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SBC Webinars & Alea deliver how-to on online casino jackpot profitability

Jackpots may be one of the most powerful player acquisition and engagement tools in online casino gaming, but turning them into a sustainable driver of profitability is far more complex than simply offering big prizes.

A session hosted by SBC Webinars in conjunction with game aggregator Alea will explore the practical steps that online casino operators need to take to successfully design, launch and manage jackpot campaigns that maximize both player engagement and long-term commercial returns.

The session will provide operators with a clear roadmap for building effective jackpot strategies, moving beyond theory to deliver actionable, real-world insights. The panelists will discuss how to define clear jackpot objectives and KPIs, identify and target the most valuable player segments, select the most effective jackpot mechanics and use real-time data to continuously optimize campaign performance.

Designed as a hands-on playbook rather than a high-level discussion, this session will equip attendees with practical tools and strategies that they can apply immediately within their own operations.

“The operator’s playbook: a guide to jackpot profitability” will take place on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 9 a.m. ET.

Speakers:

  • FEG Group Head of Commercial Gaming Operations Myke Foster
  • LiveScore Head of Casino Adam Ruffett
  • Blixx Gaming Chief Product Officer Christian Melin
  • Alea Founder Alex Tomic

SBC News Editor Ted Orme-Claye will serve as moderator for the panel.

Sign up for the webinar here

7 big Canadian gaming questions awaiting answers in 2026

In the final days of 2025, we looked back at the biggest developments and the major storylines in the Canadian gaming industry over the previous 12 months.

In the first days of 2026, we reflect on some of the big questions that we’re hoping to have answered in the 12 months to come.

Will we actually get Alberta iGaming this year?

Around two years after the wheels were first set in motion towards Alberta launching regulated iGaming, we still don’t know much about what a market might actually look like. The enactment of the iGaming Alberta Act last year cleared the way, but the only update from Minister Dale Nally’s office since then is the suggestion in November that the Alberta iGaming Corporation will be officially created in early 2026, and the market’s regulations should be finalized soon afterwards.

Given the way the timelines have been repeatedly pushed back, a launch before the second half of 2026 looks more unlikely with every week that passes without further update. Until then, this one question is actually several. How many operators? What tax rate? What’s allowed, and what’s not? Watch this space. Again.

Will BC regulation whispers grow louder?

While Alberta inches closer to a regulated iGaming reality, could we see another province explore the idea? The Canadian Online Gaming Alliance (COGA) has called on British Columbia to allow commercial operators to compete with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), similar to what happened in Ontario and what is coming in Alberta. Canadian Gaming Association President and CEO Paul Burns said last year that he believes the B.C. government is open to discussing the prospect.

In the meantime, the province is overhauling how it regulates online gambling, creating a new Independent Gambling Control Office (IGCO) to establish “a standards-based regulatory model” and to clarify how roles and responsibilities should be divided between BCLC and IGCO. A prelude to bigger wholesale iGaming change? Not necessarily. But a change of sorts, certainly.

What might a national sportsbook look like?

Back in March 2025, we reported that the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) and BCLC were hunting for a technology partner for a new “national sports betting solution” shared by multiple Canadian lotteries. The participant lotteries will offer sports betting under a shared PROLINE brand, powered by one shared tech provider, aiming to provide a “best-in-class” platform that can compete with private-sector operators.

That RFP was due to close last spring. An announcement on the chosen provider and the timeline for launching the product will surely follow this year. Loto-Québec told Canadian Gaming Business that it is “willing to consider” joining the scheme, but Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) will not; Ontario’s lottery will belatedly launch a revamped omnichannel sportsbook with new partner Kambi early this year after delays.

What will come of Ontario’s gaming review?

At the 2025 Canadian Gaming Summit in Toronto in June, Ontario Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming Stan Cho announced a sweeping review of gaming in the province, aimed at increasing efficiency, boosting economic returns for the province, better protecting players and ensuring greater synergy between land-based gaming and iGaming. In particular, Cho emphasized the importance of land-based gaming to the overall picture, while iGaming continues to boom as a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Exactly what conclusions and future actions the review will throw up remains to be seen, but we know that iGaming Ontario (iGO) is working on a centralized self-exclusion system and both iGO and OLG want to improve their anti-money laundering and financial compliance practices.

Can Ontario take P2P iGaming across borders or not?

After the Ontario Court of Appeal determined that it would be legal for Ontario to pool players of games such as online poker and daily fantasy sports with players in other countries, it seemed the question here would be how Ontario would look to do that. Instead, the question is still whether the province can do so.

Shortly after iGO President and CEO Joseph Hillier told us he was excited about the potential opportunities that cross-border P2P iGaming may bring for the province, three provincial lotteries took the issue to the Supreme Court, appealing the opinion. The question was first referred to a court nearly two years ago. How much longer it might rumble on is anybody’s guess. But what happens in the Supreme Court could have a seismic impact on the future of iGaming in Canada for years to come.

Will sports betting adverts be limited federally?

From litigation to legislation, another big question that has carried over from 2025 to 2026 is whether we will see any kind of federal sports betting advertising bill passed this year. Once Parliament reconvenes later this month, Sen. Marty Deacon and the dozens of other senators who wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney about the “public health problem” posed by betting ads will hope to see Deacon’s S-211, the National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Bill, progress through the House.

Whether or not federal regulation of gambling advertising is needed remains a topic of debate, but the fact that the Senate passed such a bill two years in a row shows there’s momentum there. The previous version, S-269, stalled last year amid Parliamentary backlog and Justin Trudeau’s resignation; with the pathway clearer this year, the push could precipitate lasting change in 2026.

Will First Nations bill make headway?

While S-211 has already cleared the Senate, the Act to Amend the Criminal Code and the Indian Act has further to go. Sen. Scott Tannas’ S-241 seeks to change those laws to affirm that the governing body of a First Nation has the exclusive authority to conduct and manage and/or license gaming on its reserve lands.

In effect, the legislation (another revived version of an older bill) would validate that First Nations can govern gambling on their territory just as provincial governments do in their provinces. The bill is back with more Indigenous input than in previous years, but Tannas acknowledged that there is a long way to go. The mechanics would need great consideration, and getting the provinces on board could be tough. Any deeper discussion of the issue in Parliament could be one of 2026’s more interesting storylines.

OLG promotes digital product VP to Chief Lottery Officer

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) has promoted vice president and digital product specialist Amanda Marshall to the executive role of chief lottery officer.

OLG wrote in a statement that Marshall will continue to advance the crown corporation’s lottery business, enhancing its product portfolio, upgrading the player experience and unlocking new commercial opportunities.

She and her retail and digital lottery team will work closely with OLG’s other lines of business and external partners to ensure the operator keeps pace with a rapidly evolving iGaming marketplace and delivers innovative lottery experiences.

Formerly of Scotiabank and Deloitte, Marshall has been with OLG since 2021, most recently spending more than four years as VP of digital product integration and delivery. Her focus to date has been on leading modernization initiatives to improve OLG’s digital capabilities, as well as expanding performance across the crown corporation’s retail and digital ecosystem.

“Amanda brings a wealth of experience in driving enterprise growth, leading large-scale transformations, and championing customer-focused innovation across multiple industries,” added the lottery. “Her stewardship will help shape the holistic customer journey across all OLG channels.”

“Leading this business at such a pivotal time is a tremendous opportunity to shape the future of lottery in Ontario — expanding our offerings, creating new ways to engage players and delivering experiences that truly resonate,” added Marshall on LinkedIn.

“What makes this role so exciting is the incredible team behind it. The talent, passion, and commitment across the division have created strong momentum, and I’m energized by the chance to work alongside them as we build on that foundation. Together, we’ll continue to innovate, grow, and deliver exceptional experiences for our players.”

OLG launches new Team Canada lottery ticket

Meanwhile, OLG announced this week that it has launched a new limited-time Team Canada Quest for Gold instant ticket in the lead-up to the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The new game offers players a chance to win prizes of up to $250,000. For every $10 ticket bought, players get an opportunity to win a bonus game prize.

Since 2006, OLG and the Ontario government have worked together to support amateur athletes through the Quest for Gold program, which provides funding to help athletes cover costs like travel and accommodation. Over the last four Olympic cycles, more than 90% of Ontario medal winners received Quest for Gold funding during their careers.

iGaming Ontario prepares to launch ‘overdue’ self-exclusion system

Ontario’s regulated commercial iGaming market has many player supports in place, but one thing it doesn’t have is a simple and effective way for gamblers to cut themselves off from all licensed operators. That will change in 2026, as iGaming Ontario (iGO) will finally launch its long-awaited centralized self-exclusion (CSE) system for players.

As we approach four years since Ontario’s market launched in April 2022, and as it swelled to around 50 operators running more than 80 iGaming sites, iGO President and CEO Joseph Hillier acknowledged that centralized self-exclusion has been a long time coming.

“I think there’s a recognition that we’re overdue for this system,” Hillier told Canadian Gaming Business in an interview.

After a long ramp-up period, it sounds like things are on track for the program to finally go live in 2026.

“I think we’re pretty confident that midway through next year, we’ll be in a position to do our public launch,” said Hillier.

80+ websites, one way to self-exclude

Ontario’s licensed operators are required by the market regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), to host their own self-exclusion programs, and that requirement will remain in place.

But the AGCO has also stipulated since 2022 that some form of CSE system must be developed, a tool to allow in-need Ontario players to cut off their access to all of their online gaming accounts with regulated operators without needing to do so manually on each sportsbook or online casino that they use. iGO also lists participation in a future centralized CSE as one of its requirements for operators, similar to its mandate that all companies must commit to completing the Responsible Gambling Council’s RG Check certification.

When Hillier took up the new role at the province’s iGaming conduct-and-manage agency in August 2025, he inherited a self-exclusion development process that had already been underway for a year. Having put out a request for a CSE tool to be created, iGO selected a joint bid from sports betting integrity monitoring specialist Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) and technology firm DataWorks, the company formerly known as IXUP that developed Australia’s BetStop system.

Centralized means everyone, no exception

While iGO only conducts and manages Ontario’s commercial iGaming operators, not the government-run Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) platform, the intention is for OLG to be included in the new CSE system along with all licensed online gambling sites.

“Ensuring all operators are participating in this program is critical,” Hillier told Canadian Gaming Business. “Ultimately, if we don’t have all the operators included, we don’t have a centralized self-exclusion program.”

The CEO added that iGO is cognizant of the fact that each operator has its own player protection protocols, its own technology plans and timelines, and its own thresholds for responsible gambling intervention action. He also noted that the large majority of licensed operators in Ontario operate in other jurisdictions too.

“The data situations of operators could differ very significantly from one to the other, so we’ve really tried to take that direct engagement and one-on-one approach to find what works and what doesn’t,” he said.

Ontario’s need for centralized self-exclusion, which is already operated in various forms by numerous U.S. states, has been so well recognized that Alberta is planning to do the same from the get-go. Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally wrote a requirement for CSE into his iGaming legislation that passed in May 2025. Ontario and Alberta connecting their respective systems is something that could be explored when the latter province is finally up and running.

AGCO outlines self-exclusion standards

In the meantime, the AGCO published new guidance on Dec. 18 to prepare for the launch, which it will flesh out in more detail when the CSE platform goes live.

Already, it has clarified some basic requirements, including:

  • iGO must clearly define term lengths for self-exclusion, and must include six-month, one-year, and five-month options
  • iGO, in tandem with operators, must effectively prevent self-excluding players from creating new accounts to bypass the system
  • iGO and operators must ensure that self-excluding gamblers are not hit with marketing material, promotions or other incentives to play
  • Operators must take steps to log out and block players immediately once they self-exclude, as well as cancel and refund outstanding wagers and refund balances
  • Operators must ensure that the CSE program is “well promoted” on their sites

Ultimately, for iGO, the AGCO, and all stakeholders, this is about safety and sustainability.

“This is really a big opportunity to help players to feel more supported in those most critical moments, where they can make informed choices and have tools at their fingertips,” Hillier concluded. “A key priority for us is obviously the safety and security of the confidentiality of the information from players. Plus, operators’ big priority is having a sustainable player base. If they don’t have that, it ultimately impacts their overall success. This piece is part of that sustainability story.

“The technology is robust, we’ve got great vendor partners, and I’m quite confident on the look and feel of it. It’s about making it ubiquitous and accessible, and I think that’s where you’re going to see the substantive impact.”

7 big things that happened in Canadian gaming in 2025

A lot happens in a year, and it can be hard to keep track. The last 12 months brought several big developments in both iGaming and land-based gaming that could have a notable impact on 2026.

Here, we round up the biggest Canadian gaming storylines of 2025.

FINTRAC fretting

FINTRAC made spring headlines when it came to light that Ontario’s licensed online casinos couldn’t use the financial transactions and reporting centre’s web portal to file any suspicious transaction reports for roughly an entire year between March 2024 and March 2025 after a cyberattack. iGaming Ontario (iGO) is developing its own automated system for filing such reports and hopes to roll it out in 2026.

While we’re talking about FINTRAC, the agency is being challenged in court by numerous gaming entities including the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) and the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA), which allege erroneous and unfair fines for lack of compliance.

Bodog banishment

Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC) member lotteries took an unprecedented step in January when they took Caribbean-based Bodog to court in Manitoba, alleging it was offering illegal gambling in the province. And they scored a landmark win when, in May, a judge granted the application for a permanent injunction and ordered the offshore operator to shut down in the province.

The judge wrote that he was left with no other choice as Bodog’s brazen and “illegal” actions violated numerous federal and provincial laws, and he also upheld that the Criminal Code gives provincial governments the exclusive authority to conduct and manage gaming in their provinces. The CLC told Canadian Gaming Business the verdict was “a win that should resonate all the way across the Canadian gaming industry.”

Alberta anticipation

What started as a year of excitement regarding Alberta iGaming fizzled out a tad, but the official passage and enactment of the iGaming Alberta Act made it official: Regulated commercial online gambling is coming. It’s just a matter of when and how.

Minister Dale Nally promised in June that regulations and other developments would be announced in due course. Fast-forward six months and there has been little in the way of publicly disclosed progress, as operators keep pushing back their projected launch timelines (current estimate: mid-2026). No specifics have really been given by the government, although Nally’s office told Canadian Gaming Business in late November that the Alberta iGaming Corporation and market regulations should be finalized early in 2026.

First Nations forays

Moving further west to B.C., one of the most interesting ongoing storylines has been local First Nations’ moves into gaming ownership. Great Canadian Entertainment continued what it started in mid-2024 by selling off several of its B.C. casinos to First Nations groups, including the casino by Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse and River Rock Casino Resort, the largest casino resort in Western Canada.

In all cases, the respective Indigenous group involved cited a desire to move into casino ownership as a step towards self-determination and self-sufficiency for its community and its people. It’s been a fascinating development in brick-and-mortar gaming, and we’re keen to see what may happen in 2026.

Advertising anxieties… again

For the second year in a row, the Senate passed a bill that would establish national guidelines on how sports betting operators can advertise across Canada. Sen. Marty Deacon’s S-211, the 2025 version of S-269, has already had a reading in the House, something its predecessor never received, and could make further progress towards being passed in 2026.

Among the proposals mooted in session were a whistle-to-whistle ban on broadcast ads during games and preventing in-game promotions within betting apps. While Deacon acknowledged the full ban she would prefer is unlikely, she and more than 40 other senators then wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney in November to urge his federal government to prohibit all sports betting advertising nationwide.

Permission to pool?

In terms of developments that could have a lasting and far-reaching impact, the Court of Appeal verdict that Ontario would be legally clear to expand peer-to-peer iGaming across borders may take some beating. The provincial government asked the question in February 2024 and got the answer it hoped for in November, one that the Canadian Gaming Association called “a significant victory” that could greatly expand online poker and daily fantasy sports.

Actually working out how to do that – and with which jurisdictions – could take a long time. But iGO President and CEO Joseph Hillier told Canadian Gaming Business that the potential is big and could extend beyond poker and DFS to things like online casino. There’s also the not-so-small matter of an appeal lodged in the Supreme Court by three provincial lottery corporations.

Ontario, oh my

Speaking of online casino, Ontario’s regulated iGaming market continued to grow remarkably in 2025. In November 2024, total monthly handle was $7.46 billion; by November 2025, it reached $9.33 billion, up 25% year over year. In the same period, gross gaming revenue rose from $292 million to $406 million (+39%) and the number of active player accounts grew from 1.0 million to 1.3 million (+28%). Online casino continues to dominate, and 48 licensed operators run a total of 82 regulated sites at the latest count.

Hillier’s predecessor, Martha Otton, said as far back as 18 months ago that the numbers surely would have to taper off and flatten out at some point. Maybe sometime in 2026 will be that point. For now, this booming iCasino-heavy market just keeps on booming.

Canadian lotteries challenge Ontario player pooling decision in Supreme Court

Three Canadian lottery corporations have filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of Canada to challenge the Ontario Court of Appeal’s ruling that Ontario could connect players of peer-to-peer iGaming games with users in other countries.

Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries (MBLL), the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) have all contested the opinion that was issued in November in the Ontario court. MBLL and BCLC are listed as joint appellants, while the ALC is a separate appellant.

Ontario AG Doug Downey is the respondent in the case, titled “Atlantic Lottery Corporation, et al. v. Attorney General of Ontario. Downey’s office provided no comment when asked by Canadian Gaming Business.

Lotteries opposed since original question

As members of the Canadian Lottery Coalition (CLC), MBLL, BCLC and ALC were intervenors in the reference question posed to the Ontario Court of Appeal in early 2024.

Ontario’s rules currently fence in online poker and paid DFS, mandating that all players must be located within the province’s borders. Ontario’s AG, the Canadian Gaming Association (CGA), GGPoker owner NSUS, and FanDuel and PokerStars parent Flutter wanted to know whether it would be legal under the Criminal Code for Ontario to connect its players with players in other jurisdictions.

They argued that a pooled-liquidity model should be legal because the Ontario end of such a game would be conducted and managed within the province, like other regulated Ontario iGaming. The CLC’s lotteries and the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke (MCK) contended that it would be illegal as not all play would be physically located in the province.

After many months of deliberation, four members of a five-judge panel agreed with Ontario, while the other aligned with the lotteries.

Lotteries dispute issue of location

The Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision pointed to language in the Criminal Code that states that “it is lawful for the government of a province, either alone or in conjunction with the government of another province, to conduct and manage a lottery scheme in that province, or in that and the other province, in accordance with any law enacted by the legislature of that province.”

“The phrase ‘conduct and manage a lottery scheme in that province’ can be read narrowly to prohibit linking in-province gaming to gaming in foreign jurisdictions,” the judges wrote in the verdict. “However, a broader reading that permits provincial governments to enter into cooperative arrangements with foreign jurisdictions is also available. On our reading, the text favours this broader interpretation.”

Once the Ontario Court of Appeal published its judgment on Nov. 12, parties involved in that case had 30 days to appeal. ALC filed a notice of appeal with the court on Dec. 10 and the file was officially opened on Dec. 18.

In the appeal, the lotteries reasserted their stance that the phrase “in that province” in the Criminal Code should be interpreted to mean entirely in that province, as opposed to “from” or “partially in” the province. They also rejected the Ontario AG’s submission that the phrase should be interpreted to mean “having a real and substantial connection to that province.”

Pump the brakes, for now

The Court of Appeal decision noted that there is no real blueprint for how Ontario would look to actually implement and operate an internationally pooled model. But iGaming Ontario (iGO) President and CEO Joseph Hillier told Canadian Gaming Business after the Ontario court decision that the iGaming conduct-and-manage agency is excited by the possibilities.

“I think the opportunities could be significant,” he said. “There’s definitely an eagerness to move things along as quickly as possible. But at the same time, it’s understanding where the true opportunities are. Peer-to-peer poker is something that people have spoken about, daily fantasy, maybe even super progressive jackpots on the casino side.”

The Ontario judges’ determination and their interpretation of the Criminal Code’s language also left open the possibility that the Ontario government could strike deals with other provincial governments to allow gamblers to play against each other. Hillier floated the idea to CGB of potential conversations between Ontario and Alberta about potentially pooling players once the latter province has its own regulated commercial iGaming market up and running.

Now, though, the appeal from multiple lotteries will kickstart what could be a lengthy review of the Ontario verdict in Canada’s highest court. Based on the quick opposition from Manitoba, B.C., and the Atlantics, as well as those provinces’ longstanding chagrin at seeing adverts for Ontario-licensed iGaming operators in their own jurisdictions, deals between Ontario and those provinces seem unlikely.

In the meantime, it’s time for everyone to hold their horses.

DAZN preparing to bring DAZN Bet platform to Canada

Sports streaming service DAZN is readying to enter the sports betting game in Canada.

The British company launched the DAZN Bet sportsbook in 2022 and currently operates it in Europe in the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and France. Now, it is preparing to bring it across the Atlantic for the first time.

A company spokesperson told Canadian Gaming Business that DAZN hopes to clear all regulatory and other obligations for setting up in the Ontario market as soon as the first quarter of 2026.

DAZN Bet hiring country manager for Canada

In the meantime, DAZN has registered the DAZN Bet trademark in Canada and is actively hunting to recruit a country manager to lead the launch and its subsequent gaming operations in Canada, including localizing the product for Canadian customers.

“DAZN Bet is expanding into Canada!” said EVP of Growth Markets Daniel Berthold. “We’re hiring a Country Manager – Canada to launch, build and own one of the most exciting new markets. A true zero-to-one role: shape the marketing strategy, lead the team, drive growth and define how Canadian fans experience DAZN Bet from day one.”

The Canada country manager would report directly to Berthold.

Currently mostly in high-tax and strict regulatory markets in Europe, the move into Ontario’s lower-tax market would represent the first expansion of the DAZN Bet brand into North America.

Tying sports to betting

A renowned name in sports, DAZN’s over-the-top streaming platform is available in more than 200 countries as a website, mobile app or via smart TVs. It is also included as a channel on other streaming services such as Amazon Prime and FuboTV.

In Canada, DAZN is a license-holder for a range of sports including the NFL, European soccer, UFC, boxing, some golf and tennis, and more. Via its deal with Fubo, it also offers English Premier League soccer.

Under CEO Shay Segev, the former Playtech COO and Entain CEO who joined the company in mid-2021, DAZN has greatly expanded its sports portfolio and availability, as well as branching out into betting and casino gaming.

In some jurisdictions, DAZN offers a DAZN Bet feature that allows users to view wagering information and place bets via the sportsbook while watching live sports events on the same platform. That kind of streaming integrations have grown in popularity in recent years in North America as well as Europe.

The plans for Canadian entry come as DAZN continues to wrestle with big annual losses.

Segev said earlier this year that the company’s key markets are profitable despite the firm reporting in October an operating loss of more than C$1 billion for 2024. Although the company is in the red, DAZN’s overall revenue increased to more than C$4 billion for the same period, which it said was driven by the addition of new sporting events and lower operating costs.

Snuneymuxw First Nation to take over Great Canadian Casino Vancouver

The Vancouver Island-based Snuneymuxw First Nation is buying Great Canadian Casino Vancouver, its latest landmark acquisition from coast-to-coast casino operator Great Canadian Entertainment.

The deal, announced on Dec. 19, will reduce Great Canadian’s operational footprint in British Columbia to just two venues. Eighteen months ago, the company operated nine casinos in the province. If the movement to sell properties to a range of First Nations groups out west continues, Great Canadian could soon be out of B.C. altogether.

Great Canadian Casino Vancouver in Coquitlam houses more than 900 slot machines, 37 table games and 42 electronic table games. It also hosts Gordon Ramsay Burger, the first of the celebrity chef’s restaurants in Canada, as well as the 1,050-seat Show Theatre and a variety of dining and nightlife options. Formerly under Hard Rock branding, it was taken over by Great Canadian in 2023.

“Great Canadian Casino Vancouver has thrived because of the passion and dedication of our team members and community,” said Great Canadian Entertainment CEO Matt Anfinson. “We are pleased to pass this legacy into the hands of Snuneymuxw First Nation and the vision they hold for the business’s future. We have every confidence that PDG and Snuneymuxw will continue to elevate this and their other properties for years to come.”

Snuneymuxw builds extensive BC portfolio

Snuneymuxw is a First Nation of the Coast Salish People. Its land is located on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, the Fraser River, Burrard Inlet and the Howe Sound. It is one of the largest First Nations in B.C. with a population of about 2,000 members.

The major Vancouver location is the fifth that it has agreed to purchase from Great Canadian since June 2024. It closed the acquisitions of Casino Nanaimo and Elements Casino Victoria in January 2025 and has since struck agreements to buy Chances Maple Ridge and River Rock Casino Resort, the latter of which is the largest casino resort in western Canada.

Once the remaining pending deals close, the First Nation will become Canada’s largest Indigenous-owned gaming operator by revenue.

Chief Mike Wyse said the acquisition of the Vancouver casino is another step toward economic self-determination and long-term prosperity for the community.

“This latest agreement reinforces the strategy we’re executing and the proven results we’ve achieved across our gaming portfolio,” he added. “The confidence placed in us by Great Canadian Entertainment and the industry is grounded in our disciplined approach to sustainable growth.”

Ian Simpson, CEO of Snuneymuxw’s wholly owned Petroglyph Development Group (PDG), told Canadian Gaming Business that the First Nation held “a strong desire” to move into casino ownership for decades before the Great Canadian opportunities emerged in 2024. He also revealed that the company is assessing potential moves in other provinces, too.

A First Nations casino movement

Snuneymuxw’s is not the only First Nation that is buying a casino from Great Canadian. The company has also agreed to sell the casino operations and real estate at Hastings Racecourse & Casino to the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. The agreement does not include the racecourse or racing operations at the site, which shut down in December after more than 130 years following the provincial government’s announcement that it was pulling funding for horse racetracks.

Great Canadian is also divesting its Element Casino Chilliwack to the Ts’elxwéyeqw Tribe.

Assuming they are all completed, the various sales mean that the only casinos still under Great Canadian’s control are Elements Casino Surrey and Chances Dawson Creek. The company did not comment to Canadian Gaming Business when asked whether it could strike similar deals for those casinos. Great Canadian also operates a dozen casinos in Ontario, two in Nova Scotia and one in New Brunswick.

Meanwhile, the First Nations acquisition movement extends beyond B.C. Indigenous Gaming Partners (IGP), a group of Nova Scotia First Nations communities working with casino company Sonco Gaming, bought the operating assets of four Pure Canadian Gaming casinos in Alberta 12 months ago.

Loto-Québec CEO says it will hit targets despite flat revenue

Loto-Québec’s revenue and profit growth has been somewhat stagnant over the last six months compared to the same time last year.

For the period from April 1 to Sept. 29, 2025, total revenues were $1.53 billion and consolidated net income was $777.5 million. Those numbers represented fractional increases of 1.8% and 0.8%, respectively, over the same period in 2024.

Taking into account only the last quarter, from July 1 to Sept. 29, revenues and net income were both down about 6% on 2024.

President and CEO Jean-François Bergeron attributed the year-over-year decline for the quarter to the fact that the second quarter of 2025 had fewer days than the previous year. He added to the Canadian Press that the results are slightly above the crown corporation’s targets.

Bergeron said in a release that he was proud of the performance, which he suggested was achieved “in a complex economic environment and within a sustained growth trajectory.”

Casinos main driver

Breaking down the results by segment for the period from April 1 to Sept. 29, casinos and gaming halls continue to account for by far the largest chunk of revenue.

That land-based segment, comprising activities at four casinos and two smaller gaming halls, brought in $657.4 million, 43% of the total revenue. That was 8% higher than in April to September 2024.

Lottery gaming followed at $467.4 million (31%) and gaming establishments, which includes video lotteries in hospitality venues, reaped $417.9 million (27%). The lottery segment’s revenue dropped 5.1% from last year, while the VLT revenue flatlined with a 0.9% increase.

“While the land-based casino industry is experiencing a slowdown, our casinos and gaming halls are seeing growth, both online and in physical establishments,” added Bergeron.

Québec casinos were boosted when Loto-Québec added more poker and blackjack tables to the gaming halls in Québec City and Trois-Rivières in the spring.

Gaming lounges are smaller-scale than full-blown casinos, typically offering video lottery terminals, interactive casino games, live entertainment and bar service. Work is underway to construct a third in Rimouski, and the lottery recently announced plans to open a fourth in the city of Saguenay in 2027.

Digital not cannibalizing land-based gaming, insists CEO

While casinos make up the biggest revenue chunk, Bergeron told the Canadian Press that Loto-Québec’s online gaming posted growth of about 17% compared to last year. He insisted that it is not coming at the expense of its land-based gaming.

“We are experiencing very good growth in Quebec when compared to other jurisdictions,” he said. “There is no cannibalization. What we might lose in sales at land-based points of sale, we make up for online.”

Loto-Québec Senior Director of Product Management and Innovation François Hardy told attendees at the Canadian Gaming Summit in June that the crown corporation has been focused on building a compelling omni-channel experience for customers.

“With our growth in the iGaming business and the bank of customers we have on the land-based business, it’s just natural to leverage one another more and more,” Hardy added. “I think we’re getting better at it, and we’re just at the start of it. We see that the combined player has about 15 to 20% better value than a single channel.”

We’re on track, says Bergeron

Bergeron added that Loto-Québec is well-positioned to reach its annual net income target.

“Teams work relentlessly to enhance entertainment options, both online and land-based, while upholding the highest responsible commercialization standards,” he said. “Building on these positive results and driven by our initiatives underway, we head into the second half of the year with confidence and determination.”

The latest results come as online gaming lobbyists and members of the Québec Online Gaming Coalition (QOGC) continue to call on the Québec government to launch a regulated iGaming market. QOGC spokesperson Ariane Gauthier argued earlier this year that Loto-Québec “has shown no progress this year” and is declining when adjusting for inflation.

Ontario iGaming operators’ revenue soared to new all-time record in November

Ontario’s licensed iGaming operators collectively made more money from gamblers in the province than they ever had before in November, as the market’s total monthly non-adjusted gross gaming revenue (NAGRR) exceeded $400 million for the first time.

iGaming Ontario’s (iGO) latest monthly numbers, reported on Wednesday, show that gamblers placed a total of $9.33 billion in cash wagers in November, a new all-time monthly record. That total handle was up 1% from the previous record of $9.25 billion set one month prior in October, and is 25% ahead of where it was in November 2024.

While handle tickled up slightly, revenue took a big jump, rising 10% from October’s previous high of $367.7 million to reach $406.2 million. In the aggregate, Ontario’s licensed iGaming operators made 39% more revenue than they did in the same month of 2024.

There was also a new monthly record number of active player accounts, which hit almost 1.3 million in November, 1% ahead of October. This time last year, there were 286,000 fewer active accounts. Average revenue per active player account was $313 in November 2025, higher than September or October and up 9% year over year, but short of the all-time high of $332.

Sportsbooks’ luck takes turn for the better

It’s been a rocky year for Ontario’s online sportsbooks, to a certain extent. While the level of customer wagering on sports will always change with the sporting seasons, operators’ revenue from sports betting had been lower than in the corresponding month in 2024 in five of the previous 10 months of the year.

But November was a booming month as sports betting NAGGR leapt to $102.0 million, marking the best month that sportsbooks have enjoyed since the Ontario market opened to commercial brands in April 2022.

Sports betting revenue hit nine digits for the first time and the total was a nearly 11% increase on the previous monthly record of $92 million set in January 2025. November’s number was also up 75% from October and 29% year over year. Numerous U.S. states have shown a similar pattern, suggesting that sportsbooks found sports results to be more favourable than this time last year.

Sports betting handle was $1.25 billion, yet another new monthly record and a fractional increase over November 2024.

Online casino handle beats its own record again

With a new monthly-high handle of $7.95 billion and revenue of $298.0 million, online casino continues as the primary driver of the market. But while it again comprised 85% of total monthly handle, its revenue share fell from 83% in October to 73% in November as sports betting revenue accounted for 25% of total revenue, its largest share since January.

Online P2P poker, ring-fenced to within Ontario’s borders for the time being, continues to make up a minuscule proportion of iGaming in the province, with a handle of $129 million and NAGGR of $6.3 million.

All-time tax revenue nears $2 billion

In the regulated Ontario iGaming market’s lifespan of more than three and a half years, provincial gamblers have now placed more than $247 billion worth of cash wagers across the dozens of licensed online casinos and sportsbooks.

November’s all-time NAGGR record brought operators’ total combined revenue since Ontario opened its doors to $9.78 billion. Given that Ontario taxes all iGaming activity at 20%, the government has reaped just short of $2 billion from regulated iGaming since allowing commercial operators to compete with Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG).

iGO’s numbers do not include online gambling activity on OLG’s platforms. As of the time of writing, the iGO-managed regulated market hosts 48 commercial iGaming operators running a total of 82 websites. November’s records came despite recent exits from the market, including Wildz Group shutting down its four sites in the province and Aristocrat Interactive white-labeled Betiton and MagicRed Casino also ceasing business.