Sports Betting is the Face of iGaming in Canada: The Data Seems to Tell us Otherwise

By Shlok Ahuja

When iGaming came to Ontario, the biggest change was the flood of adverts and visual real estate bought up by big privately owned operators like FanDuel and DraftKings. At the forefront, single event sports betting seemed like the face of what iGaming was looking to portray, as the now fully accessible experience that Ontarians could enjoy.

All the glamour stays around sports betting. They can partner up with big name athletes and brands while presenting their product on some of the largest competitive stages. A lot of the talk around the iGaming industry as a whole, including topics we’ve covered in the past such as overreach in marketing, sports integrity concerns, and protecting the population from problematic behaviours, seems to be centered around sports betting.

People are excited to see the market grow in a healthy fashion, as it continues to generate jobs and revenue, helping fuel the economy. Nonetheless, through all the noise around sports betting, with iGaming Ontario releasing figures from 2023, it seems as though Canadian players have gravitated towards the online casino segment a lot more.

In Q2 of 2023, iGaming Ontario indicated $14 billion in total wagers. How this number is broken down across casino, sports, and poker wagers is interesting.

Casino-related wagers sat at $11.6B which included bingo, live and computer based tables, and slots. Sports wagers accumulated for $2B which included proposition, novelty, and esports bets. The last segment poker sat at $350M in total wagers.

Casino-related wagers accumulated for 82% of total wagers for the entire quarter. Putting this into perspective, while there has been marketing done for these products, it’s not nearly as present as sports betting. A lot of dialogue and conversation around the future of the industry has been confined to sports, while majority of players seem to be using casino-related experiences.

It is also important to consider that the inherent nature of the online casino product makes it a lot more accessible. Wagers can be placed 24/7 and aren’t confined to the timeframes of specific sporting events. The settlement time for wagers is also much shorter as people are betting on a card, roll, or spin instead of a match.

With casino-related wagers dominating majority of the market in Ontario, there is an interesting sentiment around growth within the industry. Conversations around growth

while protecting the population are important. This is also great insight for third party operators to direct innovation within product, marketing, and responsible play.