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DraftKings finally launches in Ontario

Six weeks into Ontario’s regulated online gaming and betting market, perhaps the biggest missing name has finally joined the throngs.

DraftKings officially went live in the province on May 18, becoming the latest operator rivalling Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) in the regulated market after NorthStar Bets launched last week. It will offer sports betting as well as over 130 online casino game variations through DraftKings Casino.

“DraftKings’ entry into Canada with our online sportsbook and online casino products is a significant milestone in our expansion efforts as we reach nearly 40 per cent of Canada’s total population,” DraftKings co-founder, chairman and CEO Jason Robins said in a statement. “We look forward to providing the passionate fanbase in Ontario with the most entertaining and responsible gaming experience possible.”

The operator was approved by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) for a licence earlier this week and has now executed an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario (iGO).

The US market giant is the 37th application approved in the province but only the 12th operator to be approved for a two-year licence, with all others except the provincial lottery being approved for only one year.

As of May 19, the following privately operated gaming and betting sites are live in the regulated Ontario market, rivalling OLG:

  • 888casino.ca
  • 888poker.ca
  • 888sport.ca
  • on.Bet365.ca
  • Casino.on.BetMGM.ca
  • Poker.on.BetMGM.ca
  • Sports.on.BetMGM.ca
  • BetRivers.ca
  • Sportsbook.Caesars.com
  • Coolbet.ca
  • casino.DraftKings.com
  • sportsbook.DraftKings.com
  • FanDuel.com/Canada
  • LeoVegas.com
  • RoyalPanda.com
  • northstarbets.ca
  • on.partycasino.ca
  • on.partypoker.ca
  • on.partysports.ca
  • on.bwin.ca
  • PointsBet.ca
  • Rivalry.com
  • theScore.bet
  • on.Unibet.ca

DraftKings has been possibly the most notable absentee from Ontario thus far while its rivals have hit the market early. The company had said at the start of May, at the time it completed its acquisition of Golden Nugget Online Gaming, that it expects to be live in the province before the end of Q2 2022

At that time, Robins had said that the company did not believe the timing of its launch would have any impact on the share it would be able to achieve in Ontario, due in no small part to the longtime presence of grey-market (now black-market) operators.

DraftKings had recently pulled its Daily Fantasy Sports product from the market because of liquidity pooling restrictions.

Meanwhile, other notable names such as Connecticut-based tribal outfit Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment have also received their AGCO license. Mohegan announced recently it will launch a PlayFallsview online brand in Ontario, powered by Kambi.

Image: DraftKings

Playtech, Betway agree multi-year live casino partnership

Playtech has agreed to a new multi-year partnership with Betway across multiple jurisdictions, including the North American and UK markets.

The agreement sees Betway launch Playtech’s Live Entertainment products, with casino games to follow soon.

“Betway’s commitment to the Live Casino vertical demonstrates just how important an entertainment-led experience is becoming for the modern player,” said Edo Haitin, CEO of Live Casino at Playtech. “Our partnership comes at a time when we are launching more new games with exciting new variants than ever seen before. We’re delighted to be working with a global brand in online betting and gaming like Betway to deliver an exciting, innovative Live offering for their players.”

Playtech added that the partnership helps to propagate its safer gambling goals, with a core approach of offering operators long-term sustainability and innovation and players a safe and enjoyable environment.

“Betway is a key strategic partner for Playtech, and a company renowned for delivering an excellent player experience internationally,” stated Shimon Akad, Chief Operating Officer at Playtech. “We are confident that Playtech’s innovative products and services can enhance that experience even further and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”

Anthony Werkman, CEO of Betway, added: “We’re proud to be growing our partnership with Playtech, whose Live Entertainment products across a number of markets have already been a hit with our customers. The new games in our agreement will expand upon our existing suite of games to provide new, exciting, and engaging gaming experiences within a safe and secure environment.”

Bragg’s Wild Streak Gaming boosts IGT collaboration

Bragg Gaming Group’s development studio Wild Streak Gaming has expanded its collaboration with International Game Technology (IGT) and will develop four exclusive land-based slot titles for the supplier.

The agreement is an extension of a successful relationship between the two parties, with the most recent extension for four titles occurring in August 2021. Overall, Wild Streak has produced multiple strong slot titles for IGT including Wolf Run Gold, Queenie, and Dreamy Genie.

A Bragg release divulges that the next Wild Streak developed title to be released by IGT before the end of June is Greek/Lucky Lightning, a unique game with two variations depending on how many credits are played on each spin.

Toronto-based Bragg acquired Las Vegas-based content creation studio Wild Streak Gaming in June 2021 and offers a portfolio of casino games that are offered by land-based, online, and social casino operators in global markets including North America and Europe.

MP Kevin Waugh criticizes slow pace of Saskatchewan’s Bill C-218 rollout

MP Kevin Waugh, whose widely supported private member’s bill to legalize single-event sports betting in Canada led to Bill C-218 being passed last summer, has criticized his home province of Saskatchewan for taking so long in moving forward with implementing the change.

The Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act was passed in late June 2021 and came into force on August 27. Waugh said Saskatchewan government officials “haven’t done anything” with the file, other than pass it on to the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA).

“There’s winners and losers, and unfortunately, the province of Saskatchewan today is a loser,” Waugh said, per CBC News.

As part of an amendment to the gaming framework agreement between the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations and the provincial government announced in September 2021, SIGA was given the authority to develop an online site that would offer single-event sports betting. SIGA has also been granted the authority to create sportsbooks in its casinos, as well as being given a five-year period of exclusivity for regulated single-event sports betting in Saskatchewan, beyond what is offered through Sport Select.

The website is expected to launch sometime this year. In the meantime, bettors cannot place legal regulated single-event sports wagers in Saskatchewan other than through Sport Select.

Waugh said he is “a little disappointed” in the Saskatchewan government. “Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming knew this was on the agenda. They should have watched it go through the process,” he added. “There is no question Saskatchewan has dropped the ball.”

Waugh said it means that lots of Saskatchewan people are still betting offshore, with the government losing out on significant potential revenue as a result. For comparison, in November, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) announced that B.C residents had placed more than $25 million in single-event sports bets with BCLC within two months of August 27 date.

“It’s hard to get these offshore customers to play in Saskatchewan and Canada legally,” Waugh added. “It’s going to take a long time because they’ve been playing for years and many of them are still playing offshore in Saskatchewan right now because we don’t have it.”

John Towns, the manager of communications and corporate affairs for the Western Canada Lottery Corporation (WCLC), said single-event betting has accounted for around 20 per cent of Sport Select play in the Prairies and the territories since it launched in November. WCLC estimates a little over half of Sport Select players have placed single-event wagers during that time, and around one in 10 players primarily engage in single-event bets.

Towns added that since single-event betting was introduced, the amount of money bet on Sport Select is up about eight per cent. Last fiscal year, about 15 per cent of Sport Select sales, or $7.1 million, was from single-event wagers.

In response to Waugh, Lionel Tootoosis, SIGA’s senior vice-president of operations, said his organization has been very busy in preparations for launching its new offerings.

“We’re a highly-regulated industry, and we have to make sure we have everything in place and that we’re adhering to the laws and all the different parts to operating a business online,” he said.

Tootoosis said SIGA is currently in the middle of contract negotiations with a third-party provider and there should be an announcement in a few weeks, with the aim of having the new online gaming site launched sometime in the fall. He added that SIGA will also need a couple of years to determine how much it is keeping from the grey market and bringing onto its own platform.

US casinos enjoyed their best month ever in March 2022

The American Gaming Association (AGA) has announced that commercial US casinos enjoyed their most successful month on record in March 2022, taking more than US$5.3 billion from gamblers.

The previous best single-month total ever was July 2021 at US$4.92 billion.

Taking Q1 of 2022 as a whole, US nationwide commercial gaming revenue totalled US$14.31 billion, according to the AGA’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker. This sets a new Q1 record and nearly matches the all-time quarterly record, which was set last quarter, Q4 2021, at US$14.35 billion.

Three states set quarterly revenue records to start this year, with New York taking nearly US$1 billion on its own at US$996.6 million. Arkansas’ US$147.4 million also set the state’s record, while Florida set a new high mark of US$182 million.

“Consumers continue to seek out gaming’s entertainment options in record numbers,” said Bill Miller, the AGA’s president and CEO, “despite continued headwinds from supply chain constraints, labour shortages and the impact of soaring inflation.”

The AGA’s annual State of the States report also ranked the largest casino markets in the US in terms of revenue for 2021. The Las Vegas Strip was of course first at US$7.05 billion, followed by Atlantic City (US$2.57 billion), the Chicago area (US$2.01 billion), Baltimore-Washington D.C. (US$2 billion), the Gulf Coast (US$1.61 billion), and New York City (US$1.46 billion).

The group reported many states saw gamblers spending more in casinos while visiting them in lower numbers compared to pre-pandemic 2019.

Light & Wonder continues purchase spree with Playzido acquisition

Light & Wonder has continued its recent spree of acquisitions by purchasing Playzido, an online gaming content developer launched in 2018.

The company said in a release that the move will accelerate its vision of becoming “the leading cross-platform global game company”.

Light & Wonder has made numerous acquisitions in the iGaming space in recent months after the formerly Scientific Games-titled company sold off both its lottery and sports betting businesses. It has also recently brought on board slot developer Lightning Box, live casino provider Authentic Gaming, and European slot developer ELK Studios. Those purchases are intended to provide easier routes to partner with game studios and operators worldwide, as well as provide a faster route to market for studios who do not own their own development platform.

Under its former name, Light & Wonder had struck an exclusive deal in November 2021 to distribute Playzido’s games in North America and Europe, including its popular Deal or No Deal titles.

Playzido chief Stuart Banks, formerly of Paddy Power and Betfair, said the acquisition is “testament to the drive and dedication of our team”.

“It is the perfect moment to become part of the Light & Wonder family, with the distribution power of OpenGaming, and their regulatory expertise, we can look to accelerate quickly by bringing on board more studios than ever before,” Banks added.”The synergies behind the acquisition are clear and we will now turn our attention to extending our reach across markets across the world.”

Dylan Slaney, CEO at Light & Wonder iGaming, said: “The Playzido deal is a perfect example of an acquisition that dovetails with our global strategy, demonstrating yet again our commitment to make targeted value-enhancing investments designed to advance our cross-platform content capabilities. Playzido’s platform is one of the best in the industry and we are delighted to be able to harness that technology to help studios and operators globally to develop and distribute game content that will continue to resonate with players.”

Light & Wonder has reported a 26.3 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue for the first quarter of its 2022 financial year, with overall gaming revenue up 45.5 per cent. The company said this was primarily driven by continued market recovery after the pandemic, with record premium installed base units in North America, elevated average daily revenue per unit, and growth in game sales, systems, and table games. 

NorthStar Bets officially goes live as Ontario’s 17th operator

iGaming Ontario (iGO) has announced that NorthStar Bets has officially gone live as the 17th privately operated brand in Ontario’s regulated online gaming and betting market.

NorthStar’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) registration had been confirmed in late April, and it has now executed an operating agreement with iGO to officially launch in the province.

NorthStar Bets is the 16th privately operated brand to join Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG)’s PROLINE in the market, and its northstarbets.ca site will be the 23rd online gaming and betting website that is officially licensed and operational.

NorthStar, is a made-in-Ontario casino and sportsbook gaming platform that is partnered with media companies including Torstar and The Parleh, as well as renowned Canadian sports broadcaster Rod Black and Senior NHL Insider Chris Johnston.

On the operational side, it has linked up with the likes of Kambi and Playtech to power its offerings.

NorthStar joins the following brands that were already operational in the Ontario market:

  • 888 (via 888casino.ca, 888poker.ca, and 888sport.ca)
  • on.Bet365.ca
  • on.bwin.ca
  • BetMGM (via casino.on.BetMGM.ca, poker.on.BetMGM.ca, and sports.on.BetMGM.ca)
  • BetRivers.ca
  • Sportsbook.Caesars.com
  • Coolbet.ca
  • FanDuel.com/Canada
  • LeoVegas.com
  • olg.ca
  • Party (via on.partycasino.ca, on.partypoker.ca, and on.partysports.ca)
  • PointsBet.ca
  • Rivalry.com
  • RoyalPanda.com
  • theScore.bet
  • on.Unibet.ca

Others are expected to soon join the crowd including US giant DraftKings*, BetRegal, Betway, Bet99, and ComeOn.

Meanwhile, online casino games developer Wazdan has received AGCO approval to offer its games in the recently regulated market of Ontario, which will become its fourth licensed jurisdiction in North America.

*Update: DraftKings officially went live on May 18

DraftKings completes GNOG acquisition, expects Q2 Ontario launch

DraftKings has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) that it had announced in August 2021.

The all-stock transaction, which has an implied equity value of approximately US$1.56 billion, will enable the group to leverage the Golden Nugget brand to broaden its reach into new customer segments and enhance the combined company’s iGaming product offerings, said DraftKings in a news release.

The deal had initially been expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. However, that deadline passed without the businesses gaining all the approvals necessary to combine, and was pushed back to 31 May.

The acquisition does not include brick-and-mortar Golden Nugget casinos, which will continue to be owned by Fertitta Entertainment. However, Fertitta and DraftKings expect some DraftKings rebranding to occur at selected current and future retail sportsbook locations at the properties. DraftKings also intends to bring GNOG onto its in-house technology to reduce third-party platform costs, operating expenses, and vendor costs.

RELATED: DraftKings CEO doesn’t expect American dominance in Ontario

As part of the acquisition, DraftKings will integrate GNOG employees across its business. Tilman Fertitta, chairman and CEO of Golden Nugget, will join the company’s board, and Thomas Winter will transition to General Manager of North America iGaming from his previous role as GNOG president. Fertitta said the alliance will be “unlike any other in the digital sports, entertainment and online gaming industry”.

RELATED: Strive Gaming to power Golden Nugget’s planned Ontario launch

Meanwhile, DraftKings said in an earnings call on May 6 that it expects to launch in Ontario’s regulated market in the second quarter of 2022, i.e. before the end of June.

The company said it anticipates its all-stock acquisition of GNOG and the coming launch in Ontario will add another US$130 million to US$150 million in revenue and negative US$50 million to negative US$70 million in adjusted EBITDA this year.

DraftKings has thus far been a noticeable exception to the flurry of big-name operators joining Ontario’s nascent regulated online gaming and betting market.

“Due to the presence of grey-market operators, many of which have been present in Ontario for several years, we do not believe that the timing of our launch will have any impact on the share we are able to achieve in that province,” Robins said during a conference call for analysts and investors, per Covers.

GameOn appoints Luke Gniwecki as Web3, NFT special advisor

GameOn Entertainment Technologies Inc., a leading NFT game technology company partnered with the world’s biggest IPs to launch, operate, and monetize NFT-based games, has appointed Luke Gniwecki as a Special Advisor focused on Web3 and NFT product innovation.

Gniwecki comes to GameOn with a wealth of experience in the Web3, gaming, NFT, blockchain, and broader product space, notes a press release. Prior to his appointment, he served as Head of Product for Boson Protocol where he launched Boson Portal, the first-ever Metaverse experience enabling brands to set up virtual stores, create mini-games, and sell physical products as NFTs.

He has also previously worked at a London-based Blockchain R&D company building Web3 products for governments and the fintech sector. In addition to his new role with GameOn, Gniwecki advises a metaverse and games technology company, Admix, and has founded Metaverski, a Web3 and Metaverse product consultancy business. He’s also held other prominent roles which include Head of Blockchain Product at Cudo Ventures (CUDOS Blockchain) where he was responsible for strategic direction and development of blockchain-related products within the Cudo ecosystem.

“On behalf of the GameOn team, I warmly welcome Luke to our organization,” said GameOn CEO Matt Bailey. “Luke brings the ideal blend of Web3, NFT, and gaming experience that perfectly suits the needs of our company. More specifically, with his prior tenure in developing extensive product lines, he adds immense incremental value to our already well-respected team of advisors. We continue to remain laser-focused on scaling customers and growing revenues, and it’s with hires like Luke that will help us achieve that goal and expand our growing footprint.”

GameOn has also announced that Chief Product Officer, Santiago Jaramillo, left the company effective April 29, 2022, by mutual consent. “I’d like to personally thank Santi for his commitment and dedication to pioneer GameOn’s product to the position it is in today,” said GameOn CEO Matt Bailey. “Santi leaves the company in an infinitely better place than when he got here, setting us up for success to now scale customers and revenues. We wish Santi the best of luck on his next adventures, and look forward to him remaining a close friend of the company.”

Ontario market shaping up well one month on

One month into the new regulated online gaming and betting Ontario market and things are going pretty well, all told.

As of May 5, at least 34 operators have been successfully registered with the AGCO and 21 websites/apps are up and running. Those include numerous big-name operators from within Canada, the U.S. market, and elsewhere.

“We’ve dealt with some hiccups with payments and the financial services sector,” Paul Burns, President and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, told The Parleh. “It’s nothing we haven’t seen in other markets, just growing pains as banks get used to and understand that the transactions are legal.”

Amanda Brewer, former Canadian Gaming Association consultant and now Canadian manager for Kindred Group, added that “given the big-name operators who have come on board, it has been as smooth as we could have hoped for”.

“As we get more operators into the market, it will get interesting,” she added. “With every large, well-known operator that comes in, there’s a shift that happens with everyone jockeying for position.”

Recent operators approved for licenses include NorthStar Bets, DraftKings, BetRegal, Betway, and ComeOn.

“Everybody is waiting for DraftKings to come to Ontario,” Greg Warren told Global News. “They’re not licensed with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario yet … but everyone is kind of expecting them to jump into the market soon. And I think when they come, they’re going to be very popular.”

SkillOnNet has also received approval to launch a number of its brands in Ontario, including the SpinGenie and SlotsMagic brands.

Another operator expected to launch soon in Ontario is Bet99, which signed Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews as an ambassador in February.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming chief digital and strategy officer Dave Pridmore told Sports Handle that he thinks the influx of operators to rival OLG’s PROLINE offering is great for the province and its residents.

“There were a lot of illegal operators, and now that money can go to Ontario. From OLG’s perspective, we’ve always been in a competitive market. Our world doesn’t change too much, other than we’re hyper-focused on delivering what our customers need,” he said.

On the supplier side, Armadillo Studios has officially secured certification and is preparing to enter the market, while Vancouver-based developer of digital iGaming content Playgon is one of several more to have applied for a license.