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Vancouver’s Parq Casino applies for expansion after rule change

Parq Casino Vancouver is hoping to take advantage of a rule change to significantly expand its casino floor.

Parq Holdings applied to the City of Vancouver in June to be granted the right to raise the number of slot machines it can offer on its premises by 50% from 600 to 900. The change would not affect the maximum number of table games allowed at the location, which is 75.

The casino has undergone some upgrades in recent times, such as the opening of a new retail PROLINE sportsbook in February of this year, but adding 300 slots would be the biggest expansion of the casino floor since it moved to the Smithe Street site. Parq opened the venue there in 2017, replacing the nearby Edgewater Casino, where the total number of slots and table games had not changed since the mid-2000s.

The increased capacity would not require any extension of the physical premises, stressed Parq, as the 72,000-square-foot two-storey casino has enough space for as many as 1,200 machines on its floor.

“Parq Casino has the lowest density of slot machines in the Lower Mainland,” Parq Holdings wrote in its application filing. “The population of Vancouver has grown by 22% since 2011, while the number of gambling machines has remained unchanged. The existing gambling mix at Parq Casino is not meeting player demand; currently, about two-thirds of gambling revenue from Vancouver residents is flowing out of Vancouver to other Lower Mainland facilities.”

Parq Casino also pointed to the casino’s prime location next to BC Place and Rogers Arena, suggesting that an increased capacity represents a big tourism and tax revenue opportunity.

The City of Vancouver received $6 million in payments from Parq Casino’s revenues in FY 24; adding 300 more slots would yield between $2.7 million and $3.1 million more, said Parq. The casino has fewer slot machines than River Rock Casino, Cascades Casino Langley, Great Canadian Casino Vancouver, and several other B.C. casinos, and last year produced less total gaming revenue from slots than it did from table games, a rarity.

Expansion applications were banned until last year

Last year, Vancouver City Council voted to amend the moratorium on casino expansion to allow the city’s two brick-and-mortar gaming venues, Parq and Hastings Racecourse and Casino, to apply for greater capacity. The applications still have to be approved, but they couldn’t even have been considered before that change.

Parq has asked the City to go one step further by lifting the moratorium on new or expanded casino facilities altogether.

Parq Casino works with British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) on operating the site, as well as providing support and resources to players. BCLC was a driving force in getting the moratorium amended for the first time since it was implemented in 2011.

A BCLC spokesperson told Canadian Gaming Business last year that through its consultations with the City and its assessment of the performance of both Parq Casino and Hastings, “an opportunity was identified to enhance the gambling mix” at both venues.

The casino at Hastings is owned and operated by Great Canadian Entertainment, but the multi-province operator entered a non-binding agreement with the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in June for the First Nation to acquire both the operational and real estate assets of the casino business. That transaction would not include the racing at Hastings, which is now the only remaining horse racecourse in B.C. The Fraser Downs course abruptly shut down last month after the City of Surrey terminated the lease that allowed for racing at the site.

RGC and ROGA partner up on US responsible gambling certification

The operator-led Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) has selected the Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) as its partner to develop a first-of-its-kind U.S. certification for responsible online gaming.

The intention is for the two RG-focused organizations to establish a new industry benchmark through a certification that evaluates operators on their self-exclusion and player support tools, staff training, marketing programs and other key areas through a data-driven, evidence-based approach. The aim is to help operators beef up their RG programs and practices to go beyond merely meeting provincial and state regulatory requirements.

RGC and ROGA will begin developing the framework for the certification framework, which will be used to evaluate all ROGA members upon completion.

ROGA’s membership accounts for 90% of the legal U.S. sports betting industry in terms of handle. Its eight members include six of the biggest names that are licensed and offering online casino and online sports betting in Canada’s regulated iGaming province of Ontario:

  • bet365
  • BetMGM
  • DraftKings
  • FanDuel
  • PENN Entertainment, owner of theScore Bet
  • Bally’s

The other two members, Fanatics Betting and Gaming and Hard Rock Digital, are not currently offering iGaming in Ontario, but both operators are exploring possibly expanding north of the border.

Operators lean on RGC expertise

In the Toronto-headquartered non-profit RGC, ROGA and its operator members have partnered with an organization that has been one of the world’s foremost leaders in player protection, prevention and responsible gaming solutions for more than 40 years.

The RGC conducts research, consults with stakeholders including operators and regulators, rolls out practical initiatives, provides education and develops and implements best practices. It also has its own accreditation program, RC Check, developed in consultation with policy makers, gambling providers, players and people who have experienced gambling harm.

RG Check accreditation helps both land-based and online gambling providers evaluate, monitor and manage all aspects of their RG strategy. It existed for brick-and-mortar gaming before Ontario launched regulated iGaming in April 2022, and iGaming Ontario (iGO) mandates that all regulated iGaming operators must achieve RG Check. RG Check accreditation is valid for three years before operators need to reapply and get certified all over again.

ROGA said that RGC’s expertise will serve as a critical resource in the creation and management of the certification program, and RGC CEO Sarah McCarthy said the new U.S. certification “will build on years of evidence-based work and experience building RG Check as a trusted standard.”

RGC and Shatley first worked together back in 2023, before ROGA was formed, and RGC and ROGA collaborate with each other and lived-experience specialists EPIC Global Solutions and mental health service provider Kindbridge Behavioral Health on the “Know Your Play” campaign, an initiative providing U.S. college students with detailed content focused on responsible gaming, mental health and well-being and financial literacy.

Collaboration always key, RGC tells CGB

RGC’s Senior Vice President of Accreditation, Advisory and Insights, Tracy Parker, told Canadian Gaming Business earlier this year that the RGC recently updated RG Check after thorough consultation to ensure that it is a robust and relevant accreditation program that keeps up with the rapid pace of change in iGaming.

“We have found we’ve needed to talk to more people,” Parker told CGB. “It really is about the collective understanding of impact and collaboration around solutions. And that’s not just operators. We need to be talking to manufacturers and marketing affiliates, payment solution providers, leagues, athletes, coaches, university campuses, the whole ecosystem.

“New forms of gambling create new risks. I think there’s a lag in RG awareness generally, and we work on keeping pace with the evolution of the industry. It’s a constant effort to keep up.”

Casino Time adds Playson online casino content in Ontario

Charitable gaming company turned online casino brand Casino Time has added Playson titles to its licensed iGaming platform in Ontario.

The partnership provides Casino Time players with access to Playson’s Hold and Win portfolio, including games such as Coin Strike, Thunder Coins and Diamonds Power. The integration was completed via Light & Wonder’s aggregation platform.

Casino Time is headquartered in Toronto. It has its roots and historic expertise in Ontario’s regulated land-based charitable gaming industry and remains affiliated with 10 charitable gaming entertainment venues. It operates within the Ontario Charitable Gaming Association, which advocates for gaming as a source of non-profit community fundraising.

Casino Time launched an online product in Ontario’s regulated iGaming market in spring 2024 and already offers more than 2,000 slots, table games, live dealer options and bingo products from studios such as Evolution, IGT, Light & Wonder, Blueprint Gaming and Pragmatic Play, the latter of which also powers its bingo product. Casino Time was the first Canadian iGaming operator to offer regulated access to globally renowned bingo product Bingo Blast, and its Floor Favourites category provides digital versions of popular land-based casino titles.

The company said last year that it planned to launch online sports betting before the end of 2024, but that has not yet materialized.

“Ontario is a market of major significance for us in North America and so it is great to join ties with such a household name,” said Playson Sales Director Blanka Homor of the Casino Time partnership. “Casino Time’s online expansion continues to soar, and we are confident our Hold and Win collection will resonate with local players, offering them alternative ways of engaging in captivating slot experiences.”

For Playson, the deal is the latest collaboration with an operator in Ontario’s market. The licensed supplier already works with the likes of Caesars Digital and Titanplay in the province and launched games with DraftKings at the end of July. Light & Wonder distributes Playson content to operators via a deal signed at the start of this year, giving Playson significant reach not just in Ontario but in other provinces, where Light & Wonder works with numerous crown lottery corporations.

All in all, the European supplier operates within 26 regulated iGaming markets and works with more than 200 partners across the globe.

“Partnering with Playson is an exciting step in our mission to deliver the very best in online casino entertainment,” said Casino Time COO Jeffrey Holmes. “Their Hold and Win titles are a proven hit in multiple markets, and we are certain these will add a unique dynamic to our slot library. This collaboration strengthens our ability to bridge the gap between retail and digital gaming, while giving our players fresh, immersive experiences.”

SBC Leaders: Allwyn enjoying private life of being very public company

Allwyn has the potential to become a valuable listed business, but investors should not expect the move anytime soon, the group’s long-serving CEO Robert Chvatal tells the new edition of SBC Leaders magazine.

In the cover feature, Chvatal reflects on the transformation of Sazka (as the business was called when he became CEO 12 years ago) from a lottery-led company into the vast gambling industry conglomerate that Allwyn is today.

He talks about key acquisitions, including stakes in international betting and gaming operators Kaizen Gaming (the company behind Ontario-licensed Betano) and Novibet, as well as why digital is the way forward for the lotteries Allwyn now runs in multiple European markets.

Chvatal also looks at what the future may hold for the company. Back in 2022, that future looked set to list on the New York Stock Exchange, only for a planned SPAC deal with Cohn Robbins Holdings Corp to be terminated. It appears that the thinking of major shareholder Karel Komárek and the leadership team has since changed.

“We are clearly listable or IPOable,” says Chvatal. “We have a track record. We have quite a long-term established presence in capital markets because we finance ourselves also by issuing bonds. So we are on the debt side of capital markets but not on the equity side. But this means you are exposed to the same investors.”

Despite that, Chvatal seems more comfortable with the idea of remaining as a private company and enjoying the added agility that comes with that status.

“Even if we were to get listed, I think we would like to keep control, so we would not go and sell the whole company,” he explains. “As long as Karel has a belief and an appetite that he can still improve Allwyn – and I believe he definitely does – then we will continue as at least a partially-private company.”

The magazine also includes an interview with FanDuel’s SVP of Public Policy and Sustainability Cory Fox, who discusses the U.S. market-leading sportsbook’s latest responsible gambling efforts and whether the emergence of a challenge from prediction markets may drive a move towards federal regulation.

“We think, by and large, our state regulators are doing a very good job of regulating the industry,” says Fox. “But this has become a successful industry that many people are exposed to via a lot of national television advertising. And so there is interest in it, from sort of across the spectrum at the federal level.

“But I think in the end, gambling has been and will continue to be effectively regulated at the state level. But it’s also on the state regulators, the operators, the entire ecosystem to ensure that at its core users are properly protected, and in order to ensure that the current system can continue.”

Elsewhere, there are in-depth examinations of the early stages of the regulated market in Brazil and proposed changes to its advertising regulations, an evaluation of player behaviour data from Eastern Europe and a deep dive into why traditional trading might just be more effective than AI for sharp bookmakers.

TotoGaming’s CEO Harutyun Vardanyan and his deputy Artak Ashkhatoyan discuss the latest changes to Romania’s regulatory environment, while there’s a profile of the women executives driving Stake’s business in Latin America, and a look at why we may all soon have to work with stablecoins.

Finally, we hear from some of the leading suppliers and advisors in the industry, including Mike de Graaff of BetComply, Warren Russell of eyeDP and Elton Dimech of Payhound.

From the sports betting sector, there are features with Rostyslav Likhtin of Data.bet, Marek Suchar of Oddin.gg and STATSCORE CEO Dariusz Łęczyński.

There is also a wealth of online casino talk from experts including Soft2Bet CPO Yoel Zuckerberg, Gamomat’s Iris Wallner, Elantil’s CEO Jonathan Gauci, Edgelabs CEO Marina Rodov, Toronto-headquartered Bragg Gaming Group CEO Matevž Mazij, Michael Bauer of Greentube, 3Oaks Gaming CCO Yuriy Muratov and Vegangster CPO Michael Oziransky.

Pick up your copy of SBC Leaders at SBC Summit in Lisbon Sept. 16-18, or read the digital edition here.

PointsBet surges in Ontario iCasino, projects spring Alberta launch

The battle to buy PointsBet largely concerns the operator’s sports betting operations in its home country of Australia. But in Canada’s only regulated iGaming market (for now), online casino is king. Ontario is the only place where PointsBet offers iCasino, and it has been riding the wave.

In its results for the Australian fiscal year 2025 (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025), PointsBet reported that its total Ontario market revenue rose 26% year over year to A$42.9 million (C$38.5 million). Gross profit rose 27% and segment EBITDA climbed 24%.

In keeping with the Ontario market’s general pattern, those gains were driven by iCasino. PointsBet’s Ontario online casino handle rose 27% year over year, breaking the $1 billion barrier to reach more than A$1.13 billion (C$1.02 billion). In comparison, Ontario sports betting handle for the Australian FY25 was A$354.9 million (C$318.8 million), although that was a 39% annual rise.

PointsBet Canada’s online casino gross win in Ontario surged 34% YOY and its iCasino net win rose even more, by 39%. Those figures were both 11% for online sports betting.

CEO Sam Swanell noted on a call on Aug. 28 that PointsBet nearly quadrupled the number of online casino content suppliers it works with in Ontario over the 12 months, from four to 15, and grew its games catalogue exponentially to more than 1,000 games. PointsBet’s number of active players in Ontario increased 30%, and Swanell noted a growing number of customers are playing both sports betting and online casino.

“Our Canadian business finishes the year with a reduced reliance on high-stakes clients, a more diversified revenue base and revenue growth momentum,” Swanell concluded.

Alberta timeline now April-June?

Soon, PointsBet will likely be offering both online sports betting and online casino in another province. Just how soon remains uncertain.

Swanell briefly referenced Alberta’s upcoming iGaming market on Thursday’s call. The most recent public estimates from U.S. operators had been that the market would launch in the first quarter of the 2026 calendar year, and Minister Dale Nally said at the Canadian Gaming Summit in June that the target was “early” next year.

However, Swanell seemed to hit the brakes on that suggestion, stating that PointsBet expects Alberta to go live in Q4 of the Australian FY26. That would be Q2 of the calendar year, April to June.

PointsBet’s Canada-specific CEO, Scott Vanderwel, told Canadian Gaming Business last year that the company intends to offer a full casino product from day one of the Alberta market, as well as sports betting. “We see Alberta as not just another market, but as a critical region that can help shape our future,” he said.

‘Very strong likelihood’ of MIXI controlling PointsBet

Meanwhile, on Aug. 29, PointsBet disclosed that Japanese entertainment company MIXI now holds more than 50% of the voting power of PointsBet due to acceptances it has received from shareholders. As such, the closing date of MIXI Australia’s offer has automatically been extended by 14 days, from Aug. 29 to Sept. 12.

MIXI has been locked in a battle for months with Australian sportsbook Betr in its efforts to buy PointsBet. Betr owns around 19% of PointsBet, and both MIXI and Betr have publicly stated that they would not accept the other’s offer for their PointsBet shares.

“Given the current status of the offers for PointsBet, there is a very strong likelihood that MIXI Australia will have effective, if not actual, control of PointsBet at the conclusion of its offer,” Swanell said on the call, before MIXI’s holding exceeded 50%. “Given that PointsBet and MIXI Australia are not competitors, PointsBet intends to offer MIXI Australia representation on the PointsBet Board commensurate with their shareholding.”

All PointsBet directors have accepted MIXI’s takeover offer and have reiterated time and time again that MIXI’s all-cash proposal is their preferred option over Betr’s share-based bid, which Swanell called “hostile and unsolicited.” Swanell labeled Betr’s business “very inferior” to PointsBet’s and advised shareholders that receiving Betr shares in return for an effective reduction in holding in PointsBet would be an unwise economic decision.

Betr’s proposal to take over PointsBet includes a provision to sell PointsBet Canada operations to Hard Rock Digital for around C$40 million. It is unclear whether MIXI has any intentions to alter PointsBet Canada’s business if it gains control.

BCLC cries foul in court after FINTRAC fines it $1M

British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) has taken FINTRAC to court, claiming that it was “ambushed” by the financial watchdog before being fined $1 million for multiple alleged anti-money laundering (AML) violations.

As first reported by The Canadian Press, BCLC filed a notice of appeal in Federal Court on Aug. 20 that names the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada and the federal Attorney General as defendants.

In the court document, which was obtained by Canadian Gaming Business, the crown lottery corporation argued that a decision issued by FINTRAC Director and CEO Sarah Paquet on July 21 should be cast aside or at least scaled back for several reasons.

Primarily, BCLC’s representatives wrote that a 2024 examination by FINTRAC was “conducted without proper notice to BCLC and contrary to FINTRAC’s established examination procedures” and argued that the crown corp. was not given adequate opportunity to comply with FINTRAC demands.

Investigation hinged on one casino patron

A FINTRAC news release issued on Aug. 28, more than a month after the watchdog’s decision and eight days after BCLC filed its appeal, confirmed that it levied a penalty of $1.075 million on BCLC for what it alleged were three counts of non-compliance with the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) and associated regulations.

FINTRAC alleged that BCLC failed to report suspicious transactions, failed to develop and apply policies and procedures for high-risk clients and failed to take special measures for high-risk clients. BCLC’s court appeal noted that the fines imposed for those three violations were $950,000, $50,000 and $75,000, respectively.

BCLC’s filing alleged that FINTRAC’s examination centred on one casino patron’s gambling activity dating back at least as far as 2018. That player was identified as the highest-volume slot machine user in BCLC’s rewards program and was flagged for “frequent use of $100 bills.”

The lottery corp. stressed in the court filing that both its own monitoring and examination policies and those of its regulator, the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB) of the B.C. Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, “found nothing unusual or suspicious about the patron’s activities that warranted further investigation.”

In a public statement issued Aug. 27, the day before FINTRAC’s own statement, BCLC emphasized that FINTRAC’s findings do not include allegations of any criminal offence.

FINTRAC ‘ambushed’ us, says BCLC

BCLC alleged that after it provided requested documents to FINTRAC late last year, the financial agency called what BCLC believed would be a regular quarterly meeting in December.

“During the meeting, BCLC was ambushed,” stated the notice of appeal. “This was the first time BCLC learned that it was under examination by FINTRAC and that the meeting would, in fact, serve as an exit meeting for the examination.” BCLC asserted that it was not given the opportunity by FINTRAC to meaningfully provide input into the examination.

In the court document, BCLC claimed that FINTRAC “erred” on several counts and “miscontrued” numerous things in its investigation and decision.

“The Director relied on her subjective view, or the subjective view of the FINTRAC examination team, that the patron was simply gambling too much,” asserted BCLC. “The amount gambled, in and of itself, is not a relevant factor in FINTRAC’s money laundering and terrorist financing indicators. The Director’s reasoning reflects a moral or value-based judgment rather than an objective application of the regulatory framework.

“In addition, the Director’s position that high-volume gambling is prima facie suspicious is unsustainable and unsupported by the regulatory framework. It improperly equates high-volume gambling with illegal activity, without regard to the broader context or individual circumstances.”

BCLC told Canadian Gaming Business that it could not comment further as the matter is before the courts. In FINTRAC’s public release, Pacquet stated that FINTRAC “works with businesses to help them understand and comply with their obligations” under PCMLTFA.

Non-profit CNE Casino also appealing FINTRAC fine

BCLC’s notice of appeal was filed on the same day that Canadian Gaming Business reported on another Federal Court appeal against a FINTRAC fine.

The temporary, non-profit Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) casino is contesting that its fine of almost $200,000 for allegedly failing to conduct either an adequate risk assessment procedure or a biannual review of its compliance program is unfair and unwarranted.

CNE Casino denied committing any PCMLTFA violation and, like BCLC, pointed to a lack of criminal activity, a lack of opportunity to stick up for itself, and erroneous FINTRAC actions and conclusions as reasons that the fine should be thrown out by a judge.

iGaming Ontario names ex-AGCO exec Hillier as president and CEO

iGaming Ontario (iGO) has found its new leader.

The regulated iGaming market’s conduct-and-manage agency announced on Thursday, Aug. 28, that former Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) Chief Strategy Officer Joseph Hillier has been appointed to the newly created positions of president and CEO. He will officially begin work Sept. 8, 2025.

iGO has been looking for a successor for Executive Director Martha Otton for months.

It has been just over a year since iGO announced in August 2024 that Otton would retire effective Dec. 31, 2024 after nearly four years in the job. Otton, who led iGO through the lead-up to, launch of and early success of Ontario’s regulated commercial online gaming and betting market, later pushed back her retirement date to help the agency search for her permanent replacement.

David Smith has been serving as interim president and CEO since Otton belatedly retired this spring.

Hillier knows Ontario iGaming and iGO well

iGaming Ontario, which is now under the oversight of the provincial Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming, said in a release that Hillier’s depth of knowledge of the Ontario iGaming market and career experience make him an ideal leader “at this critical point in iGaming Ontario’s growth.”

Hillier was most recently CSO and corporate secretary at AGCO, the market regulator which was until recently the parent organization of iGO. At the AGCO, he helped to lead strategy and regulation of the province’s gaming and horse racing sectors, as well as alcohol and cannabis. He is also the former Chief of Staff to Ontario Attorney General Doug Downey, a position from which he also helped to lead the development, launch and implementation of Canada’s first private-sector iGaming market and the creation of iGO.

Suffice it to say, he knows the provincial online gambling industry pretty well.

iGO focused on AML and self-exclusion upgrades

iGO added that its board of directors looks forward to supporting Hillier as the new CEO leads the now-standalone agency to deliver on key priorities. One of those is a longed-for updated anti-money laundering (AML) system fopr operators, which iGO spokesperson Josh Elliott told Canadian Gaming Business recently is in development.

“Our aim is that this system will improve efficiency and speed while also remaining secure and reducing the administrative burden on operators,” Elliott said in May. “When complete, this system will allow iGaming Ontario to file reports to FINTRAC via secure data feed, much as other high-volume entities do. This is a complex project, as it requires integration with our approximately 50 different operators and their individual systems. We do not have a launch date to share at this time.”

Another tool in development is a centralized self-exclusion platform for Ontarians that will allow gamblers in the province to opt out of multiple or all licensed online gaming platforms in one place. iGO contracted IXUP and Integrity Compliance 360(IC360) to develop that system a year ago, but the partners are yet to roll it out.

Since May 12, iGO has officially been doing business as a standalone conduct-and-manage agency after the iGaming Ontario Act 2024 ended its subsidiary relationship with the AGCO market’s regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). Last November, a spokesperson from AG Downey’s office told Canadian Gaming Business that the legal change was made in part to address a concern of a conflict of interest raised by Ontario’s Auditor General.

Scaling smart: how Ontario is shaping Playson’s North American strategy

Ontario’s regulated market continues to act as a gateway for iGaming growth across North America. With recent launches involving major operators like Caesars Digital and DraftKings, Playson is one of several European studios navigating the opportunities and challenges of scaling in a competitive and increasingly mature ecosystem. 

Tamas Kusztos, CCO at Playson, tells Canadian Gaming Business that Ontario is shaping the studio’s North American strategy and discusses how it is approaching content localisation and the importance of building credibility with trusted operators.

Canadian Gaming Business: Ontario has become a key focal point for many international gaming brands. What makes it such a defining market for companies entering North America, and what have you learned from your experience there so far?

Tamas Kusztos: Ontario is a landmark for European studios because it represents the first major, fully regulated iGaming market in North America with a framework comparable to what we’re used to in Europe. It combines a large, diverse player base with robust regulation and operator oversight, which makes it both a proving ground and a gateway.

For Playson, Ontario has been invaluable in teaching us how North American players interact with our content. We’ve seen strong engagement with familiar mechanics like Hold and Win, but also noted the importance of adapting promotional tools to align with local preferences. The learnings we gather in Ontario not only refine our offering there but also prepare us for expansion into other states and provinces as regulation progresses.

CGB: Playson’s Hold and Win mechanic features prominently in your games available in Ontario. From a gameplay and design perspective, what’s resonating most with local audiences?

TK: Hold and Win resonates because it delivers clarity and excitement in equal measure. Ontario players value straightforward mechanics that are easy to understand, yet powerful enough to create big, memorable moments. Bonus rounds, jackpots, and progressive features remain particularly appealing.

What’s been especially encouraging is that our subtle innovations — such as variations on grid size, collector symbols, or added progression features — have been embraced by local audiences. This tells us there is room for evolution within trusted formats, so long as the player experience remains smooth and intuitive.

CGB: Collaborations with established operators like Caesars and DraftKings offer a strong platform for exposure. Beyond scale, what are the advantages of working with well-known names when entering a new market?

TK: Partnerships with industry leaders bring credibility. When you launch with a trusted household name like Caesars or DraftKings, players have instant confidence in the content you provide. That trust significantly accelerates adoption of new titles.

Equally important is the access to deep player insights. Their scale allows us to test, adapt, and roll out products more effectively. It’s not just about reach — it’s about aligning with partners who understand how to deliver long-term value in a competitive environment.

CGB: How do you balance global portfolio consistency with the need for local adaptation in markets like Ontario? Looking ahead to the rest of 2025 and into 2026, how do you see your approach evolving across North America?

TK: We view our global portfolio as the foundation: it ensures consistent quality, recognisable mechanics, and proven performance. In Ontario, this has meant optimising game performance and tailoring game mechanics to provide for regional appetite.

As we move further into North America, our approach will be about building on this hybrid model: global excellence, local precision. We’ll continue to refine our full product suite to fit the ever-changing market demands. Compliance and responsible gaming will remain central to our strategy, as they are non-negotiable pillars for long-term growth.

By 2026, our goal is not only to expand our footprint across regulated jurisdictions but also to be recognised as a supplier that consistently delivers high-quality, trusted, and resonant content for operators and players alike.

Ontario iGaming grew 24% in July despite declining active accounts

Driven by online casino gains in a quiet period for sports, Ontario’s regulated iGaming market grew 24% year over year in July despite the number of active player accounts falling below one million for the first time in nine months.

Total wagering activity for the month was $7.563 billion, iGaming Ontario (iGO) reported in its latest revenue update, up 24.0% from July 2024 and 4% from June 2025. The province’s 50 licensed commercial operators collectively made $311.0 million in gross gaming revenue, 28.3% more than in the same month last year.

The number of active player accounts (APAs) across those 50 platforms dipped to 948,000, down 6% from June. That took the number of APAs below one million for the first time since October 2024, although it is still up 15.2% from July 2024.

However, while fewer accounts are playing, the ones that are being used are yielding more money for operators. Those APAs produced an average revenue of $328, up 8% from June and the highest per-user takings since August 2024.

Casino boom keeps booming

Online casino gaming accounted for a whopping 89% of the total handle in July, the largest proportion in the history of regulated iGaming in Ontario.

Players wagered through $6.737 billion on iCasino, up 27.3% year over year. That produced gross iCasino gaming revenue for operators of $252.3 million, a 37.4% year-over-year increase as online casinos continue to monetize their play effectively. That iCasino GGR was 81% of the total GGR, proving once again that online casino is where the money is at in this market.

July’s figures also don’t take into account the arrival of one of the best-performing online casino brands in North America, DraftKings-owned Golden Nugget Online Casino, which launched in Ontario in mid-August.

Sports falls to lowest-ever wagering share

In stark contrast, July sports betting handle was $688 million in a very quiet period for sports. That was down 10% from June, and the lowest total value of sports betting wagers since August 2024. July 2025’s total was barely up from July 2024, increasing just 2.5%, and it also represented just 9% of July 2025’s total iGaming handle, the first time that online sports betting’s share of total handle has been in the single digits since Ontario launched regulated iGaming in April 2022.

Operators made $52.7 million from sports wagering, representing 17% of their total gaming revenue. That was down 1.3% from July 2024’s sports betting GGR, the fourth time in the first seven months of this year that operators’ winnings from online sports betting fell year over year.

Online peer-to-peer poker continues to account for just 2% of handle and GGR, hampered by the current liquidity restriction that limits Ontarians to only playing against other Ontarians.

As always, we remind you that iGO’s reporting does not take into account 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, sometime this fall.

All change at iGO

iGO is now doing its business as a standalone conduct-and-manage agency after the iGaming Ontario Act 2024 ended its subsidiary relationship with the market’s regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). From its inception in July 2021 until May 11, 2025, iGO had been a subsidiary of the AGCO, but it officially went alone on May 12 under the provincial Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming.

Last November, a spokesperson from the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General told Canadian Gaming Business that the legal change was made in part to address a concern of a conflict of interest raised by Ontario’s Auditor General.

The change to organizational structure comes at a time when iGO is also transitioning its leadership. The agency announced on Thursday that Joseph Hillier has been appointed to the new position of President and CEO to replace retired Executive Director Martha Otton.

Why Ontario sports betting may not be worth the gamble for operators

Canada’s only regulated commercial iGaming market is a cash cow, there’s no doubt about that. But online casino seems to be the cream that rises to the top, and it risks leaving Ontario sports betting operators crying over spilled milk.

Alright, that metaphor turned a bit sour. The point here is to wonder aloud whether offering online sports betting in North America’s most overly saturated online gambling market is worth the punt for new arrivals stepping into the deepest of deep pools.

Ontario has 50 licensed commercial operators, a crowd that makes even the busiest U.S. legal online gambling state look sparse, and they collectively run 87 sites at the time of writing. Of the 35 sites that offer sports betting, virtually every single one also offers online casino, mostly on the same platform as the sportsbook. In contrast, around 40 sites are standalone online casinos with no sports betting offering.

To those with skin in the game or ears to the ground, this probably won’t be surprising. The general consensus is that it is easier to float in iCasino than OSB, in part because the margins in online casino are significantly greater than in sports wagering. To lean on what is a bit of an oversimplification, it’s the nature of the two businesses.

iCasino being highly profitable isn’t unique to Ontario, but it’s there where the difference is most pronounced.

Ontario: A Place To Grow… if you’re iCasino

Month after month, iGaming Ontario’s (iGO) data shows that almost nine in every 10 dollars wagered by players are spent on games like digital slots and tables and live dealer games rather than sports. iCasino was 89% of total wagering handle in July 2025 and 81% of operators’ GGR. Now, for reasons including the fact that there are significantly more operators offering online casino than there are sports betting, you would expect a big difference in the two verticals’ handle. But that is a huge difference.

Then, there’s the revenue generation. Sportsbooks’ total sports betting revenue has generally been flat year-over-year in 2025 and has actually declined from 2024 in four of the first seven months of the year. In striking contrast, iCasino revenue was up 37.4% YOY in July. The growth in operators’ online casino winnings is far outpacing the growth in iCasino play volume, which rose 27.3% in July.

Sports bets are often higher-stakes and bettors can be longer-term loyalists, but for operators, OSB is lower margins and lower handles, and it can be hard to make a ton of money unless you’re one of the biggest hitters. In iCasino, you may not get a big chunk of market share, but you can make a decent chunk of change with relatively small lift. For operators considering whether (or how) to join the fray now, more than three years in, is the payoff really going to be worth the hard work of trying to squeeze small percentage differentials in market share in search of a sports betting foothold?

The truth, as it often is, is that the answer isn’t yes or no. Sports betting is worth it for some but not for others, and it partly depends on what an operator wants from this province.

If you’re an online casino-focused brand like Vegas-based High Roller Technologies, which is about to join the horde, you’re probably confident of coming in and making money quickly. You can do your research, lean on expertise, offer an array of products with strong gamification, perhaps Canadianize your marketing and some of your games themselves, and you’ll likely put plenty of loonies and toonies in your pockets.

Won’t somebody please think of the sports fans?

But, if you’re sports-inclined, it’s probably hard to ignore the idea that — in gaming terms, at least — sports is just so damn sexy.

Actually watching the team might not always be sunshine and rainbows if you’re, say, a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, but watching sports and betting on them are nowadays inextricably linked for many viewers. And for operators, it tends to be the sports betting connections that attract the sponsorships and the TV eyes and everything that comes with that. There’s a reason (alright, many reasons) why, both as Ontario was gearing up to open its doors and once they were already fully ajar, operators were queuing up to strike deals with major sports teams.

Multiple recent examples illustrate the power of sports, although in different contexts.

Soft2Bet’s Canadian operator ToonieBet (nobody is mistaking the country of focus with a name like that) locked down deals with the Ottawa Senators and the Canadian Football League (CFL), recognizing the power of Canadian sports fandom in getting yourself recognized as an up-and-comer that may be packing a punch.

Meanwhile, Betty, an online casino that doesn’t even offer Ontario sports betting, is now an official gaming partner of the Leafs and the Toronto Raptors. Even when your customers can’t actually wager on sports on your platforms, you can’t deny the appeal of sports. Perhaps there is an opportunity for non-sportsbook online casinos to tangentially benefit from sports, riding the coattails of fandom to boost their own audience.

But if you’re an operator intent on offering sports betting to millions of sports fans in Ontario, you’d best prepare yourself for a long, hard slog. And, dare I say, you’d best have a functional and appealing online casino built in, too, to help you stay afloat with those delicious margins and a greater opportunity to innovate on product and variety. As folk from storied and longstanding British bookie Fitzdares put it as they headed for the Ontario exit earlier this year, it’s gotten “prohibitive” out there for sportsbooks, particularly if you have a market share of only a fraction of a percent.

Think it over and get back to us

This musing isn’t to suggest there’s no value in a sports betting offering for a regulated commercial operator in Ontario, or any other future province. Alberta has a wealth of sports-mad, of-gambling-age residents who will no doubt warmly embrace more legal sportsbooks, even if the government-owned Play Alberta has moved to corner the sports partnerships market. Get things right there, and a sportsbook could enjoy itself greatly.

For as long as sports have existed, people have staked things on the results, and sports betting isn’t going away anytime soon. It’s a big piece of the Canadian gaming puzzle. But it can’t make sense for all operators.

Ontario’s example shows that online casino is where the margins are and where the money is for those who can capture even a modest sliver of the market. Perhaps the question for many operators is not how they should approach Ontario sports betting, but whether they should bother.