CANADIAN SPORTS BETTORS AND ONLINE SPORTSBOOK OPERATORS LOOK TOWARDS PRIVATE SPORTSBOOK OPERATOR LAUNCH

In 2021, single-game sports wagering was launched in Canada. Prior to this change, Canadian sports bettors were only able to make parlay bets.

However, there are still major sportsbook operators missing from the Canadian sports betting landscape, such as FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM. This is due to the fact that, as of this writing, sports bettors in Canada can only place their single-game bets through lottery corporations that are government-owned.

Now, regulators in Canada are looking towards bringing in private sports betting operators like the few listed above (Draftkings, BetMGM, and FanDuel).

Single-game sports betting launched in Canada on August 27th, 2021. In the five days after the launch of single-game sports betting, the Ontario Lottery Gaming Corp, via its ProLine+ platform, was able to take in over $1 million in bets. Of those wagers, almost 74% consisted of single-game bets.

At the same time, the British Columbia Lottery Corp began taking bets on its PlayNow.com website. On December 16th, 2021, single-game sports betting options from the Western Canada Lottery Corp also launched. This Sport Select platform is powered by the Scientific Games Lottery Team, which allows live bets and futures wagers.

The Ontario Lottery Gaming Corp, British Columbia Lottery Corp, and the Western Canada Lottery Corp act as the main operators in the country at this time.

Provinces in the country are proceeding with trying to open their own sports betting markets to private operators, and these sportsbook operators are preparing their eventual move into the markets. In November 2021, both FanDuel and DraftKings announced their expanded partnerships with the NBA. This will allow them to become official sports betting partners with the league in Canada.

Former Roger Communications executive Dale Hooper was announced in October by FanDuel as their new general manager of operations in the country. He will be in charge of drafting and implementing the company’s overall and long term strategy in Canada. He will also need to keep on top of Canada’s regulatory and legalization process.

Other sportsbook operators that are looking to move into the country’s sports betting market are PointsBet, BetMGM, theScore Bet, Caesars, and Hard Rock. Another former Rogers executive, Scott Vanderwel, has been appointed as CEO of PointsBet Canada. PointsBet has a partnership with Curling Canada.

Penn National Gaming announced that theScore Bet, for its sports betting and iGaming app, has secured a Gaming Laboratories International GLI-33 certification. This means that it has met one of the required steps to become an official iGaming and online sports betting operator in Ontario. Meanwhile, BetMGM has announced its plans to build a sizable casino in Calgary, Alberta.

Hard Rock is already a member of the Canadian Gaming Association, and it already owns casinos in both Ottawa and Vancouver. Caesars is also a member of the Canadian Gaming Association, plus it also already has a casino in Windsor, Ontario.

These popular sportsbooks in the United States already have footholds in Canada, so they are likely candidates to launch in Canada when they are able to. This kind of launch will also create much more options for sports betting in the country than there are now.

Many Canadian sports betting fans are already clamoring for the launch of private sportsbook operators in the country since these operators have gained good word of mouth and have a solid reputation in the United States.

Right now, many Canadian provinces have restricted measures placed on their sports betting operators. This includes restrictive limits for higher bets. So, more operators would equal more options for betting limits as well.

Written by Allie Nelson, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert. You can learn more about our author's expertise here.