The American Gaming Association estimated a record US $16 billion in bets were wagered towards the Super Bowl over the weekend, with figures not yet known for places like Ontario, a new major player in the past year of online gambling.
The $16 billion figure doubles last year’s U.S. total, as sports gambling continues to thrive.
There’s no word, yet, on when the Ontario figures will be released, or if they ever will be.
But there’s already evidence that sports betting is big business in the province.
In their final performance report of 2022, iGaming Ontario, who works alongside the government, reported a total of $11.53 billion in wagers between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, also referred as the third quarter (Q3).
This represents a 91 per cent increase from their Q2 report.
The latest report also declared a total of 910,000 active player accounts, a 42 per cent increase since Q2.
As of April 2022, Ontario fully legalized all aspects of sports gambling in the province, and up to this point there are 28 licensed sportsbooks.
Sports betting editor for Covers.com, Jeff Watters believes that the recent pandemic played a key role in the popularity of digital gambling.
“I think the pandemic plays a factor here, whereas those who formerly would have visited casinos are now playing casino games online or sports betting online,” Watters said.
As the popularity of this industry grows, Watters said that the overall convenience and effortless action of digital gambling has made it a no brainer among sports fans.
“The majority of them have dedicated mobile apps, and the ones that don’t you can easily play on the browser of your phone,” he said.
“Whether you’re riding the TTC on the way to work, you’re on your lunch break or you’re getting ready for the big game and you want to place a few bets right before kickoff. It’s so widely available and easily accessible,” he added.
A major talking point involving sportsbooks lately has been the somewhat mixed reactions from the public regarding the mass promotion of online gambling in Ontario since it fully came to fruition in April.
Watters said that although he lives in Nova Scotia, the push for nationwide reach is so strong that he and others outside of Ontario are getting identical ads for sportsbooks which aren’t even eligible for use in their locations.
“Ontarians and others across Canada are bombarded with ads. I live in Halifax and I see the same ads that people in Ontario see. The reach is massive, it’s nationwide,” Watters said.
Those not in favour of the persistent gambling promotion in Ontario may question why the province is allowing all this to happen, but Watters said that their legal agreement plays a huge factor.
“Ontario gets a little piece of that pie which is what they want. Part of that game revenue stays in the province and no longer goes out to gray market books where they never saw any of that,” he said.
Speaking with Humber News, iGO confirmed last Thursday that their agreement with the Ontario legislature in April comes with its financial benefits.
“Per the operating agreement with iGaming Ontario, operators share a portion of their gross gaming revenue with the province of Ontario to support provincial priorities.”
When considering the fact that iGO reported a combined total of $457 million in Q3 alone, the 71 per cent increase since Q2 shows just how steep the province’s profit continues to grow.
Although, iGO supports their value to Ontarians based on the process they go through to ensure that proper regulations are met with each sportsbook.
This puts a major halt to suspicious sportsbooks and illegal bookies which reigned over Ontario pre-legalization.
“Regulated Operators in Ontario have met rigorous standards of game integrity, fairness, player protections and social responsibility. They have entered legal agreements ensuring compliance with applicable laws, including anti-money laundering.”