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BCLC opening retail PROLINE sportsbook lounges at two casinos

The British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) is beefing up its retail sportsbook offerings by opening two new PROLINE sportsbook lounges in the coming weeks.

B.C.’s first in-person sportsbooks lounges will open at Chances Casino Kelowna and Parq Casino in Vancouver on Monday, Feb. 10. The Chances Kelowna PROLINE Sportsbook Lounge will offer a sneak peek the day before, on Super Bowl Sunday. The lounge will feature a massive 25-foot screen as well as food and drink and PROLINE betting.

The Parq Casino lounge will host a grand opening event in March, after its first few weeks of operation.

A spokesperson from the crown corporation told Canadian Gaming Business that “the lounges offer something for sports lovers and sports bettors alike, including a best-in-class sports viewing experience and sports-betting terminals offering a full suite of competitive and live odds.”

“The sportsbook lounge is not just for sports betting, it is a go-to viewing destination for both regular gamedays and, for the biggest sporting events of the year, where B.C. sports fans and sports bettors can watch their favourite teams together, the home of the home team.”

BCLC has plans to introduce future sportsbook lounges at other casinos around the province.

Lounges will showcase BCLC’s modernized sportsbook

The two sportsbook lounges will be major showcases for BCLC’s expanded and revamped PROLINE, which it unveiled last fall on the eve of the NFL season. PROLINE replaced the Sports Action sportsbook that BCLC shut down last May after 33 years.

In an interview with CGB in September, BCLC’s Manager of Retail Sports Brett Hanson detailed PROLINE’s new and expanded features, which include a move to fully digital bet slips, an exponential increase in bet types and range and a variety of betting markets on local teams.

Hanson told CGB at the time of that chat that BCLC would become the first Canadian lottery to offer in-play retail betting with dynamic odds, facilitated by a mover to integrate PROLINE into the crown corporation’s self-service terminals (SSTs) in all of its hospitality network locations. BCLC confirmed to CGB on Monday that PROLINE at retail has been offering live odds for a few months.

AI scam targets Alberta’s River Cree Resort & Casino

False advertising on social media reportedly used altered news footage and the name of Alberta’s River Cree Resort & Casino to try to attract clicks.

Former CityNews journalist Baily Nitti was alerted to the fact her likeness was being used in marketing purporting to be from the Edmonton-area casino. The publisher of the ad used AI to alter footage from an old news report about the pandemic, changing it to promote a fraudulent online betting site.

“To see yourself on that, being used in a way where your voice is saying something you never said is scary,” Nitti told CityNews. “AI is crazy, I know that, but I never realized I would be part of something like this,” said Nitti.

Per CityNews, River Cree Resort and Casino CEO Vik Mahajan said the casino has been used in fake social media ads for over a year.

“It’s not just us, it’s other big brands,” Mahajan said. “It always leaves a bad taste in the person’s mouth who ends up using that, and we don’t want our name to be out there in these frauds and fake ads.”

Fraudulent iGaming advertising a widespread problem

Alberta RMCP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff warned that the issue is believed to be widespread and likely targets other casinos.

Scam ads have also been reporting to be targeting players in Manitoba, Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, looking to lure unsuspecting players to sign up for fake online casinos and thus compromise their privacy, data and money.

Last year, both Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries (MBLL) and Alberta Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis (AGLC) warned players about social media ads implying that land-based venues are offering iGaming.

Ontario’s Casino Rama also was used in adverts that directed the public to a website belonging to Curaçao-registered WinSpirit Casino, which operates without a license in the province.

The Canadian Gaming Association (CGA) has been vocal about criticizing social media and technology giants such as Meta for failing to do enough to prevent this kind of fraud. “Virtually every land-based casino brand in the country has had its brand highjacked to promote fraudulent online sites in the past several months,” said CGA President Paul Burns in a post on LinkedIn last spring.

Major Canadian casino operator Great Canadian Entertainment keeps a list on its website of known fraudulent advertising attempts concerning its properties. In January 2025 alone, scams have used the names and images of Ontario’s Woodbine Racetrack, B.C.’s River Rock Casino and  Canadian Entertainment’s Casino New Brunswick and Casino Nova Scotia to promote unlicensed and unregulated online casinos.

In Ontario, all regulated commercial online casinos have to include the iGaming Ontario (iGO) logo in their adverts. In other provinces, only the provincial lottery corporations’ platforms are regulated.

Betty splitting off Ontario business as it aims to become ‘McDonald’s of iCasino’

The co-founder and CEO of online casino Betty says the company is splitting off its Ontario-focused business as it aspires to become “the McDonald’s of iCasino.”

In a full quarterly report shared with Canadian Gaming Business, Justin Park, told investors that the company’s ambitions of “transforming Betty into a global casino powerhouse will be manifested through a decentralized franchise model.”

Betty is based in New York but has a Toronto office. Its Ontario market business has been the sole focus of its operations since it was founded in 2022. Betty launched in Ontario in February 2023 with the aim of engaging demographics such female gamblers who were not necessarily catered to as a primary audience by most online gaming brands.

In the early months of 2024, Betty announced that it had raised $5 million in pre-series A funding led by CEAS Investments and also agreed a deal with Stakelogic to host its range of online slots and live casino products. It has also partnered with the likes of Kinectify and GeoLocs in Ontario.

In the update, Park noted that the goal for 2024 was to achieve a $20 million USD net revenue run rate and grow its customer base to 6,600 active monthly players. The company ended the year on $114 million USD ($164 million CAD) and nearly 40,000, respectively, the latter representing an eight-fold increase in players since the start of 2024.

Park wrote that Betty’s ambitions “have expanded tremendously.” To match those ambitions, the company is overhauling how it does business.

Ontario business renamed Betty Canada, company’s first franchise

Now, Betty’s Ontario operations will be known as Betty Canada and will be the first owned and operated franchise under a new business model.

Betty Canada will be led by Park’s fellow co-founder Chavdar Dimitrov as CEO. Park noted that Dimitrov has outlined a plan to double revenue through several key initiatives, including launching a fully native mobile app and beginning to develop original games.

The parent company will expand into other markets, with Park namechecking Betty USA and Betty LATAM as “exciting opportunities for future growth.” Another important step is expansion into Alberta whenever that province opens its doors to commercial online casinos, slated to be in the second half of this year.

Each franchised partnership will have its own brand, technology, digital user acquisition process, operating playbook and startup capital. The franchises will be overseen by dedicated CEOs with significant ownership stakes who will be responsible for acquiring local licenses, building the local team, localizing the brand, partnering with local investors and strategic partners and more.

“Much like McDonald’s, Betty will establish a worldwide presence by partnering with top-tier managers and providing them with the necessary tools for success,” wrote Park. He added that he believes the winning approach in online casino gaming is to “find extremely competent managers, set them up for success and get out of their way.”

Betty will siphon revenue from the fully-owned franchises’ own gaming revenues, as well as by generating IP licensing fees from third-party franchises. Betty also aims to develop its own games for licensing by 2025, creating another potential revenue stream.

“Capital markets are ultimately looking for online gaming assets that are both high growth and profitable,” concluded Park. “The decentralized model will drive growth, while high-margin licensing revenues will establish a solid foundation of profitability.

iGaming Ontario begins monthly reporting after another record quarter

As Ontario’s regulated online gaming market has grown quarter after quarter, many have suggested the market reports have been too few and far between. iGaming Ontario (iGO) have changed that.

The conduct-and-manage entity has started sharing its market performance reports every month, rather than just once a quarter. This brings it in line with how most U.S. regulated gaming markets report. Also of note is that iGO is now showing historical data for every month back to when the market opened in April 2022.

Going forward, a snapshot of total handle, gross gaming revenue (GGR) and other key metrics for the last 13 months on a rolling basis will be available via the iGO website.

iGO told Canadian Gaming Business on Thursday that the change in reporting “is the result of our decision to be more transparent by sharing aggregate revenue and market insight figures more frequently, and in a format that is easier to ingest and analyze.”

The agency told CGB it has no plans at this time to break data down by operator, which is not surprising given that the saturated market hosts 50 operators across 83 websites as of Dec. 31. The newest entrants include Aristocrat Interactive white-labeled brand Betiton, which launched in December. More will follow, as more than 20 pending operator applications are waiting.

The reporting revision comes as iGO strikes out as a fully independent and standalone board-governed agency. Ontario’s 2024 fall budget measures included Schedule 9 to enact the iGaming Ontario Act, which severs the tie between iGO and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).

A spokesperson from the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General told CGB late last year that the change was made in part to address a concern of a conflict of interest raised by the Auditor General. The Act will be proclaimed in early 2025, said the spokesperson, but that has not happened as of the time of writing.

Ontario online casino growth pattern continues

As for the numbers in iGO’s new report for the quarter up to Dec. 31, 2024, the market’s booming growth continues apace.

Ontario gamblers spent $22.7 billion online during Q3 of the Canadian fiscal year, the highest amount on record. That total handle across all kinds of online gaming was 32% higher than it was from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, and up 22% on the previous quarter of the 2023-24 FY.

Overall GGR sat at $826 million, up 26% year over year and 12% month over month. Again, this makes it the best quarter on record for Ontario’s regulated market, which is approaching its third anniversary.

As we’ve seen since the market opened in April 2022, online casino dwarfs sports betting and other digital gaming. Of the $22.7 billion total quarterly spend, $18.9 billion (83%) was on online casino games, up 38% on the previous year. Online casino revenue was up 37% to $644 million, roughly 78% of total GGR.

iGaming’s percentage share in handle was down slightly from last quarter’s 86%, but its GGR share was up from 75%.

Sports betting, which includes esports wagering in Ontario, suffered a 6% annual drop in revenue to $16 million despite a 10% handle increase to $3.4 billion. Sports wagers made up 15% of total bets and 20% of total GGR in the quarter.

The remaining $418 million of the $22.7 billion online gaming handle was bet on peer-to-peer poker, a 3% drop. That vertical could be in for a dramatic change if the Ontario Court of Appeal rules in favour of the province by deeming international P2P play legal.

December the best month on (the new) record

The new monthly breakdown tells us that December was the busiest online gambling month on record in Ontario, with an all-time high $7.8 billion in handle eclipsing the previous record set the month before in November by 4%. Handle was up 28% from December 2023.

However, November 2024’s $291 million in revenue remains the mark to beat. December’s GGR was $269 million, down 10%.

Ontario appears to have suffered from the same “customer-friendly” sports outcomes that have affected numerous U.S. states in December. Sports wagering handle climbed 9% to $1.1 billion but GGR was down 28% to $39 million

In contrast, online casino set monthly records of $6.5 billion in handle and $224 million in revenue, up 33% and 36% from December 2023.

As for all-time, Ontario regulated online gaming has produced total GGR of nearly $6.2 billion, almost $4.5 billion of which has come from online casinos. That gaming activity has netted $1.2 billion in tax in just short of three years.

iGO’s reporting data does not include online gaming on the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) platform. OLG, which holds around 20% of the regulated market in Ontario, reports separately and annually.

FINTRAC suspects fentanyl money laundering happening via online gambling sites

Canada’s financial intelligence agency FINTRAC has warned that online gambling platforms may be being used to launder money from fentanyl dealing and production.

In its latest operational alert, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada wrote that suspicious transaction reports found that known fentanyl traffickers frequently sent funds received from email money transfers to gambling sites and received payments in return from associated payment processors based in Canada. as well as Malta and the United Kingdom.

“It is suspected that individuals are depositing and withdrawing funds at online casinos, using these platforms to disguise proceeds from fentanyl and opioid trafficking as wagers and winnings from online gambling,” noted the alert.

FINTRAC acts as a financial watchdog by scouring millions of data points to identify cash that is suspected to be linked to money laundering and terrorism. It reports findings to authorities including the RCMP police service.

Regarding this particular alert, it analyzed around 5,000 suspicious transaction reports related to fentanyl and synthetic opioids filed between 2020 and 2023 and found that “threat actors are also using darknet marketplaces and virtual currencies to distribute and facilitate payments for fentanyl and other illegal synthetic opioids on an international scale, among other traditional methods.”

Fintrac says that in one case, an individual received hundreds of “high-value” e-transfers from a payment processor known to work in the online gambling sector. The transactions were considered suspicious due to the client’s tendency to deal with people linked to fentanyl trafficking, the alert said.

Under its “general money laundering indicators,” FINTRAC notes that a client making high-volume or frequent purchases from a personal account to online gambling platforms and subsequently receiving funds into the same account from payment processors associated with online gambling platforms is “an unusual pattern” that warrants close attention.

Responsible Gambling Council scores partnership with NFL to educate student-athletes

The Responsible Gambling Council (RGC) and the NFL are teaming up to provide responsible gaming resources to student-athletes across Canada.

The RGC announced on Thursday a partnership with the NFL to develop and offer a comprehensive RG training program tailored to college-level athletes. The program, which will launch later this year, will have a pilot phase that provides RG resources to eight Canadian universities and colleges. During the 2025-26 academic year, the program will expand to 30 institutions using insights and feedback from this year’s training program.

“Student-athletes face unique pressures from academics, athletics and the accessibility of sports betting, making them vulnerable to risky gambling behaviours,” said new RGC CEO Sarah McCarthy, who officially replaced Shelley White this month. “Our partnership with the NFL is a crucial step in supporting this group by providing the education and tools needed to make informed decisions.”

The NFL and RGC will also work together to evaluate the program and its effectiveness.

North America’s most popular pro sports league is partnering with the RGC as it commits to promoting RG practices and initiatives. In 2024, the NFL provided in-person gambling policy education and training to all players and staff of the league’s 32 franchises.

The NFL also has a partnership with the U.S. National Council on Problem Gambling.

RGC partners with major sports properties

The council has landed a deal with the NFL after partnering with Toronto-based sports holding and commercial real estate company Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE).

As part of the deal, RGC messaging will be displayed at every home game of a Toronto sports team at Scotiabank Arena and BMO Field as well as select away games. MLSE owns the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC, and the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.

BetMGM seals exclusive rights to Family Feud and The Price is Right

BetMGM has secured the exclusive online casino intellectual property rights to two of TV’s biggest gameshows.

Thanks to a new partnership with entertainment production company Fremantle, the gaming operator will be able to develop and offer games branded under the names of both The Price Is Right and Family Feud. The deal covers slots, table games and non-traditional casino games and paves the way for BetMGM to create customized online casino content around both shows.

CEO Adam Greenblatt said the deal “unlocks various ways for BetMGM and Fremantle to collaborate and expand our brand.”

“Family Feud and The Price is Right are two of the most popular game shows in North America, and we look forward to bringing their fun and excitement to our online casino in various exciting ways.”

“This innovative collaboration paves the way for in-game branding across diverse online casino categories, while also providing opportunities for integrated TV sponsorships,” added Suzanne Lopez, COO of Fremantle North America. “It’s all about enhancing how fans of The Price Is Right and Family Feud connect with the shows in fresh, immersive ways.”

A BetMGM spokesperson told Canadian Gaming Business that the plan is to bring customized games created under the agreement to Ontario, as well as all of BetMGM’s iGaming states in the U.S.

Deal follows Wheel of Fortune collaboration

BetMGM’s online casino network offers more than 3,500 titles across North American markets. It already has a stable of iGaming brands including its flagship BetMGM online casino, Borgata Casino, Party Casino and Party Poker, as well as Wheel of Fortune.

Its Wheel of Fortune Online Casino brand, facilitated through Sony Pictures Television and IGT PlayDigital, was extended into Ontario last August. BetMGM already offered select titles under that brand in the province before the full platform launch.

Its deal with that gameshow not only included online games but also on-screen BetMGM messaging and activations at various stages of the show’s TV season, such as sponsoring jackpots and in-show displays of the operator’s logo on host Pat Sajak’s monitor.

It’s currently unclear whether similar on-screen visibility will be part of the deal with Fremantle’s shows. However, the spokesperson for BetMGM confirmed to CGB that Lopez’s cited “integrated TV sponsorships” will only be for the two shows in the U.S. and will not apply to Family Feud Canada.

“BetMGM looks forward to sharing more details of how we will bring exciting activations to The Price is Right in Canada as more details get finalized,” added the spokesperson.

The new Fremantle deal is one of the first big marketing moves BetMGM has made since hiring experienced marketing leader and former Rocket Mortgage executive Casey Hurbis as chief marketing officer in December.

Transit agency held talks over naming Toronto station after Jackpot City

Licensed online casino Jackpot City was reportedly considered by Ontario transit agency Metrolinx for a major sponsorship deal.

CBC News reports that Metrolinx considered the brand last year when looking for a potential commercial naming rights partner for Toronto’s Exhibition GO station. Sources told CBC that the proposal was halted by Ontario Minister for Transport Prabmeet Sarkaria.

“When a station naming opportunity is proposed, the government and Metrolinx evaluate it to ensure it meets all government and agency advertising policies,” Sarkaria’s office told Canadian Gaming Business in a statement.

“Before any partnership is considered, Metrolinx conducts a thorough review and assessment of the business,” added Metrolinx in its own statement to CGB. “A careful due diligence process is always conducted before a partnership is agreed to. We regularly work with partners across all sectors, and we will continue to explore ways we can work with third parties to improve and expand our services.”

Neither the ministry nor Metrolinx, which is a crown agency, explicitly confirmed or denied that the discussions had taken place or why they were stopped.

Jackpot City’s parent company Super Group did not provide an on-the-record comment.

Metrolinx manages and integrates road and public transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and is the central procurement agency on behalf of Ontario municipalities for local transit vehicles, equipment and services. It is responsible for operating the GHTA-area GO Transit system, the Presto card used across the GTHA and by OC Transpo in Ottawa and the Union Pearson Express airport rail link to Toronto Pearson International Airport.

It has struck commercial naming rights deals for other stations in recent years with educational and business organizations. Oshawa’s GO station has been officially titled the Durham College Oshawa GO station since 2022 and Brampton’s is the Brampton Innovation District GO station since 2023.

Among other things, Exhibition provides access to BMO Field, the home of MLS team Toronto FC and the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, and Coca-Cola Coliseum, which hosts the PWHL’s Toronto Sceptres and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Marlies affiliate and from next year will hold WNBA games for the Toronto Tempo.

Super Group pleased with existing Canadian visibility

Jackpot City is one of numerous licensed online casinos in Ontario, having gained Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) approval in the regulated market’s launch year of 2022.

It is licensed to Cadtree Ltd., a subsidiary of the Super Group company which also operates Royal Vegas, Ruby Fortune and Spin Casino and the Betway sportsbook in Ontario’s regulated market.

Super Group CEO Neal Menashe said on an earnings call in November that “Jackpot City continues to be a leading brand across [Canada].”

Super Group has been proactive in marketing its brands in Canada. Jackpot City has partnerships with sporting franchises including the Toronto Rock lacrosse team and in Alberta, the Betway brand has been prominently advertising for years including via a deal with the NHL regarding the brand’s “non-gambling global website” betway.net.

Canada is the company’s second-largest region in terms of revenue after Africa.

H2 Gambling Capital data made available to CGB in fall 2024 suggests that Super Group has captured around 7% of the regulated Ontario market, up from around 4% last year. The data also pegs Super Group as the leading operator in Canada’s unregulated market with a 35% share.

AGCO working on better ways to erase unlicensed Ontario gambling

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has stated publicly that it is working on making it harder for those inside and outside Ontario’s online gaming industry to engage with the unregulated iGaming market.

In the AGCO’s annual report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, published on Jan. 14, 2025, the regulator said it is spent the year collaborating with international jurisdictions on tackling the grey market.

Most notably, the notes included the fact that it is working on “a comprehensive strategy” to limit industry access to the unregulated market and increase public awareness “by delivering a second generation of high-impact, coordinated and relevant regulatory activities.”

Collaboration with international jurisdictions on tackling the unregulated iGaming market continued in 2023-24 and a comprehensive strategy is in the process of being drafted to limit industry access to the unregulated market and increase public awareness by delivering a second generation of high impact, coordinated and relevant regulatory activities.

Exactly what that will entail is uncertain, but it likely includes working together with operators, suppliers and other stakeholders in Ontario’s regulated market on a tactical approach.

The AGCO, as well as the newly independent conduct-and-manage entity iGaming Ontario (iGO) and the Ontario Lottery and Corporation (OLG) are also fond of emphasizing that communication and collaboration with other provinces is vital, so the AGCO will likely be talking to the crown corporations and government officials elsewhere in Canada, too.

“Building off of our early channelization success, we continue to work with industry stakeholders and other jurisdictions to combat the unregulated market while continuing to work towards crafting a comprehensive strategy with our government partners,” the AGCO’s Raymond Kahnert told Canadian Gaming Business in response to a request for more details.

Channelization has gone well so far

As Kahnert alluded to, AGCO’s bid to starve the unregulated iGaming market of oxygen is an attempt to consolidate what has been strong progress is bringing online gaming play in the province under regulation.

In the report, CEO and Registrar Dr. Karin Schnarr cited stats from an Ipsos study to that found that over 85% of respondents who gambled online in Ontario were doing so on regulated sites, something Schnarr wrote “represents considerable success” in the core goal of bringing play out from the shadows and into the light.

Given that survey was conducted to coincide with the first anniversary of Ontario’s market opening on April 4, 2022, and given that the market is now approaching its third birthday, those stats are long outdated.

But data provided to Canadian Gaming Business by gambling research firm H2 Gambling Capital in late 2024 suggest that as of the end of the 2024 fiscal year, the unregulated market holds down just 7% of the market in terms of gross gaming revenue from online casino and sports betting. H2 credits OLG with 16% and the province’s 50+ commercial operators with 77%.

Following in US footsteps?

The AGCO and Ontario will likely be looking at least in part at how U.S. regulators and state governments have turned the screw on unlicensed operators in recent times.

Numerous states have sent cease-and-desist letters to a slew of offshore operators, most notably a largely successful multi-state campaign to force Curaçao-based Bovada to shut down.

Just this week, the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency said it has sent 11 such letters to unlicensed gambling operators, most which provide customers with access to sweepstakes offerings.

Meanwhile, in Canada, Antigua and Barbuda-based Bodog quietly took itself offline in Nova Scotia, where the only licensed sports betting and online gaming offerings are delivered by the multi-provincial Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC).

BetConstruct becomes first company to offer B2B and B2C licenses in Canada

European company BetConstruct has announced it is the first iGaming company authorized to issue both B2B and B2C gaming licenses in Canada.

Through a direct license authorization from the Tobique First Nation in New Brunswick, BetConstruct’s affiliate entity YoLicense has been granted the right to oversee applications and issue licenses within from its jurisdiction.

BetConstruct says the partnership “underscores shared values of innovation, transparency, and a commitment to responsible gaming practices.”

“This historic development places BetConstruct at the forefront of the Canadian iGaming market, redefining the opportunities available to gaming operators,” said the company in a release. “By leveraging its affiliate entity’s licensing capabilities, BetConstruct empowers businesses to navigate a streamlined and transparent regulatory environment, unlocking new opportunities for growth and innovation.

“At BetConstruct, we’ve always strived to push the boundaries of what’s possible in iGaming,” said co-founder Vigen Badalyan. “This landmark achievement with the Tobique First Nation reflects our unwavering dedication to creating opportunities for our partners while upholding the highest standards of responsibility and integrity in gaming.”

The company added that the ability to issue dual licenses highlights its commitment to supporting its partners and reinforces the company’s role as a trusted leader in the global iGaming landscape.

The Tobique Gaming Commission’s website lists its mission as providing a regulatory body which advocates responsible and transparent gaming practices, whilst simultaneously enriching the economic development for the Tobique First Nation. It currently has dozens of direct license-holders.