NorthStar Bets, From NorthStar Gaming, Launches in the Ontario Sports Betting Market Ahead of Ontario Election Day

Ontario has seen quite the year. After the Canadian criminal code was altered last summer to allow for single-event betting, the power to implement sports betting in the country went to the provinces. Ontario launched a provincial lottery run sports betting operator ProLine+ that same month in August 2021.

Then, Ontario was the first province to expand to allow for commercial sportsbooks to operate in their area as well on April 4. Now, in just a few weeks, on June 2, is Ontario’s Election Day.

Just in time for this big day in Ontario, a new sportsbook has launched in the Ontario sports betting market. The new sportsbook, NorthStar Bets, is run by NorthStarGaming. NorthStar Gaming is based in Toronto, so it should see a boost from local brand recognition, as is common with Ontario sportsbooks. 

The company launched a little while after the national criminal code in Canada was changed by lawmakers in the country. Previously, the criminal code in the country only allowed for parlay betting.

The NorthStar Bets app not only has sports betting, it also has an online casino. The CEO of NorthStar Gaming, Michael Moskowitz, indicated his excitement for being able to launch the home grown operator in the area. He hopes the brand recognition and customer loyalty will help the company garner a large, loyal fanbase and be successful in the province.

NorthStar Gaming is owned by TorStar Corp., which also owns the Toronto Star. Previously in 2022, NorthStar Gaming partnered with the Toronto Star to feature content around sports betting on the website for the newspaper.

CEO of NorthStar Gaming Moskowitz has indicated that this partnership should give NorthStar Gaming a boost in the market. He feels the company is specially positioned at the intersection of sports betting and sports media to become a sports betting market leader.

NorthStar Gaming also has partnerships with Kambi as well as Playtech. These partnerships are to power the NorthStar Gaming online casino and online sportsbook. NorthStar Gaming has an additional partnership with Parieh Media Group. This deal is for the production of content around sports betting.

In order to launch in the Ontario sports betting market, any sportsbook operator needs approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario. Back in April, the same month that saw the launch of the expansion to allow for commercial sportsbook operators, NorthStar Bets was registered by AGCO.

When the expanded commercial online sports betting market launched on April 4, there were twenty five gaming sites registered. Since this time, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario has registered an additional six operators.

However, some significant operators in the sports betting world have yet to go live in the Ontario sports betting market. Most notably, sports betting stalwart DraftKings has not yet made its move.

A brand that should be launching soon in the Ontario sports betting market is the online brand PlayFallsview from Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment. The company made the announcement a few days ago.

Due to the Ontario Election Day coming up in a couple weeks on June 2, it is not yet clear when official numbers regarding how the Ontario sports betting commercial market is faring will be released. This is even though the market expanded over a month ago. We can expect to see these numbers released after Election Day passes. And, then we may see if more operators will be looking to throw their respective hats into the Ontario sports betting ring.

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