Sports streaming giant DAZN does not currently have an online gambling presence in Canada, but its DAZN Bet sportsbook and casino will soon be live in two provinces.
DAZN Bet has already received an iGaming operator’s license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), and as of May 29, it is listed as a registered operator by Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis (AGLC).
Alberta’s regulated commercial online gambling market, the second of its kind in Canada, will open for business on July 13.
DAZN gears up for new frontier in Canadian gaming
DAZN Bet received a license to launch DAZN Bet in Ontario in January, but is yet to actually start taking bets in the province. Canadian Gaming Business reached out to the company seeking an update on its Ontario and Alberta plans but had not heard back at the time of writing.
Its approved registration by the upcoming Alberta market’s regulator, though, indicates its intention to launch a two-pronged approach to Canadian iGaming. DAZN recently hired former Sports Interaction and TonyBet leader Richard Rawlinson as its first Country Manager for Canada.
As a sports streaming service, DAZN already has a significant footprint in Canada. It holds exclusive or non-exclusive Canadian broadcast rights to major sports such as the NFL, MLB Network, English Premier League (via an agreement with primary broadcaster Fubo) and UEFA Champions League soccer, LIV Golf, Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) competitions, as well as some boxing, MMA, motorsports, and more. It also offers original shows such as the NFL “Rookie Diaries”, “Downs 2 Business”, and “Inside the Ring”.
It recently lost the Canadian rights to UEFA club soccer to Paramount+ starting in 2027. However, as it looks towards an expanded Canadian presence, DAZN announced on May 28 that it will become the exclusive Canadian broadcaster of Canadian Football League (CFL) Saturday Night Football games in starting in 2027, and will stream every CFL game in its worldwide markets outside North America.
DAZN marries sports streaming to sports betting
Ontario and Alberta will be DAZN Bet’s first two markets in North America; it is already live in European markets including the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, and France. In some jurisdictions, DAZN offers a DAZN Bet feature that allows users to track odds and place bets via the sportsbook while watching live sports events on the same platform.
DAZN Group CEO Shay Segev said at ICE in Barcelona in January that DAZN’s convergence of sports streaming and betting sets it apart from conventional sportsbooks.
“In a way, we are almost a little bit of a different beast in the standard of online betting companies, because we’re coming in as a broadcaster,” Segev said. “We don’t want to create just another betting site. When you go to DAZN, you go because you like sports. If you want to bet, it’s completely optional.”
30+ iGaming operators approved in Alberta
DAZN will compete with more than 30 other registered operators in Alberta, including:
- bet365
- BetMGM
- Caesars‘ three iGaming brands
- DraftKings Sportsbook and Casino and its secondary Golden Nugget Online Gaming brand
- FanDuel
- PENN Entertainment’s theScore Bet
- AGLC-operated Play Alberta
- Rush Street Interactive’s BetRivers
- PointsBet Canada
- Super Group‘s six brands including Betway
