While Vince Carter and DeMar DeRozan paved the way for Toronto to become a credible NBA city, Kawhi Leonard’s heroics in 2019 that led to the Raptors’ first NBA Championship were what lit the touchpaper for Canadian basketball.

Fast-forward five years, Toronto now has a future that includes both a men’s and women’s basketball team at the top level as the city is the latest to gain an expansion franchise in the WNBA.

The Toronto Tempo will take part for the first time in the 2026 WNBA season, playing its games at the 8,500-seater Coca-Cola Coliseum. Alongside the Golden State Valkyries in 2025 and a Portland franchise in 2026, the Canadian expansion exemplifies the growth the league has experienced in just the last year.

While the Toronto team co-owned by Serena Williams is still a year away from beginning play, there’s a big opportunity for sportsbooks right now to expand their WNBA offering. With Toronto already boasting an impressive wide range of sports teams, the addition of a WNBA team will garner great attention from fans and bettors alike.

“We would genuinely be amazed if Toronto’s new WNBA team didn’t move the betting needle quite considerably when they join the league,” Fitzdares’ Clive Harris told Canadian Gaming Business recently. “With the team set to become the first WNBA team located outside the U.S. and the first located in Canada, we are firmly behind the excitement and hype.

“The presence of any local team always boosts fan engagement. With the team being heavily associated with the Raptors and the Leafs, under Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the team will likely attract much greater media attention too. Sports bettors, especially those who are familiar with the Raptors, will undoubtedly start to shift their betting eye across to markets that are not only new, but ones that offer betters a plethora of markets to bet on.”

Riding the wave

The last WNBA season saw a level of growth over the course of one year not seen since its formation in 1996. There were records set for ticket sales, attendances, and viewership, and betting volume also took a significant uptick.

In the U.S., ESPN Bet, for one operator, reported a 150% increase in WNBA bets from the 2024 season compared to the previous year, while BetMGM’s betting volume on the league also more than doubled year-over-year.

There’s also the factor of the new incoming $2.2 billion broadcast rights agreement that will see WNBA coverage on ESPN and Amazon for the next 11 years, a testament to the intrigue surrounding women’s basketball in North America.

“We would be amazed if Toronto’s new WNBA team didn’t move the betting needle quite considerably.”

“Betting on the WNBA has seen a steady increase over the past few years, with the 2023-24 season in particular seeing notable growth,” Harris adds. “The WNBA’s rising profile, boosted by stars like Jackie Young, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, has helped increase its audience, including bettors. More sportsbooks are offering markets for WNBA games, and with a growing number of fans watching games live or streaming them, the volume of betting has increased.”

The new Toronto franchise joining the league during a new growth period is not only going to be potentially profitable for owners MLSE, but also represents new marketing and sponsorship opportunities for incumbent betting operators in Canada.

Since the launch of the Ontario regulated online sports betting market, some of the largest industry players in North America rushed to recognize the potential of Canada’s most populated city, Toronto.

FanDuel and DraftKings moved to consolidate their U.S.-leading position in the market, while brands like BetMGM, PointsBet, and made-in-Canada operator theScore Bet all inked partnership agreements with Toronto teams including the Raptors, Leafs, and Blue Jays.

Year-round engagement is a challenge

However, while the offset calendar means there is never a lack of major sports to watch in Canada, all sports leagues have off-seasons. With no WNBA games from November until April, there is a challenge for betting operators to continue to engage with their customers around the league through the winter.

This forces operators to get creative with marketing campaigns and offers that keep the bettor engaged during the off-season.

“In Canada, it’s been a great challenge trying to keep customers engaged all year round during sporting ‘downtime’,” acknowledges Harris. “In the UK, we have horse racing all year round that plugs in the gaps, but during these slower weeks in Canada, you can’t rely on this.

“As a result, we see more of a cyclical betting pattern with certain sports dominating during particular months. The MLB, NBA and NFL are the big-ticket items, along with the NHL. We tend to see smaller stakes on the ice but do see a significant uptick when the Leafs play. The NHL, in particular, has a deeply embedded presence in Canadian sporting culture.”

The other challenge for betting operators looking to provide WNBA markets and insights is to keep the league under the same spotlight as the big four North American major leagues.

While women’s sports leagues like the WNBA and National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) have seen major growth over the past several years, they are still fighting for viewership and engagement with their respective NBA and Major League Soccer (MLS) counterparts, particularly when running against each other concurrently.

But with young, emerging stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese contributing a large part of the WNBA’s growth last season, in terms of betting volume, attendance and viewership figures across the board, the future of the league looks in safer hands than ever before.

Many doors are there to be opened

On the team’s side, too, there is great potential.

For a new team like the Toronto franchise entering the league, there are multiple avenues to generate revenue through betting sponsorships and interactive partnerships. It’s mutually beneficial, as betting operators can benefit from a form of first-mover advantage by attaching their brand to a young team or league from the outset. In the long run, there’s a chance for certain sportsbooks to almost become synonymous with said team or league.

“North America has always been such a great advocate and so forward-thinking when women’s sport is involved.”

“North America has always been such a great advocate and so forward-thinking when women’s sport is involved – the NWSL being at the forefront of this revolution,” adds Harris. “Men’s sport still dominates the betting landscape, but we are witnessing tangible growth, with significant increases in media coverage, television ratings, and social media presence, all of which are fuelling interest from a betting perspective.”

It’s clear the future is bright and the opportunities women’s sports leagues like the WNBA can bring in the betting world are dazzling. If they aren’t already, sportsbooks would do well to get on board.

This interview with Fitzdares’ Clive Harris was conducted for Canadian Gaming Business magazine in late 2024, before Fitzdares announced its exit from Ontario, and was published in the January 2025 issue.