The Ontario online casino market continues to grow as legalized mobile casino and sportsbook gambling in Canada’s most populous province enters its third year of operation.
According to iGaming Ontario, the agency managing iGaming oversight for the province, bettors wagered $18.4 billion CDN for the first quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal year, which ended on June 30. That record figure, which does not factor in promotional credits used by bettors, was up 3.4% over the previous quarter and represented 31% growth in handle from the first quarter of the 2023-24 cycle.
That handle total includes all online casino, sports betting and poker sites operated by iGaming Ontario’s authorized outlets, such as Pinnacle Ontario Sportsbook. The bulk of the wagering took place in online casinos, which reported $15.5 billion in wagers on slots and table games. Ontario sports betting operators accepted $2.5 billion in wagers, and peer-to-peer poker sites accounted for $402 million.
Ontario Casino & Sports Betting, Q1 2024-25 FY vs. Q4 2023-24 FY
Quarter | Total handle | Revenue |
Q1 (April to June 2024) | $18.4B | $726M |
Q4 (January to March 2024) | $17.8B | $690M |
Change | Up 3.4% | Up 5.2% |
Operators Report Revenue Growth
With the increase in wagering, operators also saw similar growth in their revenues. In all, Ontario operators reported $726 million CDN for the quarter. Casinos claimed $529 million in revenue, while sportsbooks took $181 million, and Ontario online poker sites raked in $16 million. The total revenue figure was up 5.2% from the previous quarter and 33.2% from the same quarter last year, setting another record for any three-month period.
“With 50 regulated operators and a one-third increase in wagering and revenue figures over the first quarter of last year, Ontarians who choose to gamble are finding many enjoyable options in our open regulated iGaming market,” said Martha Otton, Executive Director of iGaming Ontario. “The revenue generated by Ontario’s competitive iGaming market contributes directly to provincial priorities such as infrastructure, healthcare, and education.”
The quarterly report does not break down handle or revenue figures per iGaming and Ontario sports betting operator.
Ontario iGaming Q1 Breakdown
According to iGaming Ontario, nearly 1.9 million accounts were online during the quarter, and those players bet on 80 sites operated by the 50 approved gaming companies. The 1.9 million does not mean individuals, as some bettors have accounts with multiple providers.
The average monthly handle per account was $284, according to iGaming Ontario.
Ontario casino apps operators, such as Mr Vegas Ontario Casino, have seen growth in handle and revenue during each quarter since the first quarter of last year. Ontario sportsbooks saw their quarterly handle drop by about $200 million, or 7.4%, from the previous quarter. That’s expected as American football ends in February, and the remaining sports – not even the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs – command the same type of traffic.
Despite the slight drop in handle, Ontario sportsbook apps reported a $20 million increase in revenue from the previous quarter.
Online poker sites saw their handles drop by nearly 10% from the previous quarter, and unlike sportsbooks, they too saw revenues decline by $3 million, or 15.8%.
All the data released by iGaming Ontario is unaudited and subject to revisions.
