To confirm that internet gaming continues to grow in Canada’s province of Ontario, iGaming Ontario (iGO) released its third-quarter market performance report.
The Quarter Before was nearly doubled
As part of iGO’s commitment to sharing aggregate revenues and market insights on a quarterly basis, the report showed that internet gaming operations in Ontario recorded C$11.53 billion in total wagers for the three-month period from October 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022.
The total wagers for the third quarter were almost double the amount that operators in the province had accounted for in the second quarter. They reached C$ 6.04 billion ($ 4.54 billion), and it was confirmed that the market is still growing rapidly.
The start of the third quarter also coincided with the national football team’s participation in the FIFA World Cup competition for the first time since 1986. Additionally, the season began for two local major league teams, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. All three events could have stimulated additional interest among eligible Canadians to wager.
The almost doubled number of total bets resulted in an increase in total gaming revenue, which reached C$457million ($343.6million), a 71% increase over the C$267million ($200.7million) recorded in the previous quarter.
“Total gaming revenue” includes all cash wagers (including rake and tournament fees) and player winnings. It does not include operating costs or other liabilities.
The total gaming revenue increased by 91% but did not match the increase in total wagers. This means that licensed operators in the province spent more on promotional activities in the third quarter than they did in the previous three months.
Player Accounts and Operators Increased
36 licensed operators were active in the third quarter, a 50% increase over the 24 operators who were active in the preceding quarter. The number of gambling websites increased by 62%, from 42 in fiscal Q2 and 68 in fiscal Q3.
Q3 saw 910,000 active accounts that were used to place wagers with cash, promotional wagers, or both. However, individual players might have accounts with multiple operators, so the number doesn’t necessarily represent unique players.
The number of active player accounts increased by 45% in Q3 compared to Q2. However, the average monthly spending per active player account was C$167 ($125.6), up only 18% from C$142 ($106.8) during the previous quarter.
iGO pointed out that the report didn’t include numbers from Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) and that any numbers released could be subject to adjustments.
