It’s been two years since Ontario opened its regulated internet gaming (iGaming) market. Now, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and iGaming Ontario are finding that 86% of Ontario’s online players play on regulated sites. While this is a drastic improvement from before the market was opened, there is still significant work for regulators in the Ontario online gaming industry.
Article at a glance:
- 86% of Ontario’s iGaming players use regulated websites.
- This is a dramatic 2-year shift from the 70% of unregulated online gaming occurring previously.
- Having 77 regulated sites is an upward trend for the iGaming industry, but having 350 unregulated sites in Ontario means that work is still left to be done.
“iGaming Ontario joins our operators, government, and AGCO in celebrating our success in attracting Ontarians to the safer, regulated iGaming market,” Martha Otton, the Executive Director of iGaming Ontario, proclaimed. Prior to introducing Ontario’s regulated market in 2022, an estimated 70% of online gaming was unregulated. The change we see today to 86% regulated is dramatic. “We will continue to work in lockstep with the AGCO to enable Ontarians to play with confidence,” Otton ensured.
According to an Ipsos study conducted in February of 2024, the preceding three months (November 2023 to January 2024) showed that 86.4% of Ontario’s online players played on regulated sites, up 0.9% from a similar study conducted earlier in 2023. This points to market trends that are heading in the intended direction.
With 77 regulated iGaming websites in Ontario, the choices are there for players to play safely and responsibly. “Since its launch in April 2022, Ontario’s iGaming model has been recognized internationally for championing work to displace the unregulated online gaming market,” Attorney General Doug Downey announced proudly. “This made-in-Ontario, regulated market will continue to inspire global innovation, while ensuring a safer landscape for players and businesses alike.”
While successes are cheered, the reality of the situation is that iGaming still has a way to go to become fully safe. “In Ontario, regulated sites are held to high standards of game integrity, data security and player protections, including having significant responsible gaming safeguards,” Dr. Karin Schnarr, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar at the AGCO, noted. “While it’s encouraging to see most participants are choosing regulated gaming options, those who are not are unfortunately risking far more than their wagers,” she warned.
The study found that players used as many as 350 different iGaming websites to play in Ontario, and that 13.6% of players still play on unregulated sites. In fact, 20.1% of players admitted to using both regulated and unregulated iGaming websites. While they can be encouraged by the positive trends, the AGCO and iGaming Ontario still have work remaining to continue to draw players to Ontario’s safer, regulated iGaming sites; and with one in five players still use unregulated iGaming sites, there is much work to be done.
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