The open, regulated sports betting market is launching April 4, but until then Ontario Lottery and Gaming has the advantage of being the outlet for wagers. That’s an advantage for OLG because its PROLINE+ product can jump on gaining more market share via legal sports betting on behemoth events like the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics.
Live Ontario sports betting on the Olympics is something Dave Pridmore, Chief Digital and Strategy Officer for OLG, says they are really focusing on. The Winter Games are underway in Beijing and conclude on Feb. 20.
“We're going to have a lot of markets for the Olympics,” Pridmore told OntarioBets.com. “We will be live on Proline.ca and in retail offerings. We will have most major gold medal games. We will have pretty much every Olympic hockey game in the puck line. I am most excited about curling. This is going to be a big one for OLG in digital and retail, to have the odds out there for Olympic curling events.
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“We have lots of great Canadian athletes so we will be showcasing a lot of those events in our digital and retail betting,” he said.
Super Bowl Betting Interest Soaring
The Super Bowl is fast approaching as well, set for Feb. 13, with the Los Angeles Rams taking on the Cincinnati Bengals.
“We will have a big array of player prop bets,” Pridmore said. Pregame player props have become very popular with PROLINE+, up to now, and Pridmore said to expect more of those. These bets include longest touchdown, longest rush, longest pass completion, longest field goal, and various passing, receiving and rushing yard markers for players like Joe Burrow, Cooper Kupp and Cam Akers.
Novelty bets are a growing market, and we’re not just talking award shows. Traditional novelty bets like the coin toss for the Super Bowl is a fun way to introduce people to sports betting, Pridmore added. OLG announced Tuesday that bettors can place wagers with PROLINE+ at 10,000 retail locations in the province.
And the question of the April 4 market launch date naturally is relevant. Pridmore said it’s full steam ahead on just focusing on what the OLG is doing with its digital and new retail platforms.
OLG Focusing on Its Product
“Obviously the market has been planned to open for some time,” he said. “The announced date doesn’t change anything from our perspective. The retail launch was always intended before the Super Bowl.
Our focus is pretty singular in both the digital and sports betting world, which is to create the best product we can for our customers, so we are providing their gaming needs to them.
“Not only in sports but from lottery to casino, our focus remains absolute and remains so. Obviously, our new retail complements our sports betting offering, to give the customers that choice between digital and retail betting.
“Proline in retail is legacy in this province. It has been around for 30 years. People are aware of it, they understand it. People have been craving this on the digital and on the retail side, to be able to bet on a single event, to have dynamic odds, and more events to bet on, a diversity of offerings where consumers can choose and consume in any way they want to.”
Pridmore also alluded to new announcements coming soon regarding sports content, with some new partnerships.
