The list of registered internet operators for Ontario sports betting keeps building ahead of the April 4 launch date for a competitive iGaming market in the province.
888, a leading online betting and gaming company founded in 1997, announced that it is the latest to have been given an iGaming license by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.
The Six Approved Ontario Sports Betting Operators
That brings the total number to six, according to the AGCO website: PointsBet Canada, Rivalry Corp., theScore Bet, NSUS Ltd. (online poker, a Caesars Interactive Entertainment Inc. company), Annexio Ltd. (LottoGo, a lottery betting company with offices in London, Jersey, Australia and the Isle of Man), and now 888.
”We are delighted to have been awarded a licence by the AGCO and look forward to launching in the market when it officially opens,” Itai Pazner, CEO of 888 Holdings Plc, said in a statement. “As a group, our focus is on strengthening our presence and offer to customers across key regulated markets. To that end, Ontario represents an attractive long-term growth opportunity for 888 and this is an extremely strategically important milestone for us.”
888 says it is ready to offer its Ontario online casino, sport, and poker products to players across Ontario powered by their proprietary technology. The company sees Ontario as an “exciting long-term growth opportunity.”
The government-owned Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. is currently the only entity able to offer legal online sports betting in the province with its PROLINE+ product.
CGA Says All Is Going To Plan
According to Paul Burns, president and CEO of the Canadian Gaming Association, the pace in terms of licensing announcements ahead of the April 4 launch for commercial operators has been as expected. Some companies, such as theScore Bet, were ready to leave the gate the day the Ontario market opens up to competition. Others, Burns added, are balancing their entrance into Ontario with rollouts in other markets that recently opened, like New York and Michigan.
”There are different mixes of corporate priorities,” he said. “Others will look at the launch and say maybe they will enter in the last half of 2022. But there has been strong interest, and people are still at various stages of the process. We will be seeing more companies (making similar announcements) over the next few weeks.”
