May.
Total operator revenue was $334.8 million, up 40.5% year over year. That was the second-highest total taking in the market’s three-and-a-half-year history, after May 2025’s $338.0 million.
There were 1.016 million active player accounts last month, up from a nine-month low of approximately 948,000 in July and a 41.5% jump from 12 months ago. Those accounts produced an average monthly revenue of $330; only in August 2024 has that total been higher ($332).
Online casino wagers break $7B as Golden Nugget arrives
Online casino continued to comprise 89% of market share by spend and around 80% of total operator revenue, just as it did in July. Total iCasino handle hit its own milestone by exceeding $7 billion in a month for the first time ever, as customers played through $7.22 billion in non-promotional bets. That was a 37.7% increase from last year and about $273 million more than the previous monthly record, set in May.
That online casino activity produced another new monthly record, $267.8 million in casino-specific operator revenue. Combined, Ontario’s dozens of licensed online casinos made 44.4% more money from online casino than they did last August.
Ontario’s online casino market was buoyed further by the fact that DraftKings‘ Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) platform launched in the market on Aug. 19, joining DraftKings’ flagship sportsbook and casino offering. The online casino, which Eilers and Krejcik Gaming (EKG) ranked as No. 2 in the U.S. market behind DraftKings Casino earlier this year, was already live in four major iCasino states, including the Ontario-adjacent Michigan and nearby Pennsylvania.
Others will arrive later this year. High Roller Technologies CEO Seth Young spoke to Canadian Gaming Business recently about why the Las Vegas-based company feels its flagship eponymous platform will compete well in the province, and absolutebet announced on Sept. 5 that it has been granted registration by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
Sportsbooks’ earnings rebound from July
While sports betting continues to be a sliver of the market compared to online casino, sportsbooks did better in August than either earlier this summer or this time last year.
As the slow sports summer season continued, Ontario gamblers wagered $765 million on sports betting, just 9% of the total spend. That was up 11% from July’s $688 million and 15.2% higher than was wagered on sports in August 2024, although it was still the second-lowest total since this time last year.
There are considerably fewer licensed online sportsbooks in Ontario than online casinos, and those sportsbooks took $60.2 million in revenue from sports wagering in August, more than in both June and July. In a year in which Ontario sports betting has frequently yielded lower monthly revenue for operators than in the same months in 2024, August’s total sportsbook earnings were up 28.4% from August 2024.
Peer-to-peer poker was 2% of both total handle and total operator revenue, as it always is.
iGaming Ontario reporting does not include wagering activity on Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) platforms, including the PROLINE+ sportsbook. OLG will report its results from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, this fall.
