Commercial Operators are Able to Launch in the Ontario Sports Betting Market

The long awaited launch of commercial sports betting apps in Ontario happened this week on April 4th. Ontario sports betting has long been a desired market for many operators. A big reason for this is because Ontario’s population would make it the fifth largest state in the United States, offering a hefty amount of customers.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has given approval and licensed several commercial sportsbook operators. However, these operators also need a commercial agreement from iGaming Ontario before they are able to launch in the market. As a result, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has indicated that operators would slowly roll out in the province.

There have been over two dozen sites approved by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario since the end of January. However, there could be as many as thirty or more operators who are hoping to be approved for operations in the province.

As of this writing, the following sportsbooks have received approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario:

• FanDuel
• BetMGM
• PointsBet
• BetRivers
• theScore
• Coolbet
• Betway

The following online gaming sites have received approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario:

• WSOP
• Royal Panda
• Party
• LeoVegas

Many in the sports betting world have been surprised that, as of this writing, sports betting king DraftKings has yet to receive approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission in Ontario to launch in Ontario. The AGCO indicated that the commission is continuing to work with operators and gaming-related suppliers to get them ready to launch in the Ontario market. As already stated, the market is expected to see a slow rollout of operators as each one becomes ready to launch, which means we will see the Ontario sports betting market grow in the coming days.

Last August, in 2021, the Canadian government changed the criminal code to allow for single-event sports betting. But, the regulators left it up to each specific province to operate and regulate sports betting for themselves. Many provinces launched their own sports betting operations through their own provincial lotteries.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming launched their own sports betting operation as soon as they were able to in August 2021. Their sports betting operation is known as ProLine+. Now, commercial operators have been able to launch in the province for the first time.

As of right now, you can check our Canada page for Ontario’s commercial market.

Written by Allie Nelson, our US Sports Betting Industry Expert.