It has been two years since Ontario sportsbooks and online casino options have launched. In that time, Canadians in the country’s largest province have shown an overwhelming desire to wager at legal, regulated sites rather than with illegal operators — and they have shown a predilection toward betting on one sport in particular, which might come as a surprise to some.
That’s according to a report assembled by market research company Ipsos and released Thursday by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario and also shared by iGaming Ontario. The AGCO, an agency which reports to the Ministry of the Attorney General, is responsible for regulating legal real money casino app Ontario operators and sportsbooks. The operation is conducted and managed by iGaming Ontario, or iGO.
Results Of Ontario Gaming Survey
The Ipsos Ontario gaming study said 86% of respondents who placed online sports or casino wagers in the province did so with legal, regulated operators. This study used data collected from Jan. 29 to Feb. 15, 2024, according to Ipsos. That percentage is a slight increase over the 85.3% of bettors who used legal means to wager in a similar study from 2023. The margin of error is 2.2% for the survey, in which 2,016 Ontarians aged 19 and up were interviewed.
The survey said that 35.2% of residents in the province used Ontario online casinos or online sportsbook sites in the past year, and 29.5% did so in the previous three months. It said 42.5% of respondents aged 35-54 wagered in the previous three months, compared to 38.7% of those age 19-34 and just 18.8% among those 55 and older. Men accounted for 64.5% of the betting population, with women at 35.5%.
Of course, a rate of 86% of bettors using legal sites means that about one in seven are still turning to illegal operators.
“While it’s encouraging to see most participants are choosing regulated gaming options, those who are not are unfortunately risking far more than their wagers,” Dr. Karin Schnarr, Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of AGCO, said in a release.
Trends For Ontario Sportsbooks and iGaming
Those using Ontario sports betting apps to wager are turning to one sport more than any other. Not the one you might think. Nope, not that other one either.
Basketball was the most popular sport for wagering in the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to data from iGO. Even with the Toronto Raptors enduring a tough season, basketball accounted for 24% of sports wagers in the province. That’s well ahead of football, which was second at 15% of bets.
The sport most associated with Canada, hockey, was at 11% of handle, the same as baseball and barely ahead of soccer (10%).
But most of the total handle in the province comes from online casinos. In the most recent quarterly report from iGO, covering October to December 2023, $13.7 billion CDN was wagered at iGaming sites, compared to $3.1 billion at sportsbooks and $430,000 on peer-to-peer poker.
And of the casino games, Ontario online Blackjack is king. The iGO reported that 27% of casino wagers, combining online and live dealer action, was on Blackjack. Roulette was second at 9%, then baccarat at 8%.
“With 24 months behind us, we are starting to see a clearer picture of the Ontario player landscape in all three segments, betting, casino and poker,” iGO Executive Director Martha Otton said in a release. “I am looking forward to what comes next as we work with our operators to invest in Ontario and better understand Ontario players’ interests.”
What Is Ipsos?
Ipsos was founded in France in 1975 and expanded to North and South America in the 1990s, where it conducts research on a wide variety of subjects.
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