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Saskatchewan to go live with online gaming and sports betting in November

Saskatchewan will launch its first and only legal online gaming and sports betting website, PlayNow.com, for residents of the province on Nov. 3.

The Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Association (SIGA) has stated it will be the official operator of PlayNow, as per an operating agreement with SaskGaming.

“We are excited to be the exclusive provider of Saskatchewan’s first and only legal online gaming site, which will provide a safe and secure option for residents to play their favourite casino games and bet on their favourite sports teams online,” commented Zane Hansen, President and CEO of SIGA.

Provided by the BCLC, PlayNow is based on British Columbia’s successful PlayNow.com business model, offering many of the same entertaining casino and sports-betting products from vendors and their strategic partnerships with BCLC.

Saskatchewan will be the third province to use BCLC’s PlayNow.com platform, which features dedicated responsible-gambling specialists known as GameSense Advisors, and “meets high standards for safety, security, technical integrity, age verification and responsible gambling”.

SaskGaming President and CEO, Susan Flett, stated: “The rollout of online gaming and single event sports betting opens up new casino entertainment options for residents. The launch timing is also ideal with Saskatchewan hosting this year’s Grey Cup in November.”

Hansen added: “Residents will be pleased to know that when they play on the PlayNow.com site, the proceeds are reinvested back into the province. Similar to the existing brick-and-mortar casinos in the province, all net proceeds from the PlayNow.com site are reinvested back into Saskatchewan.”

SIGA was able to bring PlayNow to Saskatchewan after the province reached an agreement with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) in September 2021.

FSIN Chief, Bobby Cameron, noted: “This historical partnership is the first of its kind, with a First Nations operator for online gaming with revenue sharing between First Nations and the Province. This will provide many economic benefits to the residents of the province and our First Nations communities.”

PlayNow has also reached a sponsorship agreement with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Riders will promote the new betting website by featuring the PlayNow.com logo on their jerseys along with other stadium activations.

“We are excited to welcome PlayNow.com as a valued partner and newest member of our strong Rider Nation,” said Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club President & CEO Craig Reynolds.

Oddin.gg latest to join Ontario after receiving AGCO licensing

Oddin.gg has made strides in its North American expansion strategy as it secured a betting supplier license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). 

The esports betting odds feed, risk management and iframe solutions provider has secured the necessary regulatory requirements to enter Ontario where it will begin to provide its esports betting services to operators in the province.

Vlastimil Venclik, Co-Founder and CEO of Oddin.gg, said: “We are thrilled to achieve this important milestone for Oddin.gg. Acquiring a license in Ontario opens a wealth of opportunities on the North American market, and is a major step in our North American expansion strategy. This helps us to support both existing clients and prospects in the future.”

The Czech firm, which also has a base in Las Vegas, recently secured a $4.5m in a Series A funding round to spearhead its North American growth, with Ontario a key target in this strategy. 

It marks the second North American jurisdiction that Oddin has launched in, after entering the igaming market in New Jersey back in April via a deal with Esports Entertainment Group. 

Venclik added: “The North American market is developing at a different pace. Canada is very rapidly embracing esports betting, with Ontario being especially big in esports. In contrast, the entire US is slow in legalizing and adopting esports. 

“This creates opportunities for progressive US bookmakers to adopt esports and distinguish themselves among the competition. We are in touch with such bookmakers, and you can expect more exciting news in the coming months.”

Great Canadian Entertainment agrees to retail sportsbook deal with Kambi

Great Canadian Entertainment has sealed a multi-year partnership with Kambi for the utilization of the latter’s on-property sportsbook across 10 of its casinos in Ontario.

Under the terms of the deal, Great Canadian will launch a Kambi-powered sportsbook across its properties in the province including at the Pickering Casino Resort.

The retail sportsbook solution also includes betting kiosks with fully configurable digital signage functionality.

In total, Great Canadian operates 25 gaming, entertainment, and hospitality destinations across Canada, including a dozen casinos in Ontario.

“The addition of sports betting at 10 of our Ontario-based gaming destinations is an important new amenity, elevating the gaming experience for our guests,” stated Tony Rodio, CEO of Great Canadian Entertainment.

“As the first company to launch this type of product in Ontario, we are thankful for our partnership with Kambi throughout this new venture as well as the continued support from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, and Ontario’s provincial government.”

Kambi added that the partnership will produce a slight uptick in its 2022 revenue, with a more material financial impact in 2023.

“I am delighted to form this exciting sports betting partnership with Great Canadian, which is rightly regarded as one of Canada’s premier gaming and entertainment companies with an unrivalled retail footprint,” commented Kristian Nylén, CEO and Co-founder of Kambi.

“This underlines our position as the leading multi-channel sportsbook provider in North America and we are looking forward to working with the talented team at Great Canadian to deliver a market-leading sportsbook experience for its patrons.”

Pinnacle to launch sportsbook website for Ontario market

Pinnacle has announced that its website for the Ontario market, Pinnacle.ca, will go live on Oct. 26, allowing bettors in the province to wager on sports and esports events.

The operator received approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) in September to provide its sportsbook offering to the Ontario market. It is also the operator’s first license in a regulated North American jurisdiction.

Paris Smith, CEO of Pinnacle, commented: “Wednesday’s launch is a major landmark for Pinnacle. As a result of our AGCO approval, we’re delighted to launch our new Pinnacle.ca site to showcase to Ontario bettors what sports betting can and should look like.

“We want to give our customers a true and unique betting experience. At Pinnacle.ca, that means great odds on the sports Ontario bettors care about, a strong focus on responsible gambling, and the welcoming of both recreational customers and the sharpest professionals around.”

Pinnacle noted that its customers in Ontario will “benefit from the brand’s responsible gaming commitment and fair deal approach to all bettors” and its focus on “delivering better odds to bettors”.

Pre-match and live market betting across all major sports will be available to the sportsbook’s users, including NFL, NHL, NBA, soccer, and tennis, while esports fans will also be catered for with a multi-award-winning product.

Initially going live with sports and esports betting, casino gaming will be rolled out on the website soon after, followed by further sports content.

Low6 to produce F2P games for BET99

Gaming platform Low6 has agreed to a partnership with online sportsbook and casino BET99 to produce free-to-play games for the Canadian market.

Under the terms of the deal, BET99 will utilize Low6’s gamification technology, offering the platform’s F2P games including a Football and Hockey Pick‘em to its customers. The deal also sees Low6 enter the Canadian market for the first time.

The operator’s websites, BET99.com and BET99.net, are operated by BQC Consulting GmbH, a subsidiary of Sports Venture Holdings.

“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to work with Low6,” commented Milena Teskova, CEO of BQC Consulting GmbH.

“Their expertise in free-to-play games is known industry-wide, and they have a strong understanding of the market and consumer. This partnership will add depth to BET99’s suite of engagement tools while continuing to drive and onboard new users at scale.” 

Alongside F2P games, Low6 also offers data-driven fan engagement apps and other peer-to-peer social contests through their propriety gamification tech stack, helping operators acquire new users, increase engagement, and drive new depositing users.

“Several operators are focused on capitalizing on the opportunity that the relatively new Canadian market represents,” added Low6 Co-Founder and Group CEO Jamie Mitchell. 

“Beyond acquiring specific user data, Low6’s gamification suite provides operators with strong behavioural data which can be used to best personalize communications with them. We are excited to enter what will be a very successful partnership with BET99 to deliver this data within a first-class gaming experience.”

Josh Turk, Low6 Chief Strategy Officer (North America), added: “Free-to-play games are the perfect tool to educate Canadians about the newly regulated sports betting market.

“Within this F2P experience, fans engage and familiarize themselves with gaming selections and odds such as over/under, spreads and others within a social peer-to-peer environment. We look forward to working with BET99 to boost daily activity across their digital properties.”

WSOP.ca surges to Ontario online poker market summit

According to Pokerfuse, World Series of Poker (WSOP) Ontario has already climbed to the top of the Ontario online poker market – despite only being live for a matter of weeks.

Powered by GGPoker, WSOP.ca launched at the end of last month, becoming fully live and regulated in Ontario.

Entering the market, WSOP.ca was suddenly competing with industry powerhouses such as Pokerstars, who previously held top spot in the province.

However, WSOP.ca has quickly overtaken the competition to lead the market with nearly 750 concurrent seats, which is larger than any US online poker market.

The average number of concurrent cash game seats more than doubled upon its debut as WSOP.ca helped to bring many new players to the market. A vast swathe of its existing Ontario player base – previously under GGPoker, serving the market from offshore before the migration – transitioned over.

WSOP.ca’s market debut was aided by an ‘aggressive’ marketing campaign led by GGPoker’s global ambassador, Daniel Negreanu.

WSOP.ca hosted an online WSOP Circuit series in Ontario to celebrate its launch. The event began on October 1 and concluded with a two-day $525 buy-in Main Event on October 15-16.

PressEnter Group approved by AGCO to launch in Ontario

Online casino operator PressEnter Group has secured approvals from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) to operate in the province.

With the approval, PressEnter Group has gone live with its NitroCasino brand in Ontario with plans to secure a “significant market share” as it identifies the province as “being of great prospective for the fun and thrilling experience” that its brands provide.

“We have an ambitious international expansion plan and entering Ontario is yet another step towards PressEnter Group becoming a truly global, top-tier operator,” commented Lahcene Merzoug, Chief Executive Officer at PressEnter Group.

“Ontario is a market with great potential for operators that can deliver engaging, entertaining player involvement and that is where we excel. We look forward to seeing players from Ontario enjoy the high levels of entertainment that our brands deliver.”

PressEnter Group’s entry into Ontario is part of its wider international growth plans, as it has recently launched in Chile and Peru with its Ultra Casino brand, making its debut in Latin America in the process.

BetGames ‘delighted’ as AGCO registration achieved

BetGames has obtained full registration from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to enter the regulated market in the province. 

Becoming the latest studio to enter the market, BetGames will ‘soon’ make its titles such as Lucky 5, Lucky 7 and Entain’s Starzle available to players across Ontario.

Commenting on the deal, BetGames’ CEO Andreas Koeberl, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have gained a supplier license for the Ontario market, allowing us to not only expand our global reach but entertain a new demographic of players with our casino, numbers-betting and sports-betting products.

 “Ontario’s regulated market is showing a lot of promise, we’re thrilled to be onboard and be part of the excitement around this recently regulated market.” 

Though following in the footsteps of several other suppliers who entered Ontario before, BetGames aims to ‘establish itself as a prominent brand’ within the market.

BetGames holds licenses in other jurisdictions such as South Africa, the UK and Malta and, after a ‘successful’ 2021, is eyeing further growth in Ontario, where it aims to experience further engagement boosts and enhance its global footprint.

OLG goes live with IWG remote game server and gaming content

OLG’s partnership with Instant Win Gaming has gone live on OLG.ca after the integration of the latter’s remote gaming server, InstantRGS, was completed.

IWG began an integration process through the last few months as well as implementing its instant games, meaning OLG players can now access the former’s suite of instants via the InstantRGS.

Furthermore, IWG intends to deploy its InstantJackpot and InstantLink technologies to bring progressive jackpot prizes across its in-house developed titles. Under the provisions of the deal, OLG would have access to games that incorporate InstantPulse, allowing it to update instant visuals.

Andrew Darley, OLG Senior Director, icasino & ilottery, said: “As the iGaming open market heats up in Ontario, offering our players IWG’s variety of einstants is an important strategic move for us which will help differentiate OLG.ca in the marketplace. 

“We are excited to continue to grow our customer base with IWG’s products because 100% of OLG profits are reinvested back into the province. So, when you play OLG.ca, you play for Ontario.”

After securing AGCO licensing, IWG is now live in 28 lottery markets globally, and holds a strong position in the Canadian sector, active in eight provinces including with Atlantic Lottery Corporation, British Columbia Lottery Corporation and Loto-Quebec. 

Rhydian Fisher, IWG CEO, said: “Following recent regulatory changes within Ontario, partnering with OLG is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us. Given IWG’s track-record for delivering top-selling einstants to lottery players across North America, we are confident that our games will resonate with lottery players in Ontario as well. 

“We have exciting plans to help OLG truly differentiate itself as the single lottery operator in the province.”

PokerStars & MLSE kickstart Toronto team seasons with Union Station takeover

PokerStars and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) have brought their partnership to life with a PokerStars Casino takeover of Union Station.

The duo officially launched their partnership earlier this year via a strategic partnership between Flutter Entertainment and MLSE, which saw Flutter brands PokerStars and FanDuel become the official sports betting and gaming partners of MLSE teams.

The Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs both started their respective seasons earlier this month, coinciding with the newly regulated Ontario market, and PokerStars has now jumped on this opportunity to bring fans closer to the action.

To celebrate the opening home games, PokerStars initiated a takeover of Union Station, with giveaways, team mascot appearances and fan interaction high on the agenda.

“We are always looking for ways to make the experience for our customers better, and as a leading gaming brand in the newly regulated Ontario market, we couldn’t think of a better way to do this than by partnering with the Toronto teams,” said Tom Warren, PokerStars Marketing Director.

“Our aim is for this partnership to be a win-win for our players and fans alike – making the experience of playing with PokerStars more epic thanks to the partnership, and finding ways to make the fan experience of watching their teams better too.

“There’s much to come in the next few weeks and months but for now we want to wish the teams good luck for the new season – we are excited to be on board!”

Jordan Vader, Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships, MLSE, added: “We are thrilled to partner with Flutter Entertainment, a global leader and one of the most trusted operators in the sports betting industry.

“As the online gaming markets open in Ontario, we have worked hard to find partners who aligned with both our vision for innovation, and our values including a shared commitment to responsible gaming.

“We look forward to working with Flutter and providing a platform for them to engage with the millions of 19+ Ontario residents who are fans of our teams.”